Elite gymnastics round-up: MDJDS headlining U.S. Classic, DiCello deferring, Cairo World Cup

Phew. The post-NCAA champs recovery period is officially over, and elite gymnastics headlines have taken over the gymternet, so let’s dive in, shall we?

While the GOAT’s courthouse wedding was the headline of the weekend, the competition headlines have taken center stage this week. From Melanie de Jesus dos Santos exhibitioning at U.S. domestic meets this summer to Kayla DiCello deferring to train for another Olympic run. Here’s the latest from around the elite gymnastics world:

Our type of French invasion

France’s Melanie de Jesus dos Santos moved to the United States last spring to train at World Champions Centre (WCC) alongside some of the best U.S. elites. Now, stateside gymnastics fans will get to see her in action this summer, as the French Gymnastics Federation and USA Gymnastics have confirmed the Olympian will exhibition at the American Classic (July 6-9) and U.S. Classic (August 4-5).

“Exhibition” means she will receive scores but will not place in the final standings, USAG told Gymnastics Now.

The rest of the U.S. Classic roster will be announced in June, but MDJDS is automatically a headliner for the competition, even if it’s just for funsies. Depending on the field, the bars maven and all-around star could top the field, unofficially, if she brings her A-game to Chicago.

Gators chomping at the bit

Add another Olympic contender to the list because 2020 Olympic Team alternate and 2021 world medalist Kayla DiCello is returning to elite.

The 2023 SEC Freshman of the Year, DiCello has been thriving on the NCAA stage and wasn’t initially expected to defer her sophomore year for a Paris bid, but clearly, the Hill’s Gymnastics product feels like she has unfinished business on the elite stage.

“This has been such an amazing year,” DiCello wrote in a statement shared on social Thursday. “I’m so proud of this team and love all the support my team and Gator Nation have given me!! I want to share my decision to take a gap year and train at home and pursue my goal of the 2024 Olympics. I’ll be supporting the Gators and be back in the O’Dome for the 2025 season. Thank you for all the continued support!”

DiCello’s elite coach, the legendary Kelli Hill, retired when she went off to college last fall, but she’ll be coming out of retirement for this very special occasion.

Denial is a river in Egypt

Arguably one of the coolest world cups on the circuit right now, the Cairo World Cup – the finale of the 2023 FIG Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup series – is set for Thursday, April 27 to Sunday, April 30 in the Egyptian capital.

The U.S. is represented by a four-person delegation, including Donnell Whittenburg, who is making his 2023 season debut and will compete floor, rings, and high bar. Joining him is floor and vault star Kameron Nelson, pommel horse standout Ian Skirkey, and lone WAG Joscelyn Roberson, who is competing all-around.

Follow live scoring here, and additional information is available on the competition website.

Honestly, even if you don’t follow along, just take a moment to appreciate the WOW factor of this event. The marketing, the theming, the visuals. This is the level all world cups should be at.

The women who can do it all

More than 25 junior and senior elites will gather in Katy, Texas, for a women’s national team camp from April 28-May 1. The gathering is also serving as the Pan American Championships selection camp, which will take place May 22-29 in Medellin, Colombia.

The five-person senior team will be named Sunday, along with one traveling alternate. You can see the selection procedures for the team here.

Headlining the camp roster are Jade Carey, Leanne Wong, Konnor McClain, and Shilese Jones. 

Carey and Wong are only two weeks removed from NCAA nationals, where Carey shined on beam as an individual and Wong was a stronghold for the Florida squad, but no time for rest – elite season awaits! Whether the gymnasts are throwing their names into the hat for Pan Ams remains to be seen.

McClain and Jones, meanwhile, have been MIA as they recovered from injuries. McClain is slowly getting back to full strength after a back injury took her out of worlds contention last fall. She’s eyeing the U.S. Classic for her competitive return. Jones has been even more hush hush as of late, but recently shared a clip of her training a fabulous full-twisting double back dismount off beam with a heavily-wrapped left ankle (watch it below!).

See the full list of NTC attendees here.

All signs point to Paris

Another week, another clue that Simone Biles has returned to training.

MDJDS’ French teammate Marine Boyer was stateside this week training at World Champions Centre, and she shared an incriminating (we kid!) photo of the WCC elites during training, casually featuring the GOAT.

Dedicated gymnastics fans have been grasping at every possible clue that Biles is going to make another Olympic run, and the speculation as of late is that she’ll announce her return after her May wedding to fiancé/husband/we-don’t-know-what-to-call-him-right-now Jonathan Owens. 

