The P&G Championships will be held this weekend and the competition holds tremendous weight for all of the gymnasts competing. For the juniors, it is the final elite meet of the year and they are looking to finish strong and earn a spot on the national team, which will put them in a great position for next year. For the seniors, there is a different kind of pressure and while they want to do their best and earn a spot on the national team as well, they also are looking ahead to the most important competition of the year - World Championships. Seniors want to prove that they deserve a spot on that Worlds team or at least that they have the potential to earn a spot. 

 

While every senior will feel pressure this weekend, some of the top gymnasts have already proven that they would be a great asset to team USA. Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Maggie Nichols, Bailie Key, Kyla Ross, and Alyssa Baumann are front runners for the Worlds team. Below are some of the gymnasts who may have a little added pressure and will be looking to break into the elite group and prove deserve a spot on the team.

 

 

MyKayla Skinner

Skinner was on the 2014 World Championship team and won a gold with the team as well as a bronze on vault. However, there is a lot more competition this year with many juniors becoming seniors as well as Olympians Douglas and Raisman returning. Skinner’s strongest attributes are vault and floor and she is one of only two gymnasts who compete two vaults and therefore one of only two gymnasts who could earn a Worlds medal on vault for USA. Skinner had a minor foot injury before Classics and at Championships she will need to prove that she is back in top shape. She will hopefully compete her Amanar again and it will be crucial for her to nail her floor routine. 

 

Nia Dennis

Dennis is a first year senior and made her debut at Secret U.S. Classic. She competed on vault, bars, and beam but her routines were still not at full difficulty after having an ankle injury earlier in the year then moving gyms right before Classics. She will definitely be looking to compete all-around and will hopefully add back her top skills. It will also be important for Dennis to hit her routines as she struggled with consistency last year. 

 

Brenna Dowell

Dowell made a surprise return to elite after competing in NCAA for the University of Oklahoma this past year. She competed at the Secret U.S. Classic and while she looked strong in training, she had major errors on the two events she competed. On bars, she peeled off on one of her Shaposh moves but she hit the rest of her routine beautifully and still scored a 14.35. She wasn’t on the original list to compete beam but ended up performing her routine. She hit everything up until the dismount when her foot slipped off the beam and she landed her double back on her head. Fortunately, she stood up, saluted, and walked off on her own, but she did scratch the rest of the meet. At Championships she will be looking to prove that she can hit her routines, especially on bars where she could greatly help the team. She will also be debuting a new floor routine with incredible tumbling. 

 

Madison Desch

Desch competed most recently at the Pan American Games where she won gold with the team and silver all-around. That competition was great experience for her and she was able to throw some upgraded routines. However, she did have mistakes particularly with out of bounds on floor and her back layout full series on beam. She will definitely be looking to show improvements with those events as well as cleaning up overall. 


 

Amelia Hundley

Hundley also competed at Pan American Games and had a great showing besides a fall on bars that took her out of the all-around race. She went into the all-around finals as the favorite and her fall was a surprising mistake. Nevertheless, she showed a lot of strength and power and looked to be in great shape. She will be looking to continue that momentum and have a great showing at Championships. 

 

Rachel Gowey

Gowey competed at Pan American Games but a minor ankle injury before the competition held her out of potentially competing all-around. She displayed gorgeous bars and ended up earning gold but had mistakes on beam finals and didn’t medal. Gowey has beautiful gymnastics and difficult skills but for Championships she will need to show consistency on the events she does compete and hopefully she will be healthy enough for the all-around competition.

 

Madison Kocian

Kocian was on the 2014 World Championship team but as mentioned earlier, the competition this year is stiff. Kocian has one of the most difficult bar routines and executes it beautifully. She won bars at Classics with a 15.6. However, with all of the great all-around gymnasts this year, it will be important for Kocian to prove she is strong on more than just bars. She trained floor at Classics on the training day and can be seen performing a Yurchenko double full in this news video so hopefully she is healthy enough to compete all-around at Championships. 

 

Ashton Locklear

Similar to Kocian, Locklear was on the Worlds team and is incredibly strong on bars. However, she too has suffered many injuries and it will be important for her to prove she is not only world-class on bars but that she can also contribute on other events. Whether or not she competes all-around at Championships will depend on her health. 

Which one of these gymnasts do you think has the best shot at making the Worlds team? Tell us in the comments below.

 

Related:
Rankings Heading Into P&G Championships 
Roster for P&G Championships 
Start Lists for P&G Championships