Simone Biles shows upgrades, wins 2024 Core Hydration Classic

HARTFORD, Connecticut – The 2024 Core Hydration Classic did not disappoint in the slightest; it was the first time ever that three three Olympic All-Around Champions (Sunisa Lee, Simone Biles, and Gabby Douglas) competed in the same competition.

Arguably the most competitive group in a long time, the athletes, the gymnastics, and the atmosphere was incredible, and as expected, Simone Biles won the all-around with a massive 59.500.

The event winners were:

• Vault: Jade Carey (14.225 average)
• Bars: Shilese Jones (15.25)
• Beam: Sunisa Lee (14.6)
• Floor: Simone Biles (14.8)

Simone Biles came out and did Simone Biles things — she opened the competition with a solid 14.55 on beam, highlighted by her full-twisting double back dismount before moving to floor and putting on a masterclass 14.8 routine, including the return of the triple-double. Biles moved over to vault where she competed the Yurchenko double pike (Biles 2) unspotted for the first time since the 2021 U.S. Classic and over-rotated it with a large step back for a crazy 15.6. She finished the competition with a 14.55 on bars.

(Note: Biles didn’t win vault, despite having the highest individual vault score, because she didn’t compete two vaults Saturday. She is expected to add a second vault in the coming meets.)

Coming in second all-around was Shilese Jones (57.650). At Friday’s press conference, she said a successful weekend meant coming out, hitting four-for-four, and having fun, but she didn’t just hit all four — she killed it. She was actually sitting in first place at the halfway mark of the competition. Her 15.25 gold-medal performance on bars was easily the best of the weekend. The upgraded routine was highlighted by a new and amazing straight Jaeger.

Jordan Chiles took home the bronze medal with a 55.45 and said that, for her, it’s all about having fun — with her gymnastics, teammates, family, and the crowd.

Jade Carey and Skye Blakely rounded out the top five with a 54.4 and 54.35, respectively. After the competition, Carey said that it felt great competing and that she is looking forward to implementing some upgrades for the U.S. championships and Olympic Trials.

Gabby Douglas ended up withdrawing from the competition after the first rotation. The exact circumstances surrounding her decision to withdraw are unknown but were likely influenced by her two falls on bars. Ahead of the competition, she spoke on how excited she was to be competing, in general, and especially how much it meant to compete with such a great group of young gymnasts. While today did not go how she was hoping, the crowd was behind her 100%. The 2012 Olympic all-around champion worked incredibly hard to return to competition. Time will tell what’s next for her moving forward.

Suni Lee competed everything except bars today, and her performance was highlighted by her first place 14.6 beam routine, which included a triple wolf turn, a perfect side aerial to layout-layout step out combination, and a full-twisting piked gainer dismount. Speaking after the competition, Lee said, “I think these competitions have been helping me build my confidence up really well on beam, because, as we all know, it’s just going to come down to bars and beam for me [for Olympic selection].” She said her goal is to compete all-around at championships and Trials and upgrade her vault back to the Yurchenko double full.

Other Olympians competing today included Chiles and Carey. Chiles took third all-around and tied for third on bars with a 14.3. Seeing her positivity and energy while competing was infectious, and she looks strong across the board with room to improve. Carey won vault with two solid runs (Cheng and Yurchenko double full) to score a 14.225 average. Carey also took fifth on floor (13.8) and fourth in the all-around, despite a fall on bars.

A routine that needs to be highlighted is Kaliya Lincoln’s floor. Her 14.0 included a massive straight double-double to open the routine, and she dismounted with a straight front full through to double back — an incredibly impressive routine start to finish.

Konnor McClain’s return to elite competition was highly anticipated. You almost couldn’t tell that she hadn’t competed elite since winning the U.S. title at championships in 2022; she opened the competition with an amazing beam routine, good enough for a 14.2, and third place behind Lee and Biles. Unfortunately, she was injured during floor warmups in the second rotation and was carried off the floor before being wheeled out of the arena in a wheelchair. She scratched the remainder of the meet.

The Core Hydration Classic was the first step for these gymnasts on the road to qualifying for the five woman U.S. Olympic Team later this summer. The next step is the U.S. championships in Fort Worth, Texas in less than two weeks, where these gymnasts will try to qualify for Olympic Trials in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the end of June.

Keep reading for our full play-by-play from inside the XL Center.

