10 storylines to follow at the 2023 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The best gymnasts in the country descend on San Jose’s SAP Center this week for the 2023 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships, with national titles and team berths on the line.

Competition kicks off Thursday, August 24, with Day 1 of the junior and senior men’s competitions. Day 1 of the junior and senior women’s competitions will follow Friday. Day 2, the conclusion of competition, for the men will be Saturday and Sunday for the women.

The U.S. championships are a two-day meet for all divisions, meaning the sum of scores over the two days of competition are used to determine all-around and event national champions. In addition, the junior and senior national teams will be named, and the men’s world team will be announced.

Keep reading for 10 storylines to follow at championships.

For more on the meet, including qualifiers, schedule, and how to watch, check out our 2023 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships 411.

World team or bust

Unlike the U.S. women’s world team, which will be determined at a selection camp in mid-September, the men’s world team will be announced at the conclusion of championships.

Due to the condensed timeline between the U.S. championships and world championships this year, the men’s program forwent a selection camp, meaning the two days of competition in San Jose are athletes’ final chance to show the selection committee why they should be chosen to represent their country in Antwerp, Belgium, next month.

Six athletes will named to the world team, including one traveling alternate. The senior selection committee (SSC) may also name up to three non-traveling alternates to the team.

Unlike last year, no athletes will automatically qualify to the team based on their championships performance. Instead, the SSC will choose the team from a pool of athletes.

“All team scoring scenarios from the final results (combined Day 1 and Day 2) at the 2023 U.S. Championships that are within two points from the top scoring team, will be used to identify the pool of athletes to be considered for the 2023 Worlds Team,” the selection procedures state.

Also different this year: the D-score bonus, implemented domestically earlier this quad, will not be included in results used for team scoring scenarios.

Athletes from the current senior national team can petition to be selected to the team but must submit their petition before the conclusion of championships and must be able to show readiness in the form of full-difficulty routines, across one or two competition days, at least two weeks prior to departure to Belgium (September 8) and do so at a level that is competitive and consistent with the other team members.

The petition process is in place in case of unexpected injury, illness, or other unusual circumstances.

Since the U.S. men are going to Antwerp with an Olympic berth top of mind (it’s the final opportunity to earn a team berth), this selection has an added weight to it. That being said, the team is expected to achieve that goal in qualifications, and then the focus will shift to making the podium for what would be the first time since 2014.

The team is likely to be comprised of four all-arounders and an event specialist, much as the 2022 squad. At this point in the season, it’s safe to predict Core Hydration Classic champion Asher Hong will make his second-straight world team. 

Michigan standout and reigning NCAA all-around champion Fred Richard is eligible for his first world team this year. Despite some uncharacteristic mistakes at the World University Games, where he competed instead of the Classic, Richard has overall displayed great consistency and confidence throughout the year, making him a likely pick for the team.

Olympians Shane Wiskus and Yul Moldauer have been upgrading and are looking to redeem themselves after serving as alternates last year. Paul Juda, also an alternate for the 2022 team, made a triumphant comeback at the Classic, finishing third all-around. 

The other members of the 2022 team that are competing – Donnell Whittenburg, Colt Walker, and Stephen Nedoroscik – all have a chance to make another team. The former two are looking to continue trending up after injuries while the 2021 world pommel horse champion, Nedoroscik, will want to hit two clean sets on his specialty to show the SSC he can be consistent with his world-class routine.

Other all-arounders who could make a case for themselves with strong performances at championships include Cameron Bock, Khoi Young, Josh Karnes, and Riley Loos.

Other event specialists in the running include Curran Phillips (parallel bars, will compete three events), Blake Sun (parallel bars, will compete three events), and Ian Skirkey (pommel horse).

Reigning world high bar champion and U.S. all-around champion Brody Malone is out for the season due to a major right leg injury sustained in March. He’s hoping to return to competition at the 2024 Winter Cup.

Another international selection… with a twist

Also on the line for the men at championships is selection to the Pan Am Games team, but that team selection will consider scores with D-score bonuses.

The five members of the world team will not be considered for the five-man Pan Ams team, as worlds is less than a month before the Games, but the traveling alternate for the world team will earn automatic selection to the team. That person will have to decide whether to accept or decline the assignment and notify the SSC within two days of the conclusion of championships.

The remaining pool of senior national team members will be considered for selection to the Pan Ams team. With minimal qualifying criteria and the inclusion of D-score bonus in the selection process, this team could be more of a wild card decision than U.S. teams of past. The above-mentioned athletes that don’t make the world team will certainly be in consideration, along with other up-and-comers on the national team, including the senior development team.

