Olympic alternates Kayla DiCello, Leanne Wong headline US women’s team for 2021 Artistic World Championships
2021 Olympic alternates Kayla DiCello of Hill’s Gymnastics and Leanne Wong of Great American Gymnastics Express (GAGE) will lead the “next generation” of U.S. women’s gymnasts at the 2021 Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan later this month.
DiCello and Wong will be joined by eMjae Frazier (Parkettes) and Konnor McClain (WOGA). Olivia Greaves (World Champions Centre) is the non-traveling replacement athlete.
“This will be the first senior World Championships competition for the members of this team, presenting a unique opportunity for each athlete,” said Annie Heffernon, USA Gymnastics’ Vice President of Women’s Gymnastics. “We are excited that they will be able to gain invaluable experience on the world stage.”
DiCello posted the top all-around score (55.350) on the first day of selection camp to secure an automatic berth to worlds. Frazier, McClain, and Wong were named to the team by the athlete selection committee after a second day of competition on Saturday.
During Friday’s live-streamed competition, DiCello led the six-woman field on vault (14.550), uneven bars (13.950), and balance beam (13.250). Wong, who finished third in the all-around with a 53.400, won floor exercise with a 13.800, edging Frazier’s 13.700 on the event.
The four selected athletes finished in the top four spots in the all-around on Friday, continuing a trend of athletes being selected to teams in rank-order – a selection method Women’s High Performance Coordinator Tom Forster used to name the Olympic team this summer.
Following their performances at this weekend’s selection camp, Frazier, Greaves, and McClain have also been added to the U.S. women’s senior national team.
The 2021 World Championships will take place October 18-24 at the Kitakyushu General Gymnasium. While the meet will not feature a team competition, as is tradition for the worlds following and Olympics, individual titles, including the all-around and event championships, will be up for grabs.
Click here for full selection camp results, and click here for our live blog of the meet.