---

Sat. May 18 @ 8:56p.m. ET

End of Session 2 Results

Vault

1. Simone Biles (15.6)
2. Shilese Jones (14.35)
3. Jade Carey (14.3)

Bars

1. Shilese Jones (15.25)
2. Simone Biles (14.55)
3. Trinity Thomas (14.3) – Tied
4. Jordan Chiles (14.3) – Tied

Beam

1. Simone Biles (14.55)
2. Sunisa Lee (14.5)
3. Konnor McClain (14.2)

Floor

1. Simone Biles (14.8)
2. Shilese Jones (14.0) – Tied
3. Kaliya Lincoln (14.0) – Tied
4. Tiana Sumanasekera (13.9)

All Around

1. Simone Biles (59.5)
2. Shilese Jones (57.65)
3. Jordan Chiles (55.45)

Recap and combined results coming soon – stay tuned!

---

Sat. May 18 @ 8:48p.m. ET

Suni Lee nails the triple wolf turn and perfect hits her side aerial layout layout stepout combo before dismounting with a piked gainer full off the end – 14.6

Jade Carey goes 13.45 on beam

Shilese Jones spins fast for her triple wolf turn – great double double first pass – double layout second pass (chest slightly down) and front through to double back to finish – great way to finish the night for her.

---

Sat. May 18 @ 8:45p.m. ET

Skye Blakely’s second vault is a half on lay half off – hop out of bounds on the landing – 13.875

The crowd is fighting for Simone’s attention as she smiles and waves!

Jordan Chiles looks great on bars and waves to the crowd as she heads off the podium with the crowd still chanting her name – 14.3

Leanne Wong opens with a double double (high but low landing) and follows with a piked double arabian (hop back) – her choreography is on point with her music – 13.25

---

Sat. May 18 @ 8:37p.m. ET

The Final Rotation is underway!

Trinity Thomas has scratched floor

Kaliya Lincoln goes 13.65 with a Yurchenko double full

Kayla DiCello puts a little too much into her Yurchenko double full – bends her legs and takes two steps back – 13.65 as well

Simone Biles hits a solid bars routine to end the night and lets out a smile as she heads off the podium, gives the crowd a wave and they are LOVING it! 14.55 for Simone on bars

Skye Blakely with a clean Yurchenko double full with a hop backwards.

---

Sat. May 18 @ 8:28p.m. ET

Standings after Rotation 3

Vault:

1. Simone Biles (15.6)
2. Shilese Jones (14.35)
3. Jade Carey (14.3)

Bars

1. Shilese Jones (15.25)
2. Trinity Thomas (14.3)
3. Katelyn Jong (14.05)

Beam

1. Simone Biles (14.55)
2. Konnor McClain (14.2)
3. Shilese Jones (14.05)

Floor

1. Simone Biles (14.8)
2. Kaliya Lincoln (14.0)
3. Tiana Sumanasekera (13.9)

All Around

1. Simone Biles (44.95)
2. Shilese Jones (43.65)
3. Jordan Chiles (41.15)

---

Sat. May 18 @ 8:22p.m. ET

Skye Blakely’s full twisting double layout looks almost too easy for her – double front to stag jump is good. I think Skye has the highest double back I’ve seen but she struggles to control the landing and rebounds out of it – 13.25

Leanne Wong’s handspring layout-step out has great control but she falls off on her tucked side-sumi – she finishes with a strong back 5/2 dismount for a 12.4

Trinity Thomas tries to stay warm while they get the cameras set up. She loses control of her double wolf turn and hops off. Comes off again on her side aerial back layout combination – the crowd gets louder to help – tucked gainer full off the end to finish.

Suni waving to the crowd and they are going CRAZY

---

Sat. May 18 @ 8:15p.m. ET

Score update for Kayla DiCello is a 12.65 on floor

Jade Carey falls on bars but finishes well with a stuck half half dismount – 12.85

Jordan Chiles hits a super clean and controlled Yurchenko double full (small hop) for a 9.1 execution and a 14.1 score

---

Sat. May 18 @ 8:09p.m. ET

Rotation 3

Joscelyn Roberson competes the Cheng but tucks her body and lands low – second vault is a Yurchenko double full (she just sneaks in the last 1/2 twist) – 13.425

Shilese Jones hits the standing Arabian and finishes a great beam routine with an upright double back dismount – 14.05

Kaliya Lincoln opens with a MASSIVE straight double double on floor and dismount with a straight front full through to double back (slight hop forward) – 14.0

Kayla DiCello starts with a large double double (slightly underrotated) but sits down her second pass.

