Guide to U.S. Olympic Team Gymnastics Trials events (2024)

The trials, held Thursday through Sunday at the Target Center, feature some of the country's most elite athletes, including the aforementioned "GOAT," Simone Biles, and resident-favorite, St. Paul-native and Tokyo all-around gold medalist Sunisa Lee.

Performing each event at the highest level, the men and women competing for their chance to represent Team USA in Paris still have their strengths and weaknesses — and event by event, for better or worse, they will undoubtedly be on display.

FLOOR EXERCISE

The men's and women's competitions both begin with the floor exercise but vary in execution.

Tumbling and choreography skills are highlighted during their performances — women accompanied by music, men without — but is also a chance for athletes to showcase their personalities, rhythmic abilities and stamina.

USA Gymnastics says to look for choreography that "flows freely" between dance and gymnastics elements, showing strength and technique as they cover the entire allotted floor area (40' by 40') in varying directions and levels of movement.

While each routine runs less than two minutes — 90 seconds for women, 70 seconds for men — athletes competing in the floor exercise may still find it difficult to maintain energy and power throughout their performance, despite the routine's level of difficulty.

If a gymnast's routine is reallyimpressive, the athlete might even have the Federation of International Gymnastics (FIG) named after them — just ask Biles, the namesake of two floor moves:

VAULT

Routines vary by athlete, but USA Gymnastics says no matter who's up on vault, spectators should expect explosive performances from both the men and women.

The vault is characterized by quick, intense movements as they propel themselves over the vaulting table at full sprint and flip or twist back onto the mat. In doing so, athletes put their power, technique, speed, spatial awareness and ability to land successfully on one's feet on display.

According to FIG, the more twists and saltos (a flip or somersault with the feet coming up over the head and the body rotating around the axis of the waist) in the performance, the more difficult the vault value.

Again, ask Biles what she thinks of difficult vault routines, having had two of the hardest skills ever performed by a woman on vault named after her.

WOMEN-ONLY EVENTS

UNEVEN BARS

Uneven bars involve swinging elements around two asymmetric bars, which the athletes will continuously release momentarily before reattaching. Upper-body strength, coordination and timing are essential for these routines as athletes flow seamlessly through each transition.

The low bar should measure approximately 5.4 feet, while the high bar should measure approximately 8 feet. The space between them is approximately 6 feet.

BALANCE BEAM

Balance beam also tests the body as much as the mind. The event involves tumbling, acrobatics, choreography and dance elements on a beam measuring just short of 4 inches wide.

Each routine should run about a minute and a half in length, as gymnasts move up and down the beam attempting to cover its entire length — without falling off its edge. Audiences can expect athletes to incorporate techniques like turns, jumps and splits before attempting a dramatic dismount hoping to end in a "stuck" landing.

Each beam is about 4 feet high and about 16.5 feet in length.

Again, one mustn't look any further than Simone Biles to see how the routine should be done.

MEN-ONLY EVENTS

PARALLEL BARS

Like the women's uneven bars, the parallel bars require excellent upper-body strength and flawless transitions from one move to the next. Also like the uneven bars, a successful parallel bar routine tests the athlete's coordination between body and mind, swinging from bar to bar and sometimes losing sight of one or both bars completely.

Athletes will incorporate skills like front and back saltos between bars, handstands and backward dismounts in the pike position.

Both bars measure approximately 6.4 feet from the ground and span horizontally approximately 11.5 feet. Their widths measure between 16.5 and 20.5 inches.

POMMEL HORSE

The pommel horse is an entirely different animal.

Arguably among the most difficult events in the competition, athletes must exhibit swinging elements, scissor elements, handstands, turns and other techniques, all moving in circular motions and using nothing to touch the pommel horse but their hands.

Like other events, gymnasts are expected to maintain a continuous flow through their transitions, appearing controlled, strong and steady. According to USA Gymnastics, the pommel horse is the only event in which athletes cannot stop or pause during their routines if they make a mistake, instead having to continue their movements while working to correct themselves.

Precision is the name of the game on pommel horse, as gymnasts may have points deducted for errors like improper body placement and shaky dismounts.

The pommel horse is just under 4 feet tall and just over 5 feet in length. The distance between pommels (where athletes hold on) measures 15.5 to 17.5 inches, while the pommels themselves measure about 4.5 inches high.

RINGS

Athletes latch on to wooden rings at the end of two cables, measuring almost 10 feet long and about 9 feet from the floor.

Balance is crucial for the men's rings event as their routine involves swings, holds, handstands in a perfectly straight position, as well as acrobatic dismounts showing full control and incredible strength. All of this while presenting with complete stillness at the end of each skill.

Gymnasts with exceptional upper-body strength tend to score well, as strength moves are incorporated to obtain a high value. USA Gymnastics says it often comes down to the precision of the athlete's dismount when deciding winners.

The cables hang approximately 19.7 inches apart.

HORIZONTAL (HIGH) BAR

Swinging, turning, tucking, releasing, twisting and high-flying dismounts hallmark the horizontal bar event.

In it, gymnasts must hold onto a steel bar about 9 feet off the ground, touching the bar only with his hands while performing a litany of skills in clean, repeated movements without interruption. Gymnasts are required to release the bar and become visibly airborne before re-grasping it at least once during their routine. They also much include changes in grips with both forward and backward swinging movements.

For a good score, gymnasts must generally perform a high, acrobatic dismount before sticking a clean landing.

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