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LOUISVILLE, Kentucky – Kayla DiCello is starting the Olympic year strong.
DiCello, who last year won the overall title at the Pan American Games after being an alternate for the world team, won the Winter Cup on Saturday. He wasn’t even close either. DiCello finished with a score of 56.85 points, more than two points ahead of Skye Blakely.
DiCello scored a 14 or higher on every event and earned the highest score on vault, uneven bars and floor exercise. She was also the only contestant who did not have to count a fall.
Blakely recovered from a fall on bars, her first event, and finished in 54.65. Reigning US junior champion Hezly Rivera, making her senior debut, came in third with 54 points. Trinity Thomas was fourth.
The Paris Games begin on July 26.
But that’s getting ahead of ourselves a bit. Let’s focus on the Winter Cup for now.
It’s not Suni Lee’s day at the Winter Cup
This was not the comeback Suni Lee wanted.
The reigning Olympic champion adopted what was already a watered-down routine on the balance beam and scored just 12.9. This follows two falls on uneven bars, including the release move he hopes to be the first to do.
Lee looked disappointed as she stepped off the podium after beam, and was consoled by both coach Jess Graba and Laurent Landi, who coaches Simone Biles.
Lee had been struggling with her beam frame series and she and Graba made the decision to eliminate it. Her routine was going well until she did an aerial somersault. She was off-center in the air and her foot slipped off the side of the beam upon landing.
Simone Biles approves
Simone Biles likes what she sees at the Winter Cup.
Biles isn’t competing here (she and her husband are at a wedding, according to her Instagram account), but she’s watching. “The girls are not playing this year,” Biles said in a post after the third rotation.
He followed it up with another post that only had three fire emojis.
One more left for the Winter Cup
Kayla DiCello has the Winter Cup title all but assured.
DiCello, who was an alternate for both the Tokyo Olympic and World Cup teams last year, has a 2.10 point lead heading into the final rotation. In a sport where gymnasts are often separated by tenths, that’s a huge advantage.
DiCello has 42.55 points and has topped 14 in all three events so far.
The race for second place is much closer, with only four tenths separating the gymnasts from second to fifth place.
Suni Lee falls in skill
After looking so good in training, Suni Lee discovered the skill she hopes will be named after her.
Lee is doing a release move where he lunges off the top bar and does a full forward roll into an extended position before grabbing the bar again. He did it at least twice on Friday in training for the podium and once during warm-ups on Saturday. But he hit the top bar with his hands and couldn’t grab it, falling to the mat.
He fell back into his routine, one of two he’s doing at the Winter Cup, and scored an 11.8.
Kayla DiCello is halfway to the title
Pan American Games overall champion Kayla DiCello is halfway to another title.
DiCello leads the Winter Cup after two events with 28.250 points, posting the highest scores yet on both vault (14.2) and floor exercise (14.050). She is 0.70 points ahead of Skye Blakely, who has been part of the US team that won the title at the last two world championships.
Trinity Thomas is third with 27.25 points and reigning US junior champion Hezly Rivera, making her senior debut here, is fourth with 26.75 points.
Welcome back, Trinidad Tomás!
Trinity Thomas sure doesn’t look rusty.
The Winter Cup is Thomas’ first elite-level competition since 2019, and she opened with a 14.050 for a magnificent uneven bars routine. That tied Kayla DiCello’s floor exercise score for the highest in the first rotation.
Thomas hasn’t exactly been sitting on his couch these last five years. She excelled at Florida, winning the Honda Award as the nation’s top collegiate gymnast in both 2022 and 2023. She also shares the NCAA record of perfect 10.0s, with 28.
A difficult start for Skye Blakely
Skye Blakely, favorite for the all-around title after being part of the U.S. teams that won gold at the last two world championships, has some ground to make up after a fall on her first event, uneven bars. Blakely was doing a backflip from the low bar to the high bar and couldn’t grab the bar. The crowd gasped as she fell to the ground.
Blakely earned a score of 13.050 (her routine has a starting value of 5.8), but she will likely have to excel in the remaining four events and get help from other gymnasts.
Warm welcome for Suni Lee at the Winter Cup
No wonder, reigning Olympic champion Suni Lee received the biggest applause during the presentations.
Lee was always going to be one of the main attractions at the Winter Cup and now, after Gabby Douglas retired, she is the center of attention. It is her first meet since she had to withdraw from the world team selection camp in September due to kidney disease that limited her training.
The second loudest cheers might have gone to Trinity Thomas, who returns to elite competition for the first time since 2019. Thomas excelled at the collegiate level at Florida. There was also loud applause for Kayla DiCello, who won the all-around title along with a team gold at the Pan American Games last fall.
When does Suni Lee compete?
Suni Lee participates in two Winter Cup events, uneven bars and balance beam. Because of the way the draw went down, she won’t be in either of the first two rotations, which should last about an hour.
Her first event will be bars and she is the last competitor in the group of eight gymnasts. That means you should expect to see it around 2:45 pm Eastern Time. On beam, she is the second gymnast in the second half of the rotation. Or around 3:15 p.m.
Will Simone Biles compete in the Winter Cup?
Simone Biles will not compete in the Winter Cup.
He already qualified for the national championships as a member of last year’s world team (the Winter Cup is a qualifier for nationals) and typically doesn’t start his competitive season this early. Look for her at the US Classic, which will be held on May 18 in Hartford, Connecticut.
What happened to Gabby Douglas?
Gabby Douglas, the 2012 Olympic champion, would return to compete for the first time in almost eight years in the Winter Cup. But she announced Thursday afternoon that she is tested positive for COVID and will not be able to compete.
“I was so excited to get back on the competition court, but unfortunately, I just tested positive for COVID :(,” Douglas wrote in part in an Instagram post. “…I’m devastated, but I’ll see you guys soon!” !”
What is this new skill that Suni Lee is doing?
It’s a release movement on uneven bars called the full twist Jaeger. Lee lunges off the top bar and does a full forward roll into an extended position before grabbing the bar again. He hopes to go to the World Cup in Baku next month. If Lee practiced the skill there, he would be named after him.
Do men compete in the Gymnastics Winter Cup?
Yes. Shane Wiskus leads fellow Tokyo Olympian Yul Moldauer by 0.4 points after the first day of the two-day competition. Wiskus scored an 84.450 and was in the top three in three of the six events. His 14.550 was the day’s highest floor exercise score.
“I had a great time today and I just hope to have a little more fun on Sunday. And then have a little more fun at the (U.S.) championships and keep that momentum going,” Wiskus said. “I think I focused too much on my career and got too wrapped up in performance goals and results and all that. These last few matches are for me and only me.”
Moldauer also placed in the top three in three of the six events, but was injured in a fall near the end of his pommel horse routine.
Day 2 is Sunday.
Two-time U.S. champion Brody Malone, returning from a serious knee injury last year, participated in three events: pommel horse, still rings and parallel bars. He earned the third highest score of the day on bars and was fifth on pommel horse.
When is the USA Gymnastics Winter Cup?
The women’s competition is from 1 to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
How to Watch the USA Gymnastics Winter Cup
You’re going to need your computer. Or your phone. The Winter Cup is only available at USA Gymnastics Youtube channel.