Simone Biles does Simone Biles things and over-rotates a Yurchenko Double Pike that I think got close to 10 feet above the table – 15.6

---

Sat. May 18 @ 7:58p.m. ET

Standings after Rotation 2

Vault

1. Shilese Jones (14.35)
2. Jade Carey (14.3)
3. Leanne Wong (13.95)

Bars

1. Shilese Jones (15.25)
2. Trinity Thomas (14.3)
3. Leanne Wong (13.85)

Beam

1. Simone Biles (14.55)
2. Konnor McClain (14.2)
3. Skye Blakely (13.85)

Floor

1. Simone Biles (14.8)
2. Tiana Sumanasekera (13.9)
3. Jade Carey (13.8)

All Around

1. Shilese Jones (29.6)
2. Simone Biles (29.35)
3. Jade Carey (28.1)

---

Sat. May 18 @ 7:55p.m. ET

Simone Biles is Simone Biles, there’s no better way to explain it. She opens with the best triple double I’ve ever seen (she literally rebounds out of it) then follows with a straight full through to tuck double double and her signature Biles (double layout 1/2) before dismounting with a sky-high double layout – 14.8

I think Skye Blakely has the coolest mount on beam; front handspring front tuck with the tiniest balance check to cap off a solid beam routine – 13.85

Tiana Sumanasekera finishes the second rotation with a huge full twisting double layout to open her routine.

---

Sat. May 18 @ 7:46p.m. ET

Score update: Joscelyn Roberson scores a 12.3

Kayla DiCello hits the triple wolf turn and looks calm and collected on the beam finishing with a solid back 5/2 dismount – 13.5

Leanne Wong catches the Pak full (Bhardwaj) and a finger tip catch on the Maloney then STICKS the double layout dismount – 13.85

---

Sat. May 18 @ 7:40p.m. ET

Rotation 2 has begun

Sunisa Lee vaults a clean Yurchenko full – 13.15

Trinity Thomas fights for the handstand and finishes with a stuck double layout – 14.3

Jordan Chiles is one of the best performers – her floor is not only full of high flying tumbling (full twisting double layout) but she looks like she is having more fun than the fans (and they are having a blast) – 13.35

Shilese Jones catches the straight jaeger and NAILS her routine for an ENORMOUS 15.25 on bars!

Jade Carey competes the Cheng and does lands upright with a small hop; second vault is a clean Yurchenko double full with a small hop – 14.225

Joscelyn Roberson opens her routine with a HUGE double double layout but falls on the front through to double back but finishes with the crowd clapping along!

---

Sat. May 18 @ 7:30p.m. ET

BREAKING NEWS – GABBY DOUGLAS HAS WITHDREW FROM THE COMPETITION; KONNOR MCCLAIN WAS CARRIED OFF THE FLOOR DURING THE ONE-TOUCH

---

Sat. May 18 @ 7:28p.m. ET

Rotation 1 Standings

Vault

1. Shilese Jones (14.35)
2. Leanne Wong (13.95)
3. Trinity Thomas (13.0)

Bars

1. Addison Fatta (13.65)
2. Skye Blakely (13.2)
3. Kaliya Lincoln (13.1)

Beam

1. Simone Biles (14.55)
2. Konnor McClain (14.2)
3. Jordan Chiles (13.7)

Floor

1. Jade Carey (13.8)
2. Ashlee Sullivan (13.15)
3. Suni Lee (13.0)

All Around

1. Simone Biles (14.55)
2. Shilese Jones (14.35)
3. Konnor McClain (14.2)

---

Sat. May 18 @ 7:25p.m. ET

Kayla DiCello falls on her Maloney but finishes the rest of the routine well for a 12.7

Konnor McClain sticks her standing full and hits an awesome beam routine to score a MASSIVE 14.2 for her first elite meet back since US Champs in 2022

Simone Biles makes the beam seem a lot wider than 4 inches – everything was rock solid and stood up her full twisting double back dismount for a 14.55

---

Sat. May 18 @ 7:16p.m. ET

Gabby Douglas falls on bars after back to back to hiccups on her turns; falls a second time and the crowd is helping cheer her up – 10.1

Joscelyn Roberson is solid on beam, minimal balance checks and a landed double pike dismount – 13.45

Suni Lee goes 13.0 on floor on her first floor routine since early 2023

Jordan Chiles goes 13.7 on Beam

---

Sat. May 18 @ 7:08p.m. ET

Rotation 1:

Leanne Wong beautiful Yurchenko double full – 13.45

Skye Blakely falls on bars but finishes strong with a double front half dismount – 13.2

Tiana Sumanasekera is calm and collected and starts the day with a hit on beam – 13.0

Jade Carey reminds us why she’s the reigning Olympic champ on floor – huge routine to open the night – 13.8

Shilese Jones with the clean Yurchenko double full on vault – 14.35

Suni Lee looks like she’s having fun on floor, slight hiccup on the wolf turn but recovered nicely

---

Sat. May 18 @ 6:41p.m. ET

Warmups have finished! The gymnasts are getting ready for the Opening Ceremony. The crowd is hyped up and everyone is ready for Session 2 to get underway!