Biles has been open about being drug tested, something that only happens if you haven’t formally retired, and her coach, Cecile Landi, said she’s been in the gym but has otherwise been cryptic about what that entails, leaving it to the 26-year-old to confirm in her own time.

For now, we’ll take the no makeup and leo look as a clue, a sign, a hint that Biles might have another run in her. 

It’s giving… select a world team on *pure vibes* alone

Big changes are coming for the U.S. men when it comes to world team selection.

Unlike last year, there will be no world team selection camp for the 2023 men’s squad and no automatic qualifiers at the U.S. Championships, per USA Gymnastics’ recently published selection procedures.

The Senior Selection Committee (SSC) will decide the 2023 world team following U.S. Championships by analyzing team scoring scenarios within two points of the top scoring team from the final results (combined Day 1 and Day 2) of this year’s championships and, subsequently, identifying a pool of athletes to be considered. From there, the SSC will consider team scoring scenarios, competition results, and other discretionary criteria to name the team. Petitioning athletes may replace one of the athletes in the team scoring scenarios, as a team member or alternate, if their petition is accepted.

These new procedures are, admittedly, ambiguous and less straightforward compared to last year, when Brody Malone and Whittenburg secured automatic spots on the team based off their performances at championships.

The decision to not have a world team selection camp is surprising, but teams travel to Belgium less than a month after championships, so the short turnaround was probably taken into consideration when deciding whether to hold a separate selection camp.

MAG Foundation USA putting all eyes on U.S. men’s gymnastics

The whispers started last fall, around U.S. Championships. It was clear something was brewing in Florida, and now we know what.

MAG Foundation USA, based at EVO Gymnastics, is a nonprofit focused on getting the U.S. men back on the podium at the Paris 2024 Games and to the top of the podium at the LA 2028 Games.

The foundation is funding five U.S. athletes who have the potential to make the 2024 and 2028 teams, including still rings specialist Alex Diab, pommel horse specialist Stephen Nedoroscik, junior standout David Shamah, 2018 world team member Colin Van Wicklen, and 2020 Olympian Shane Wiskus. And we’re not talking chump change, they-have-to-work-a-second-job “funding”; Wiskus told GymNow that the men are being provided a housing stipend and salary that allows them to make gymnastics their full-time job. And we are here. for. it.

The coaching staff is star-studded, too, and includes three-time Olympian and six-time U.S. all-around champion Sam Mikulak, Olympian Syque Caesar, Jason Furr, and Sergei Pakanich.

Not done yet

4/28 Update: The FIG database was updated Friday morning to show Brown as having an active license representing Haiti.

Denver standout Lynnzee Brown is tentatively set to represent Haiti at the Pan American Gymnastics from May 22-29, pending her FIG license approval.

Pan Ams is a qualifier for September’s world championships in Belgium where Brown would then try to qualify to the Paris 2024 Games.

Brown posted on Twitter last week, shortly after wrapping her college career at NCAA nationals, trying to get in touch with an International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) representative. 

“I was mostly waiting on the logistics. The passport that I would need to prove my Haitian nationality was presenting to be a huge challenge,” Brown told Olympics.com’s Scott Bregman. “They are wanting me to change my last name to my dad’s, and the process of changing your name takes way longer than I had to register to the competition.”

“I think what I’m waiting for is to see my name on the FIG website,” Brown said. “I got an email this morning from the [Haitian] federation asking for more information to sign up for FIG, so hopefully we can still get FIG certification.

“But they are holding a spot for me at Pan Ams, which is great news.”

While her FIG license is in limbo, Brown has shifted gears to getting her routines ready for elite competition and will return to Denver to train through Pan Ams. Before college, Brown trained at GAGE (Great American Gymnastics Express), so if she does continue down the elite path, she’ll have to decide where to train full-time for the year or so.

Caloy army, rise up!

The Southeast Asian (SEA) Games aren’t even giving Carlos Yulo a chance.

“Caloy” as he is lovingly referred to by his fans, is a force to be reckoned with in men’s gymnastics and would undoubtedly dominate the 32nd SEA Games, if he was allowed to compete in all the events.

The all-arounder and multi-event star has won 14 SEA Games medals in his career – seven gold and seven silver – after representing the Philippines at the event in 2019 and 2021, but this year the Cambodia SEA Games organizers put a cap on the number of events athletes can participate in.

Yulo will only compete two events, reportedly parallel bars and the all-around, at the May competition.

“They’re only giving Carlos two apparatuses to compete in because they know he would win everything,” Gymnastics Association of the Philippines present Cynthia Carrion told the Daily Tribune.

Training clip of the week: Shi flies on beam

Jones captioned this clip, “This season?” To which we say, yes, please!