2021 Pan Am Games junior all-around champion Vahe Petrosyan has already earned an individual, nominative berth to the Games thanks to his performance two years ago. If Petrosyan is named to the team (or he is unable to participate), the U.S. will lose that nominative berth and only send a team.

History at stake as Biles continues comeback

Simone Biles is expected to improve her record of U.S. women’s all-around titles, which currently sits at seven, after winning the Classic title in early August by five points.

If she wins her eighth U.S. all-around title on Sunday, August 27, Biles will also become the oldest woman to do so at 26 years and 166 days old – more than two years older than the previous oldest champion (Linda Metheny-Mulvihill in 1971 – 24 years and 100 days), according to USA Gymnastics (USAG). Biles missed out on the record in 2021, when she was 24 years and 84 days.

Event-wise, Biles will be the favorite on beam and floor, which she won at the Classic. If she competes two vaults at championships, which she did not do in her elite comeback, Biles would almost certainly win that title as well. The only event that she’s not favored to win is bars, which her World Champions Centre teammate Zoe Miller won at the Classic. Biles did finish third on the event there, though, and is capable of winning that title, too.

In addition to whether Biles will do two vaults, the other question mark is whether she will have her coach, Laurent Landi, spot her on the podium again when she does the Yurchenko double pike (YDP). Biles doesn’t need to axe the spotter to win a U.S. or world vault title (if she does do two vaults in the first place), but it costs her half a point in neutral deductions when she opts to have Landi there. Whether she has him there will be a tell as to if the choice at the Classic was a first-meet back decision to combat nerves or something she’ll be doing moving forward.

To add to the vault question marks, the YDP was valued at a 6.4 by USAG at the Classic, going against the likely valuation by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) of 6.2. 

When Biles received a provisional valuation for the skill from the FIG in 2021, ahead of that year’s Classic, the international governing body awarded the skill a 6.6, which Biles pushed back on at the time to no avail. All vaults went through a 0.4 devaluation in the new Code of Points, which would put the YDP at a 6.2.

USAG told Gymnastics Now at the Classic that they would be moving forward with the 6.4 valuation until they were informed otherwise by the FIG. In contrast, the skill purportedly received a 6.2 valuation at July’s U.S. women’s national team camp. 

When GN reached out to the FIG for an updated provisional valuation, the organization said, “At this time, the FIG has not received any official request from USA Gymnastics. 

“If officially submitted, the WTC will then evaluate the vault.”

Suni Lee opts to not petition for all-around in light of ongoing health issue

Reigning Olympic all-around champion Suni Lee did not petition to compete all four events at the U.S. championships, according to Olympics.com’s Scott Bregman. 

Lee opted to do just vault and beam at the Classic – her first elite meet since the Tokyo Games – and would have had to petition and show readiness on the other two events a week ahead of competition to be able to compete in the all-around. Instead, she’ll once again do vault and beam.

Lee is battling an ongoing kidney-related health issue that has impacted her ability to train, but the 20-year-old proved last meet that she’s still capable of world-medal worthy sets despite her current physical challenges.

Fans that were hoping to see Lee compete on bars, her trademark event, in San Jose will have to wait to see what the former Auburn standout is cooking up on the event. She’s said she wants to win Olympic gold on the event in Paris, improving on her bronze medal from the Tokyo Games.

The crowning of a new men’s champion

With Malone unable to pursue a three-peat in the all-around, a new men’s champion will be crowned on Saturday.

The only other previous U.S. all-around champion in the field is Moldauer. The 2017 champion won the Winter Cup title earlier this year and has been focused on upgrading his sets over the past couple years in an effort to remain competitive domestically and internationally. If he puts together a strong showing this week, he could add his second title six years after the first.

Moldauer’s strongest competitors are Hong and Richard, the young hotshots with a slew of difficulty who have the benefit of competing in NCAA nearly every week in the spring for Stanford and Michigan, respectively.

Hong won the Classic title earlier this month, and he and Richard rounded out the all-around podium at the Winter Cup. This all-around showdown has been months in the making. The title will likely go to whichever athlete can surpass the 85 mark, or get as close to it as possible, both days.

National team selection on the line

New U.S. national teams will be named at the conclusion of competition for both the men and women, and while titles are the ultimate prize, the field in each division is gunning for a coveted spot on their respective team.

