© John Cheng

ST. LOUIS, June 24, 2016 – Three-time U.S. and World all-around champion Simone Biles of Spring, Texas/World Champions Centre, leads the senior women’s all-around after the first of two days at the 2016 P&G Gymnastics Championships at the University of at Saint Louis (Mo.) University’s Chaifetz Arena. Competition continues tomorrow with the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Gymnastics, which will determine the U.S. Olympic Men’s Gymnastics Team, at 7 p.m. CT, and the junior men’s P&G Championships at 1 p.m. CT. The women’s P&G Championships wrap up on Sunday, June 26. Tickets are still available for the two final days of the gymnastics showcase, which has a fan fest open to the public.

The P&G Championships, which has athletes competing on the junior and senior levels, will crown the U.S. titles and national teams for women’s and junior men’s gymnastics and will determine which female gymnasts qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Women’s Gymnastics in San Jose, Calif. Performances in St. Louis will determine the five-man U.S. Olympic Team and replacement athlete spots who will represent Team USA at the Rio Olympic Games, pending approval by the United States Olympic Committee.

Biles, who has the opportunity to become the first woman to win four-straight U.S. titles since Joan Moore Gnat in 1971-74, posted a 62.900 to sit atop the all-around standings. Two-time Olympic gold-medalist Aly Raisman of Needham, Mass./Brestyan’s American Gymnastics, tied for second with MG Elite’s Lauren Hernandez of Morganville, N.J., at 60.450. Two-time 2012 Olympic gold-medalist Gabby Douglas of Virginia Beach, Va./Buckeye Gymnastics, is fourth at 58.900. Madison Kocian of Dallas/WOGA, completed the top five with her 58.150.

Maile O’Keefe of Las Vegas, Nev./ Academy of Gymnastics – Salcianu Gymnastics, leads the junior all-around standings with a 57.050. Riley McCusker of New Milford, Conn./MG Elite, is on her heels at 56.450. Rounding out the top three is Gabby Perea of Geneva, Ill./Legacy Elite Gymnastics, with a 55.500.

Event scores for top three in the senior all-around

  • Simone Biles: 62.900, all-around; 16.000, vault; 15.100, uneven bars; 15.700, balance beam; 16.100, floor exercise.
  • Aly Raisman: 60.450 (2T), all-around; 15.350, vault; 14.150, uneven bars; 15.350, balance beam; 15.600, floor exercise.
  • Laurie Hernandez: 60.450 (2T), all-around; 15.050, vault; 15.300, uneven bars; 15.300, balance beam; 14.800, floor exercise.
  • Gabby Douglas, Virginia Beach, Va./Buckeye Gymnastics: 58.900, all-around; 14.800, vault; 15.100, uneven bars; 14.200, balance beam; 14.800, floor exercise.
  • Madison Kocian: 58.150 (5), all-around; 13.800, vault; 15.450, uneven bars; 14.400, balance beam; 15.600, floor exercise.
  • MyKayla Skinner: 57.550, all-around; 15.200, vault; 13.450, uneven bars; 14.200, balance beam; 14.700, floor exercise.

Top senior event scores: vault, Simone Biles, 16.000; uneven bars, Ashton Locklear, 15.600; balance beam, Simone Biles, 15.700; floor exercise, Simone Biles, 16.100.

Scores for top gymnasts who did not do the all-around

  • Ashton Locklear, Hamlet, N.C./Everest Gymnastics: 15.600, uneven bars (top score); 14.450, balance beam.
  • Maggie Nichols, Little Canada, Minn./Twin City Twisters: 14.600, uneven bars; 13.900, balance beam.

Event Information

The June 23-26 competition schedule, along with Fan Fest times, is listed below; all times are in the Central time zone and subject to change.

U.S. Olympic Trials – Men’s Gymnastics

  • Saturday, June 25 – 7 p.m.; Fan Fest, 5-6:30 p.m.

P&G Gymnastics Championships

  • Saturday, June 25, junior men – 1 p.m.
  • Sunday, June 26/SLUCare Day at the Championships, junior women – 1 p.m.; senior women – 7:30 p.m.; Fan Fest, 5:30-7 p.m.

Tickets are still on sale through with prices depending on session and seat location. Tickets may be purchased at Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 800-745-3000, Ticketmaster outlets, and at the Chaifetz Arena Box Office.

