2024 American Classic 411: Field, schedule, and how to watch

The 2024 American Classic is set for Saturday, April 27 in Katy, Texas, with Gabby Douglas, Sunisa Lee, Jade Carey, and Joscelyn Roberson headlining the field.

This meet is one of the last chances to qualify to the upcoming U.S. championships that are set for May 30-June 2 in Fort Worth, Texas. Athletes must reach a minimum qualifying score to advance to championships. In the all-around, that number is a 51.000. For three events, it’s a 39.000. For two events, which Lee is competing (vault and beam), the number to reach is a 26.400.

The Core Hydration Classic (formerly U.S. Classic), set for May 17-18 in Hartford, Connecticut, will be the last chance for athletes to qualify to championships if they don’t succeed in Katy.

Gymnastics Now will be on-site to live blog, share interviews, and more, so stay tuned for our coverage. Subscribe for unlimited access and to support our coverage on the road to Paris 2024.

Keep reading for the full schedule, field, and what to watch for.

Schedule and how to watch the 2024 American Classic and 2024 Hopes Classic

The American Classic and the Hopes Classic, which are held in conjunction, will stream live on FlipNow. Live results will be available on MyUSAGym.

The Hopes Classic serves as the final qualifying event to the 2024 Hopes Championships, held in conjunction with the aforementioned Core Classic. Hopes athletes must also reach a minimum qualifying score to advance to their championships.

The meets will be available internationally and full replays of the events will be uploaded to the platform if you can’t watch live.

Field and what to watch for at the 2024 American Classic

Douglas’ first competition since the 2016 Rio Olympics will be in a low-key environment, but the importance of this meet for the 2012 Olympic all-around champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist can’t be overstated.

In an Olympic year, it’s not surprising to see a few top contenders set to compete in the first of USA Gymnastics’ two “Classic” events in the lead-up to championships and Olympic Trials, but it’s still an interesting juxtaposition: for one of the biggest names in gymnastics history to make her return to elite competition, after nearly eight years, in a small gym with little fanfare. But maybe this is the best way for Douglas to return – at a meet where she can focus on the task at hand and not on a big crowd. Make a statement now, and take in the crowd at the meets to come.

Douglas was previously set to make her comeback at Winter Cup at the end of February, but she had to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19.

The reigning Olympic all-around champion, Lee will continue her elite season after a disappointing appearance at Winter Cup, where she fell twice on bars, including on her full-twisting Jaeger – a skill she’s hoping to get named after her if she does it successfully in international competition – and once on beam. Lee will compete vault and beam in Katy, adding back the former event as she tries to get back to competing all four events.

Carey jumps straight back into elite competition after competing for her college team, Oregon State, at the NCAA championships last week, where she finished second in the all-around and on floor and third on beam. Carey has been balancing elite and college this season, competing a bit less for the Beavers and modifying her college routines, which are easier than elite, to benefit her training as she tries to make a second Olympic team and defend her floor gold medal from Tokyo.

World gold medalist Roberson makes her return to competition after getting injured at worlds last fall. She’ll compete on bars and beam, according to NBC Olympics.

Roberson is the only athlete of the four headliners that is already qualified to the U.S. championships for her performance at 2023 worlds. For her, this meet serves as a jumping off point to get back on two events. Known for her powerful vault and floor, she’ll likely look to add those back in the coming months. For the others, this meet and the Core Classic next month will serve two purposes: 1) to qualify to championships and 2) to make a statement to the selection committee about why they should be considered for the five-woman Olympic team.

2024 American Classic field

Senior

• Sage Bradford — WOGA Gymnastics/Flower Mound, Texas
• Jade Carey — Oregon State University Training Center/Philomath, Ore.
• Chloe Cho — Gymnastics Olympica USA/Canyon Country, Calif.
• Norah Christian — Cascade Elite West/Bremerton, Wash.
• Nicole Desmond — World Champions Centre/Wind Gap, Pa.
• Gabby Douglas — WOGA Gymnastics/Anna, Texas
• Tatum Drusch — Flips Gymnastics/White Bear Lake, Minn.
• Addison Fatta — Prestige Gymnastics/Wrightsville, Pa.
• Cambry Haynes — Adrenaline Gymnastics Academy/Evergreen, Colo.
• Jazmynn Jimenez — Gymnastics Olympica USA/Santa Clarita, Calif.
• Sunisa Lee — Midwest Gymnastics Center/St. Paul, Minn.
• Myli Lew — San Mateo Gymnastics/Belmont, Calif.
• Taylor McMahon — Metroplex Gymnastics/Flower Mound, Texas
• Annalisa Milton — Great American Gymnastics Express/Lee’s Summit, Mo.
• Malea Milton — Great American Gymnastics Express/Lee’s Summit, Mo.
• Zoey Molomo — Metroplex Gymnastics/McKinney, Texas
• Marissa Neal — Great American Gymnastics Express/Blue Springs, Mo.
• Jazlene Pickens — Buckeye Gymnastics/Pickerington, Ohio
• Brooke Pierson — World Champions Centre/Canby, Ore.
• Michelle Pineda — Metroplex Gymnastics/Allen, Texas
• Joscelyn Roberson — World Champions Centre/Texarkana, Texas
• Lacie Saltzmann — Texas Dreams Gymnastics/Coppell, Texas
• Audrey Snyder — First State Gymnastics/Annapolis, Md.
• Izzy Stassi — Performance Gymnastics Academy/Delaware, Ohio
• Ashlee Sullivan — Metroplex Gymnastics/Richardson, Texas
• Brynn Torry — World Class Gymnastics/Yorktown, Va.
• Sabrina Visconti — Nohas Gymnastics Academy/Revere, Mass.
• CaMarah Williams — EDGE Gymnastics – Riverside/Kansas City, Mo.
• Kelise Woolford — Buckeye Gymnastics/Columbus, Ohio

Junior

• Isabella Anzola — Georgia Elite Gymnastics/Statham, Ga.
• Harlow Buddendeck — RGA/Rochester, N.Y.
• Charleigh Bullock — Capital Gymnastics National Training Center/Spotsylvania, Va.
• Ally Damelio — San Mateo Gymnastics/San Mateo, Calif.
• Celia Frith-Carvalho — Bull City Gymnastics/Godwin, N.C.
• Sadie Goldberg — Buckeye Gymnastics/Bexley, Ohio
• Gabrielle Hardie — Twin City Twisters/Sioux Falls, S.D.
• Greta Krob — IGN/Tipton, Iowa
• Caroline Moreau — Texas Dreams Gymnastics/Keller, Texas
• Lila Richardson — Hopes and Dreams Gymnastics/Springdale, Ariz.
• Alessia Rosa — Hill’s Gymnastics/East Hanover, N.J.
• Maliha Tressel — Twin City Twisters/Eagan, Minn.
• Camie Westerman — Hill’s Gymnastics/Frederick, Md.
• Trinity Wood — Capital Gymnastics National Training Center/Waldorf, Md.