The benefits of making the national team are world team consideration, the potential of other international assignments, and athlete funding, to name a few. 

The selection criteria for the U.S. women to the national teams (junior and senior) is as follows, per USAG:

“The top six (6) Juniors and the top ten (10) Seniors in the All-Around after two days of competition will be named to the National Team at the conclusion of the 2023 U.S. Championships. Additional funded slots (Junior or Senior) may be selected to the National Team based upon the needs of the National Team.”

The selection criteria for the U.S. men to the senior national team is as follows:

A minimum of 15 athletes will be named to the team, including:

• The top five athletes in the all-around (two-day total) at the U.S. championships 
• The next five athletes by rank order from the 10-point program final results (two-day total), not already named to the team
• The remaining spots will be filled by discretionary criteria or petition 

A minimum of two and maximum of five athletes between the ages of 18 and 20 will be named to the senior development team (SDT). To be eligible for the SDT, athletes must achieve an all-around FIG D-score of 32.000 on at least one day of competition at the U.S. championships.

If less than two athletes meet the aforementioned D-score requirement, then up to two athletes will be named to the SDT by highest D-score ranking from either day of competition at championships. Any remaining unfulfilled SDT spots will go back to the senior national team and be filled by discretionary criteria or petition.

The selection criteria for the U.S. men to the Level 10 junior national team is as follows:

• The top four 16-year-old athletes in the all-around (two-day total) at the U.S. championships
• The top four 17-year-old athletes in the all-around (two-day total) at the U.S. championships
• Open selection: Another five spots will be decided by all-around final ranking (two-day total), including the D-score based section process (outlined in the full procedures, linked below).
  • A maximum of three athletes from either age group (16 or 17) may be selected.
• Up to two petitions will be accepted. Those spots will be taken from the above-mentioned “open selection” spots.
• The top ranked 18-year-old senior athlete in the all-around from championships (two-day total) who is not named to the senior national team or SDT will be named to the junior national team.

See the full men’s national team section procedures here.

Looking forward to women’s world team selection camp

A minimum of eight athletes will be invited to the U.S. women’s world team selection camp, set for September 19-22 in Katy, Texas, following championships.

The top two senior all-around athletes after the two days of competition will automatically qualify to the selection camp.

A minimum of six additional athletes, from the senior field and petitions, will be invited by the athlete selection committee (ASC), to the selection camp utilizing discretionary criteria outlined here.

The future of USA Gymnastics

The junior men’s and women’s competitions will feature exciting up-and-comers in San Jose.

On the women’s side, many of the key contenders will be seniors next year and, therefore, eligible for the Olympic team. Those athletes include American Classic and Core Hydration Classic champion Kieryn Finnell, Winter Cup champion Hezly Rivera, and 2022 U.S. Classic champion Jayla Hang.

On the men’s side, where there is a champion for both the 16 and 17-year-old divisions, reigning 16-year-old champion (now competing 17) Kai Uemura will look to continue an already successful year that saw him win the all-around and high bar at Winter Cup and represent the U.S. at junior worlds.

The 2022 17-year-old champion, David Shamah, turned senior domestically this year but was part of the junior worlds team as well. Shamah is recovering from some nagging injuries and has opted to not compete at championships, instead focusing on his upcoming move to Stanford, where he’ll be part of the men’s team.

Another junior to watch is the Classic all-around champion, Xander Hong, who is the younger brother of senior standout Asher.

An ode to Beijing

The 2008 men’s and women’s Olympic teams will be honored with ceremonies during competition on Saturday and Sunday.

Per USAG, Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, Chellsie Memmel, Sam Peszek, Alicia Sacramone Quinn, and Bridget Sloan from the women’s team and Alex Artemev, Raj Bhavsar, Joe Hagerty, Jonathan Horton, Justin Spring, and Kevin Tan will be in attendance.

The men’s team will be honored during the senior men’s session on Saturday afternoon, and both teams will be honored on Sunday during the senior women’s session.

It’s a walk down memory lane, as all members of the 2008 Olympic teams competed at the 2007 Visa Championships, which was held at the SAP Center (then the HP Pavilion), according to USAG.

Honoring the 2023 USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame class

The 2023 USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame class will also be honored in San Jose, with the formal induction ceremony happening on Saturday, August 26.

The inductees include: 

• Tonya Case
• Steven Gluckstein
• Jasmine “Jazzy” Kerber
• Cecile and Laurent Landi
• Danell Leyva
• Rome Milan
• Vladimir Vladev

For more details on each inductee, click here.