Artistic Gymnastics 2024 Paris Olympics Preview

Men’s Team All-Around

Japan and China have medalled at the last four Olympics, and both would expect to compete again. Japan are the world champions having won silver in 2022 and at the Tokyo Olympics. They were also beaten by China in the 2023 Asian Games. China were runners-up in the 2019 and 2023 World Championships after winning the 2022 World title. The United States were the bronze medal winners in 2023 after finishing fourth in 2018 and 2019. Great Britain took that position in 2023, after winning the bronze in 2022. They also won the 2022 Commonwealth Games and European Championships. In 2023, Italy won the European Championship after finishing fourth in the 2022 World Championship. Switzerland finished fifth at the 2023 World Championship and sixth at the Tokyo Olympics. Turkey has been winning medals at recent European Championships without taking gold, but if everyone is fit they may have the best chance of putting together a contending set of scores. Canada, Germany, Spain, Ukraine and the Netherlands are outsiders, but it does only take a few incredible scores to be contending. 

It feels like Japan has the strongest overall team, so I will pencil them in for gold. I do expect it to be a fierce battle though. It will likely come down to China, Great Britain and the United States battling for the other medals. The United States have the youngest team, with room for improvement, but the Chinese team have been so consistently good and were missing some of their stronger names in 2023. Great Britain will also point to potentially having a stronger team out, but I am not sure if they can consistently hang onto the strong scores from the other nations. I think all four score over 250. 

🥇Japan 🇯🇵

🥈China 🇨🇳

🥉United States 🇺🇸

Men’s Individual All-Around

Japan has won a medal in this event at every Olympics since 2004. They have the reigning Olympic and double world champion in Daiki Hashimoto (Japan). Compatriots Wataru Tanigawa (Japan), who won bronze in 2022, and Kazuma Kaya (Japan) will also expect to be in contention. Zhang Boheng (China) was the 2021 world champion and won at the 2023 Asian Games. He also finished second in the 2022 World Championship. Illia Kovtun (Ukraine) was second in 2023 after winning bronze in 2021 and is only 20. Also 20 is Fred Richard (United States), who won a dramatic bronze at the 2023 World Championship despite a fall on the high bar. Brady Malone (United States) was fourth in 2022, with Asher Hong (United States) sixth. Jake Jarman (Great Britain) appears the leading British hope of a strong team, having won at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and finished fifth in the 2022 World Championship, but he does have clear weaknesses. Turkey also have a strong group. Adem Asil (Turkey) was the 2023 European champion. He finished third in 2022, a place behind Ahmet Onder (Turkey) who came fifth in the 2021 World Championship. Fifth in 2023 was Milad Karimi (Kazakhstan). Sun Wei (China) has a World Championship fourth and fifth in the past, as well as finishing fourth in Tokyo. Felix Dolci (Canada) won at the 2023 Pan-American Games, while Joe Fraser (Great Britain) and Carlos Yulo (Philippines) have both won continental medals. Oleg Verniaiev (Ukraine) was runner-up at the 2024 European Championship.

Hashimoto has the highest upside, as well as showing remarkable consistency in the big events. His main threat is probably Boheng, who is another competitor with the capability of scoring 14s in every event. Wei is consistently in the 14s as well but without the upside of his teammate. Everyone else has a bit more of a weakness. Kovtun, Jarman and Richard struggle on rings. Malone, Karimi, Dolci, Yulo and Fraser all struggle on the pommel horse. Tanigawa and Hong do not tend to perform well on the high bar. If any manage to perform a strong routine in their weakness, they have the real ability to medal, especially those who can score high 14s or 15s. I think the bronze medal battle comes down to whoever the second Japanese competitor is, Fred Richard, Jake Jarman and Sun Wei. 

🥇Daiki Hashimoto 🇯🇵

🥈Zhang Boheng 🇨🇳

🥉Fred Richard 🇺🇸

Men’s Floor

Artem Dolgopyat (Israel) enters almost any competition as favourite. He is the reigning Olympic and world champion and has pretty much won it all. No gymnast is unbeatable though, and he lost out to Luke Whitehouse (Great Britain) at the 2023 European Championship. Compatriot Jake Jarman (Great Britain) is the Commonwealth champion, while Harry Hepworth (Great Britain) won a 2024 World Cup event in Cottbus. In 2021, the world champion was Nicola Bartolini (Italy), before he finished fifth in 2022. The final world champion in the field is Carlos Yulo (Philippines), who took the crown in 2019. He could only finish fourth in 2023 but did take a World Cup victory in Doha. Taking victory in Cairo was Illia Kovtun (Ukraine), while Milad Karimi (Kazakhstan) won the Baku event before going on to take a 2023 World Championship bronze medal. Daiki Hashimoto (Japan) won the 2022 silver medal. Ryo Sung-hung (South Korea) will look to improve on his fourth-place finishes at the 2021 World Championship and the Tokyo Olympics. Compatriot Kim Han-sol (South Korea) has made many major championship finals and won the 2023 Asian Games, ahead of Zhang Boheng (China). Felix Dolci (Canada) won the 2023 Pan-American Games, while Fred Richard (United States) is also capable of competing at his best.

