The road to Paris will make a stop in Katy, Texas for the American Classic, as some of the nation’s top gymnasts will hope to make a statement ahead of a busy summer competition schedule.
The American Classic, which takes place Saturday, April 27, is one of two remaining qualification opportunities for the Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships (May 30 - June 2), which serves as the qualifier for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials (June 27-30).
Recommended Videos
How to watch the American Classic
Both sessions of the American Classic will stream live on FlipNow. The major headliners, including Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas, Suni Lee, and Jade Carey, as well as world gold medalist Joscelyn Roberson, will compete Saturday at 2:45 p.m. ET.
| American Classic (Junior Division) | 10:45 a.m. ET | ||
| American Classic (Senior Division) | 2:45 p.m. ET |
Who is competing at the American Classic?
One of the sport's most anticipated comebacks will take place at the American Classic as the three-time Olympic gold medalist Douglas is expected to compete for the first time since the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Douglas, who was supposed to make her competitive return at the Winter Cup earlier this year, withdrew after testing positive for COVID-19. She told NBC Olympics that she plans to compete in the all-around.
Tokyo Olympic all-around champion Lee is also expected to compete, focusing solely on vault and balance beam, according to an update from USA Gymnastics on Wednesday, April 24.
Since February 2023, Lee has been dealing with a kidney-related illness which ended her career at Auburn University earlier than planned and resulted in her making the decision to remove her name from contention for a spot on the U.S. team for the 2023 World Championships.
At the Team USA Media Summit on April 15, Lee reported that she’s in remission and feeling better than ever.
“Right now (my routines are) still a little modified,” Lee said. “I think I'm at a good spot, though. I don't want to peak too early. So it feels normal. I feel like I'm going at a good pace. I'm getting all my routines back and working on consistency.”
SEE MORE: Olympic champion Suni Lee is ready to make a push for Paris with kidney disease in remission
Also expected to compete in Katy is Tokyo Olympic floor champion Carey, who is fresh off another stellar NCAA season with Oregon State University – finishing second all-around at the NCAA Championships.
The world will also get its first glimpse of world team gold medalist Roberson, who returns to competition on uneven bars and balance beam after a leg injury forced her to withdraw from the team competition and vault event final at the World Championships last fall in Antwerp.
What’s at stake?
While the American Classic historically isn’t considered to be a high-stakes competition, it could be an important step for athletes like Douglas, who still need to qualify for the national championships.
The score requirement for senior athletes is a 51.00 in the all-around, a 39.00 on three events or a 26.40 on two events.
For athletes who don’t meet the score requirement at the American Classic, the Core Hydration Classic will be the final opportunity.