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Simone Biles, Suni Lee And Other Stars Missing From U.S. Classic Lineup

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Simone Biles and Skye Blakely and Jade Carey and Suni Lee and Jordan Chiles and Shilese Jones

The U.S. Classic returns to Hoffman Estates, Illinois, on July 18–19, but for the first time since 2022, the winner is guaranteed to be an athlete other than Simone Biles.

Biles won the title in 2024, followed by five-time World medalist Shilese Jones and eventual two-time Olympic teammate Jordan Chiles in third. Biles has won the crown seven times in her storied career.

In fact, not one of 2024’s podium finishers will compete this weekend.

1. Simone Biles

Seven-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles has not yet indicated intent to return to gymnastics. Instead, the sport’s most decorated athlete just returned home from a victorious ESPY Awards, where she won the awards for Best Female Athlete and Best Championship Performance. “I’m really enjoying my time off before I decide (on competing),” Biles told Olympics.com in April.

2. Shilese Jones

Shilese Jones was almost guaranteed a bid for the 2024 Olympic team but ultimately lost her spot due to an untimely injury at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Instead, the former World all-around silver and bronze medalist will appear at this weekend’s event as a coach, helping guide younger athletes at the Hopes Championships.

The 22-year-old has appeared at a pair of U.S. National Team camps this year, but has not shown full routines or outlined a return.

3. Jordan Chiles

Jordan Chiles wrapped a spectacular season with the UCLA Bruins in April. The then-junior led the team to a Big Ten Championship and National Runner-Up title, picking up an individual win on the uneven bars. Though Chiles has shown impressive training footage, the 24-year-old has not yet expressed her intent to return to the elite ranks and remains focused on her incoming senior year with the Bruins.

4. Suni Lee

Two-time Olympic Champions Suni Lee and Jade Carey also remain undecided on their returns to the competitive stage. Lee claimed hardware alongside Biles at last week’s ESPYS, winning the award for Best Comeback Athlete. The Minnesota native has made numerous promotional appearances at sporting events nationwide.

5. Jade Carey

Jade Carey wrapped a near-perfect career with the Oregon State Beavers in April and appears to be still training. However, like Chiles, the Olympic and World Champion has not shown full routines or expressed a clear intent to return.

6. Skye Blakely

Though she fell short of the Olympic team due to another untimely Achilles tear, two-time World team champion Skye Blakely is set to make her elite return at August’s U.S. Championships in New Orleans. Tiana Sumanasekera, one of the 2024 Olympic alternates, will also return to the stage in August, opting to skip the U.S. Classic to nurse a nagging ankle injury.

Who’s Competing In Chicago

As a result, the only member of the gold medal-winning team to compete this weekend is the youngest athlete from the 2024 U.S. Olympic delegation, 17-year-old Hezly Rivera. Rivera headlines a young and relatively inexperienced competitive field that will star 2024 Olympic alternates Leanne Wong and Joscelyn Roberson.

Wong, a World all-around silver medalist, won the title in 2022 and is expected to contend for her second win this weekend.

As one of the few premier meets of the U.S. elite gymnastics season, the U.S. Classic has long been a key meet for athletes to test their readiness and build experience heading into August’s Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships. The ‘Classic’ also serves as the final qualifier for athletes seeking berths to the championships.

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GYMNASTICS

Jordan Chiles Reveals Teammate Simone Biles ‘Gave Me Hope’

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Jordan Chiles and Simone Biles

Jordan Chiles Reveals Teammate Simone Biles ‘Gave Me Hope’ When She Almost Quit Gymnastics | Video

A few years ago, Jordan Chiles was close to quitting the sport she’d loved since she was a child. That is, until her best friend — and fellow gold medal-winning Team USA gymnast — Simone Biles talked her into staying, the Olympian told Power Women Summit attendees Tuesday morning in her Keynote Speech.

“In 2018, I was struggling mentally, physically, emotionally, and I began to doubt if this work still had a place for me. The weight of expectations, the fear of failure, the pressure of being perfect, and the hurt caused by being overlooked made me question everything,” Chiles said. “I learned that the system wasn’t built for people who looked or even acted like me. For so long, I was told that in order to achieve my dream, I had to fit into a space that felt unnatural.”

The athlete further explained, “It was my best friend Simone who gave me hope and a new path to my dream when I was about to give it up.”

As the Olympic keynote speaker told Elle earlier this year, “Every single time I went into a competition, I was like, ‘Well, what are they going to say this time?’ I was racially attacked. I was always told, ‘You’re not the typical gymnast. You look like a man. You’re too muscular.’”

Speaking on the Summit’s theme of “Aspire,” Chiles added, “The journey from aspiration to reality is never a straight line. My career has been defined, not only by the time I soared, but by the time I experienced deep hurt and disappointment and then chose to rise again.”

Jordan Chiles and Simone Biles
PARIS, FRANCE – JULY 25: (L-R) Jordan Chiles and Simone Biles of Team United States pose for a photo during a Gymnastics training session in the Bercy Arena ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 25, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

She also praised “women who refused to accept limits, who showed us that not only do we belong in these spaces, but we can thrive and redefine them.” And Chiles called out her doubters, who questioned her childhood goal to one day “stand on the podium with a gold medal around my neck.”

“News flash for the people who said that would never happen, I think gold definitely is my color,” Chiles beamed as the audience laughed.

Chiles was a member of the gold medal-winning team at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, as well as the silver medal-winning team at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. A bronze individual medal that was awarded to her in the 2024 Olympics for her floor exercise was, controversially, revoked by an arbitration court, and given to Romanian Ana Bărbosu instead.

“I have no words. This decision feels unjust and comes as a significant blow, not just to me, but to everyone who has championed my journey,” Chiles said in a statement at the time. “To add to the heartbreak, the unprompted racially driven attacks on social media are wrong and extremely hurtful.”

At the Power Women Summit, she said that competing often took a heavy toll on her mental and physical well-being, adding, “I learned that I would have to change the culture and rebuild what society believed was acceptable.”

“But each time I’ve been knocked out, I found a way to stand back up, wipe the tears and go again, not just for myself, but for every little Black girl watching me, for every child dreaming big and waiting to see someone who looks like them rise above the noise and success,” Chiles continued. “My journey is our open door.”

TheWrap’s Power Women Summit is the essential gathering of the most influential women across entertainment and media. The event aims to inspire and empower women across the landscape of their professional careers and personal lives. With the theme, “Aspire,” this year’s PWS provides one day of keynotes, panels, workshops and networking. For more information visit thewrap.com/pws. For all of TheWrap’s Power Women Summit 2024 coverage, click here.

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