We're inching toward the start of the Olympics in Rio, with podium training for women's gymnastics starting on Thursday, August 4. One of the first tests will come during qualifications on August 7, when the gymnasts will look to qualify into the various finals: team final, all-around final and event finals.

To help you keep track of all the gymnasts competing, we're rolling out guides on who to pay special attention to during qualifications in each event. Today, we're starting with vault, which is a bit unique in that gymnasts must perform two vaults from different groups in the Code.

The gymnasts below are the ones we think have a good shot at making the vault final, which will consist of the top eight qualifiers with a two-per-country rule.

Simone Biles, USA

Biles is one of the top contenders to not only make event finals, but to medal, as well. She already has three world championship medals on the event: a bronze from 2015 in Glasgow, and silvers from 2014 in Nanning and 2013 in Antwerp. Since her performance in Glasgow, Biles upgraded her second vault from a Lopez (5.6 start value) to a Cheng (6.4 start value), and she has proven she can perform the Cheng successfully. On top of that, her Amanar is perhaps one of the best in the world--she scored a 16.0 on it during qualifications at Worlds last year. Check out that vault below:

Video via USA Gymnastics

Maria Paseka, Russia

Paseka is the defending world champion on vault, having won the gold medal in Glasgow last year. She was also a member of the 2012 Olympic team and won bronze in the vault final that year. Paseka performs the same two vaults as Biles: the Amanar and the Cheng. At 2015 Worlds, she put up a 15.633 on her Cheng and a 15.7 on her Amanar to win gold. Paseka is also accomplished on the European stage, and won gold in 2015 in Montpellier. Unfortunately, Paseka is reportedly suffering from a back injury, and will be checked by a doctor on August 3 before podium training to make sure she's fit to compete in Rio. Check out her vaults from the 2015 European Championships below:

Video via europeangymnastics

Hong Un Jong, People's Republic of Korea

27-year old Hong Un Jong is a highly accomplished gymnast on the vault, which has been her specialty over the years. She is already an Olympic champion on the event--she won the gold medal in 2008 in Beijing. She is also a world champion, having won the gold medal in 2014, as well as the silver in 2015 and the bronze in 2013. Like Biles and Paseka, Jong performs the Amanar and Cheng for her two vaults.

Giulia Steingruber, Switzerland

Steingruber is one of the most powerful gymnasts in the world, and it especially shows on vault. Steingruber performs a front handspring, 1.5 twist for her first vault, worth 6.2 in start value. There was some talk that she was going to upgrade to a double twist at European Championships in June, but she stuck with the 1.5, which still won her the gold medal. Steingruber's second vault is a double twisting Yurchenko, worth 5.8 in start value. Steingruber is an accomplished gymnast in the European field, having won three gold medals on vault at European Championships (including the most recent competition in Bern), one silver and one bronze. See her vaults from the European Championships below:

Video via europeangymnastics

Dipa Karmakar, India

Karmakar is the sole competitor from India--in fact, she is the first female gymnast to qualify for the Olympics from her country. She performs the highly difficult Produnova vault, which is worth 7.0 in start value. Karmakar actually performed this vault relatively well at Worlds last year, and landed on her feet (although in a deep squat) to score a 15.3. Her second vault is a Tsukahara with a double twist, worth 6.0. Karmakar's accomplishments include placing fifth in the vault final at 2015 World Championships, winning the bronze medal at the 2015 Asian Championships, and taking home another bronze from the 2014 Commonwealth Games. She also finished in first at the recent Rio Test Event by scoring a 15.1 on her Produnova and a 14.566 on her second vault.

Oksana Chusovitina, Uzbekistan

41-year old Chusovitina is a gymnastics legend. Rio will mark her seventh Olympics, and she has a very good shot of making the vault final yet again. She already won Olympic gold with the Unified team in Barcelona in 1992, as well as a silver medal on vault in 2008. Her Worlds medal count on vault is staggering: one gold (2003), four silver (1991, 2001, 2005, 2011), and four bronze (1992, 1993, 2002, 2006). Chusovitina has been training the Produnova, although she did not perform the vault at the recent Olympic Test Event. Her two vaults that she used at the test event were a front handspring on, 1 ½ twist off (worth 6.2) and a Tsukahara with a 1 ½ twist (worth 5.5).

Ellie Downie, Great Britain

Downie is relatively new to the international field, but she already has a lot of success from both World and European Championships. She helped the team to a bronze medal finish at Worlds last year, and she placed fourth in the vault final. More recently, Downie won the silver medal on vault at the 2016 European Championships in Bern, just 0.05 behind Steingruber. Downie performs a powerful double twisting Yurchenko for her first vault, and a Lopez for her second vault.

Wang Yan, China

Yan is another newcomer to the international field, and turned 16 last year. She helped the Chinese team to their silver medal finish at World Championships in Glasgow, and she finished sixth in the vault final. She also had a successful Asian Championships last year, and earned one of her gold medals on the vault. Her first vault is a Tsukahara with a double twist (worth 6.0) and her second vault is a front handspring with 1 ½ twist (worth 6.2).


Do you have any predictions for who you think will make the vault final? Let us know what you think!