Performances in St. Louis will determine the five-man U.S. Olympic Team and replacement athlete spots who will represent Team USA at the Rio Olympic Games. The P&G Championships, which has athletes competing on the junior and senior levels, will crown the U.S. titles and national teams for women’s and junior men’s gymnastics and serves as the last opportunity for female gymnasts to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Women’s Gymnastics in San Jose, Calif.

Ways to follow the action

Television, webcast and YouTube coverage

 

  • Live competition coverage.
    • Television. NBC will air the final three days of competition from St. Louis live. In addition, NBCSN will provide live television coverage of the first night of men’s competition. The schedule is listed below.
      • June 25 – Men’s Olympic Trials, 9 p.m. ET, NBC
      • June 26 – Women’s P&G Championships, 9 p.m. ET, NBC
    • NBC Live Extra. Live simulcast coverage of all four nights of competition will be available through NBC Live Extra on iOS and Android devices, or online at the links below. The schedule is as follows:
    • USA Gymnastics Webcast. With analysts 2008 Olympic medalists Samantha Peszek and Raj Bhavsar, USA Gymnastics will provide live webcast coverage of all four junior competitive sessions from the P&G Championships. Former NCAA and Big Ten champion Evan Heiter will join Peszek and Bhavsar as the host. The webcasts will be available worldwide free of charge at StLouis2016.com/live.
      • June 25 – Junior Men – 2 p.m. ET
      • June 26 – Junior Women – 2 p.m. ET
  • USA Gymnastics on YouTube. USA Gymnastics will post coverage of the events in St. Louis, including nearly every competition routine for the women’s P&G Championships, after the conclusion of the event, interviews from media day and post-competition, and clips from podium training.
  • Online. The P&G Gymnastics Championships and U.S. Olympic Trials is easier than ever to follow online. Schedules, general event information, start lists, live scoring, and more are available at StLouis2016.com, which is easily viewable on smart phones and other digital devices.
  • Social Media. USA Gymnastics is providing live updates and exclusive content, including videos and photos, from the P&G Championships and U.S. Olympic Trials on Facebook (facebook.com/USAGymnastics) and Twitter (@USAGym). Gymnastics fans can follow the action easily and join the conversation on Twitter by using the official hashtag of the weekend, #StLouis2016.
  • myusagym iOS app. Fans can follow the scores from the events in St. Louis live using the myusagym app for iOS devices available in the iTunes store. Those without iOS devices, can follow the scores at myusagym.com with any mobile device or desktop computer.

The St. Louis Sports Commission is the local host for both events.

The trials and nationals for men’s and women’s gymnastics are being held separately to accommodate the differences in scheduling needed to properly identify and prepare athletes for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The P&G Gymnastics Championships for the senior men were staged June 3-5 at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn., and determined the men competing at the men’s Olympic Trials. The last time the men’s and women’s national championships were held at different times and locations was in 2008. The U.S. Olympic Trials – Women’s Gymnastics is set for July 8 & 10 at SAP Center at San Jose (Calif.). The last time the men’s and women’s trials were held separately was in 1976.

The U.S. Olympic Team Trials for all sports are a collaborative undertaking between the U.S. Olympic Committee, the national governing bodies and the local organizing committees.

Background information

  • Chaifetz Arena at the Saint Louis University. Chaifetz Arena (TheChaifetzArena.com) is a 10,600-seat multipurpose venue on the campus of Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri. Spectra Venue Management, operators of Chaifetz Arena, is the industry leader across a full range of services that impact the bottom-line success of public assembly venues, including marketing and sales, corporate partnerships, event booking, ticket services and box office management, customer service, operations and engineering, and finance and administration. Spectra by Comcast Spectacor is the expert in hosting and entertainment, partnering with over 300 clients at 400 global properties to create memorable experiences for millions of visitors every year. Spectra’s expertise is embodied within three divisions: Venue Management (formerly Global Spectrum), Food Services & Hospitality (formerly Ovations Food Services), and Ticketing & Fan Engagement (formerly Paciolan). Learn more at SpectraExperiences.com.

  • St. Louis Sports Commission. The St. Louis Sports Commission is the privately-funded nonprofit organization that grows, strengthens and moves St. Louis forward through sports. The organization uses the power of sports to enhance the area’s quality of life and generate economic and social benefit for the St. Louis region.