PORTLAND, Ore. — A pair of gymnasts from Oregon and Washington have a chance to return to the Olympic stage in Paris.
The U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team Trials are being held Thursday, June 27 through Sunday, June 30 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Only a small handful will make it to the Paris Olympics.
Two local athletes to watch in the trials this week are Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey. Chiles, a native of Vancouver, Washington, helped the U.S. team win a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Oregon State University's Jade Carey won the gold medal on floor.
Carey has taken Oregon State gymnastics to another level, rewriting the record books. Carey was the 13th NCAA gymnast to achieve a Gym Slam — scoring a perfect 10 on all four events. She was named the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year in 2022 and 2023. She was also named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in 2022, and was a finalist for the Honda Award for three consecutive years.
KGW spoke with Carey ahead of the gymnastics team trials. She said making an impact at Oregon State means everything to her.
"It's just really special to me to be able to hold that and set the standards and hopefully someone will come after me and break it then too," Carey said.
As she competes for a spot on Team USA, Carey is reflecting on lessons learned in Tokyo. In the vault event final, Carey tripped on her run during her first of two vaults, ending her medal chances. But she bounced back by nailing her floor routine, securing a gold medal for the U.S.
"I learned a lot about myself, especially how strong of a person I am because I did have a bad day and then the next day was the best day of my life," Carey said.
Chiles is also making a run at her second Olympics. Before the Tokyo Olympics, she finished third in the all-around at the U.S. Championships and the U.S. Olympic Trials. While she won a silver medal with Team USA, she didn't quality for any individual event finals at the Tokyo Olympics.
At the 2022 World Championships, Chiles led the U.S. team to its sixth straight gold medal. She also won team gold from the 2023 Pan American Games and three gold medals in team, vault and floor from the 2018 Pacific Rim Championships.
At UCLA, Chiles scored eight perfect 10s. Since the end of the 2023 NCAA season, she has been taking a break from college to train for the Paris Olympics.
When are the men's and women's competitions?
The men's competition started on Thursday, June 27, with the second and final day set for Saturday, June 29. The women's competition starts at 4:40 p.m. on Friday, June 28 with the second and final day on Sunday, June 30.
How do gymnasts qualify for Team USA?
There are 10 total Olympic team spots to fill: five for the men and five for the women. Team USA will be announced after the last day of competition: June 29 for the men and June 30 for the women.
The top women's all-around gymnast after the competition will automatically get a spot on the team. A selection committee will pick the four remaining members.
On the men's side, the top-all around gymnast can guarantee his spot on the team if he also places in the top three in at least three events. A selection committee will determine the remaining spots.
How can I watch the trials?
KGW will air some of the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team Trials. Click here to see the programming schedule. The trials can be streamed live on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com and the NBC/NBC Sports apps. To view the complete schedule, click here.
Watch the 2024 Paris Olympic Games on KGW from July 26 - Aug. 11 and the Paralympics from Aug. 28 - Sept. 8. For more coverage leading up to the games, click here.