---

Sat. May 18 @ 6:30p.m. ET

Jordan Chiles getting the bar crowd hyped up!

Heading to the last rotation of warmups

Jade Carey shows a huge full twisting double layout on floor

Leanne Wong warming up two vaults (Yurchenko and Half-On)

Gabby Douglas on bars – WOW

---

Sat. May 18 @ 6:15p.m. ET

Warm ups rotation 3!

Shilese Jones puts up a huge double double on floor

Simone struggling a little to find the handstands on bars

Suni is warming up beam!

Gabby shows a huge Yurchenko double full

---

Sat. May 18 @ 6:04p.m. ET

Jordan Chiles over-rotates a huge Yurchenko double full

Simone’s first vault of the weekend is a Yurchenko double pike (no spot) – slightly underrotated but very very high – second go around is even higher and over-roated!

Team WOGA (Gabby, Skye, and Kaliya) are looking great on floor!

---

Sat. May 18 @ 5:55p.m. ET

Suni is in the building!

Warmup Rotation 2 is underway and everyone looks comfortable and confident!

---

Sat. May 18 @ 5:45p.m. ET

Simone looks ON today with a near perfect triple-double to start warmups!

Shilese Jones catches a beautiful high-flying layout Jaeger and hits perfect handstands on bars!

---

Sat. May 18 @ 5:40p.m. ET

Event Warmups have begun!

Simone Biles and WCC start warm ups on floor, Suni Lee is on vault and Gabby Douglas is on Beam!

Doors just opened and people are grabbing their seats – great atmosphere here in the XL Center!

---

Sat. May 18 @ 5:35p.m. ET

---

Sat. May 18 @ 5:30p.m. ET

Session 2 open stretch is underway! Start lists will be uploaded shortly – Suni Lee is not listed under bars.

---

Sat. May 18 @ 4:10p.m. ET

Session 1 has concluded! Marissa Neal is your all-around leader with a 52.95.

Coverage for Session 2 will begin with warmups soon and the competition will start at 7pm EST.

Results from Sessions 1 and 2 will be combined for the award ceremony after Session 2 has finished.

---

Sat. May 18 @ 4:07p.m. ET

Session 1 Final Standings

Vault

1. Jayla Hang (13.95)
2. Brynn Torry (13.85)
3. CaMarah Williams (13.75)

Bars (4-way tie for first)

1. Ly Biu (13.55) – Tied
2. Simone Rose (13.55) – Tied
3. Nola Matthews (13.55) – Tied
4. Marissa Neal (13.55) – Tied
5. Zoey Molomo (13.4)
6. Kieryn Finnell (13.05)

Beam

1. Jayla Hang (13.9)
2. Evey Lowe (13.55) – Tied
3. Madray Johnson (13.55) – Tied
4. Lacie Saltzmann (13.2) – Tied
5. Nola Matthews (13.2) – Tied
6. Marissa Neal (13.2) – Tied

Floor

1. Reese Esponda (13.4)
2. Nicole Desmond (13.25) – Tied
3. Evey Lowe (13.25) – Tied
4. Simone Rose (13.2)

All Around

1. Marissa Neal (52.95)
2. Evey Lowe (52.7)
3. Nola Matthews (52.4) – Tied
4. Madray Johnson (52.4) – Tied
5. Simone Rose (52.2)

---

Sat. May 18 @ 3:45p.m. ET

Nola Matthews finishes the day strong with a 13.2 – she currently sits tied in third with Madray Johnson

Reese Esponda puts on a tumbling masterclass with a huge back double double and double layout to help her finish the day with a 13.4 and take the lead on floor

Evey Lowe falls out of a handstand on bars but finishes strong with a full twisting double back dismount to end with a 12.6 which puts her in second all around behind Marissa Neal

CaMarah Williams falls twice on beam (layout connection and leap combination) to close the competition with a 10.15

---

Sat. May 18 @ 3:34p.m. ET

The Final Rotation in Session 1 has begun!

