© John Cheng

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 20, 2016 – The U.S. rhythmic group finished 14th today during group rhythmic gymnastics qualifications at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Competition was held at the Rio Olympic Arena and marks the conclusion of USA Gymnastics’ participation in the Games.

The U.S. group, which consists of North Shore Rhythmic Gymnastics’ Kiana Eide of Norhbrook, Ill., Alisa Kano of Glencoe, Ill., Natalie McGiffert of Northbrook, Jennifer Rokhman (replacement athlete) of Northbrook, Monica Rokhman of Northbrook and Kristen Shaldybin of Highwood, Ill., is the first U.S. rhythmic group to qualify to the Games and just the second to participate (the U.S. had a rhythmic group at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta as the host country).

In their first rotation, five ribbons, the USA scored 13.908. Performing to classical music, the group suffered some uncharacteristic drops but recovered well to end strong with their blue, white and pink ribbons connected in a line.

The group began their six clubs, two hoops performance with the clubs connected and interlocking. They performed clean catches throughout their performance and synchronized ponche turns. They posted a 16.316 for a 30.224 total.

The group competition wraps up tomorrow. The leaders going into the finals are Spain (35.749), Russia (35.516) and Belarus (35.433). All-around finals for the individual rhythmic are today at 2:20 p.m. ET.

Ways to follow the action

  • NBCOlympics.com. Live coverage of competition will be available online at NBCOlympics.com. The schedule is listed below.
  • USAGym2016.com. The Olympic Games is easier than ever to follow online. Athlete bios, schedules, results and more are available at usagym2016.com, which is easily viewable on smart phones and other digital devices.
  • USAGym.org. The USA Gymnastics official website is a great source for information about the sport: latest news, the schedule of its premier events, athlete biographies, videos, photo galleries and more.
  • TeamUSA.org. The U.S. Olympic Committee’s website is also a good resource for information on the Team USA in Rio.
  • Social Media. USA Gymnastics is providing live updates and exclusive content, including interviews and photos, on Facebook and Twitter (@USAGym).