Marissa Neal catches her Pak full (Bhardwaj) and stick her full twisting double back dismount good for a 13.65, putting the pressure on Evey Lowe and Madray Johnson

Jayla Hang puts up a huge 13.95 on vault

Madray Johnson does a Yurchenko 3/2 with a medium step on the landing for a 12.9

---

Sat. May 18 @ 3:25p.m. ET

End of Rotation 3 session leaders:

Vault

1. CaMarah Williams (13.75)
2. Reese Esponda (13.6)
3. Marissa Neal (13.4)

Bars

1. Simone Rose (13.55) – Tied
2. Nola Matthews (13.55) – Tied
3. Zoey Molomo (13.4)
4. Madray Johnson (13.05)

Beam

1. Jayla Hang (13.9)
2. Evey Lowe (13.55) – Tied
3. Madray Johnson (13.55) – Tied
4. Marissa Neal (13.2)

Floor

1. Evey Lowe (13.25)
2. Simone Rose (13.2)
3. CaMarah Williams (13.0)

All Around

1. Evey Lowe (40.1)
2. Madray Johnson (39.5)
3. Marissa Neal (39.4)

---

Sat. May 18 @ 3:20p.m. ET

CaMarah Williams makes her Jaeger to Pak salto connection and lands her full twisting double back dismount for a 12.15

Reese Esponda has a handful of balance checks on beam but finds her rhythm with a controlled side aerial and double back dismount to score a 12.05

Simone Rose showcases a powerful back 3/2 to front 2/1 opening pass – follows up with a whip to double back connection and a controlled triple wolf turn to go 13.2

---

Sat. May 18 @ 3:10p.m. ET

Rotation 3 is in full swing!

Jayla Hang has a solid presence on floor , struggles slightly on her back 3/2 front 1/1 connection pass but keeps it on her feet before finishing strong and scoring a 12.2

Nola Matthews catches her jaeger and stalder tkachev to top off a solid bar routine for a 13.55

Evey Lowe does a clean Yurchenko 3/2 but her foot ever so slightly touches out of bounds for a 13.3

---

Sat. May 18 @ 2:57p.m. ET

End of Rotation 2 session leaders are:

Vault:

1. CaMarah Williams (13.75)
2. Reese Esponda (13.6)
3. Izzy Stassi (13.3)

Bars:

1. Simone Rose (13.55)
2. Zoey Molomo (13.4)
3. Madray Johnson (13.05)

Beam:

1. Jayla Hang (13.9)
2. Evey Lowe (13.55) – Tied
3. Madray Johnson (13.55) – Tied
4. Marissa Neal (13.2)

Floor:

1. Evey Lowe (13.25)
2. CaMarah Williams (13.0)
3. Nola Matthews (12.9)

All Around:

1. Evey Lowe (26.8)
2. CaMarah Williams (26.75)
3. Madray Johnson (26.6)

---

Sat. May 18 @ 2:45p.m. ET

Hezly Rivera has a solid beam routine including a side aerial and handspring layout step out but puts her hands down on the double pike dismount to score a 12.45

Jayla Hang settles into her rhythm on beam with a double wolf turn and a bouncy back handspring back full combination before dismounting with a stuck double back dismount for beam lead with a 13.9

---

Sat. May 18 @ 2:35p.m. ET

Rotation 2 has begun

Simone Rose falls off the beam on her handspring layout series and bobbles on her front aerial but dismounts with a nice back 5/2 for an 11.9

CaMarah Williams shows a powerful Yurchenko double full on vault for a 13.75

---

Bars:

1. Simone Rose (13.55)
2. Madray Johnson (13.05)
3. Chloe Cho (12.8)

Beam:

1. Evey Lowe (13.55)
2. Marissa Neal (13.2)
3. Kieryn Finnell (12.5)

Floor:

1. CaMarah Williams (13.0)
2. Nola Matthews (12.9)
3. Cambry Haynes (12.75)

All Around:

1. Reese Esponda (13.6)
2. Simone Rose (13.55) – Tied
3. Evey Lowe (13.55) – Tied
4. Brooke Pierson (13.25)

---

---

Sat. May 18 @ 2:08p.m. ET

Rotation 1 is underway!

CaMarah Williams (EDGE Gym) starts the competition on floor with a full twisting double layout, front through to double back, and dismounts with a solid double pike for a 13.0

Reese Esponda (WCC) landed a clean Yurchenko double full on vault for a 13.6

---

Sat. May 18 @ 1:58 p.m. ET

---

Sat. May 18 @ 1:40p.m. ET

Session 1 warmups have finished and the gymnasts are getting ready to walk in!

---

Sat. May 18 @ 1 p.m. ET

Welcome inside XL Center, where senior women’s competition at the 2024 Core Hydration Classic will begin with session 1 at 2 p.m. ET.

---