Dolgopyat is the favourite, but he can be beaten. Behind him, several fierce competitors are lined up. Along with Dolgopyat, the likeliest person to score over 15 is Yulo. However, he remains inconsistent and having to potentially perform three strong floor routines may be beyond him. Hashimoto will have a manic schedule but is definitely capable. The British competitors and Karimi have high-difficulty routines that will allow them to medal if they execute. Richard potentially needs to increase his difficulty although the signs are he is more than capable. I think Yulo will potentially fold in the final. I will go with the consistency of Dolgopyat.

🥇Artem Dolgopyat 🇮🇱

🥈Milad Karimi 🇰🇿

🥉Luke Whitehouse 🇬🇧

Men’s Pommel Horse

Max Whitlock (Great Britain) has returned to competition in hopes of completing a historic Olympic treble after taking gold in Rio and Tokyo. He is a triple world champion but only finished fifth in the 2023 World Championships. Rhys McClenaghan (Ireland) has won the last two World Championships and is also the reigning European champion. The two European champions before him were both Armenian. Artur Davtyan (Armenia) won in 2021 before taking bronze in 2023. Nariman Kurbanov (Kazakhstan) came fourth in the 2021 and 2022 World Championship but impressed on the 2023 World Cup circuit, winning in Doha and Baku. In 2023, Ahmad Abu al Soud (Jordan) took World Championship bronze, a year after he won silver. Stephen Nedoroscik (United States) was the 2021 world champion. Xiao Ruoteng (China) was the 2018 world champion, improving from bronze in 2017. Compatriot Zou Jingyuan (China) came fourth in the 2019 World Championship. European Championship medalists include Loran de Munck (Netherlands) and Nils Dunkel (Germany). Abdulla Azimov (Uzbekistan) won the 2023 World Cup event in Cottbus. Jake Jarman (Great Britain) and Sun Wei (China) are also potential contenders. 

I have to make Whitlock the favourite here. He came so close to reclaiming the World Championship crown in 2023 and his routine has the highest difficulty, which enables his execution to have some leeway. McClenghan disappointed in Tokyo but now has experience of executing flawlessly, even if his difficulty is lower than some of the opponents. Al Soud, has shown consistency over recent years, while Kurbanov has also shown he can land big scores. Nedoroscik is here purely for the pommel horse, so the pressure will be on but he also has the quality to score over 15. I think Whitlock can land a big routine and put a score up that no one can match. I think Nedoroscik can take silver. Behind him, McClenghan will top the consistent performers to take a medal, whilst I think Kurbanov can land a big performance but will only finish fourth

🥇Max Whitlock 🇬🇧

🥈Stephen Nedoroscik 🇺🇸

🥉Rhys McClenghan 🇮🇪

Men’s Rings

Eleftherios Petrounias (Greece) will be looking to regain the Olympic title he won in 2016 after winning bronze in Tokyo. He has four World Championship medals, three golds with the silver coming in 2023. Looking to retain his title from Tokyo will be Liu Yang (China). He is the reigning world champion as well and also won a 2023 World Cup event in Doha. He is not the only Chinese competitor who will be expecting to medal in this discipline, with Zou Jingyuan (China) who won silver in 2022 also competing. Another former world champion is Adem Asil (Turkey) who won gold inn 2022 and was the 2023 European champion. Winning silver was Vahagn Davtyan (Armenia), who came fourth in the 2023 World Championship. Samir Ait Said (France) was fourth in the 2017 World Championship and the Tokyo Olympics. He won bronze at the 2019 World Championship and has been on the podium at three World Cup events this year. Another former world champion is Ibrahim Colak (Turkey) who won in 2019. He made the Tokyo Olympic final and is also a former European Champion from 2020. Wataru Tanigawa (Japan) won bronze at the 2023 Asian Games. Harry Hepworth (Great Britain) reached the 2023 World Championship final but could only finish eighth.

China could have three medalists here, if three men could compete in the final and the selections were not limited. Instead, it will likely be Yang with Jingyuan as a possible contender. Petrounias has also been remarkable consistent, and I would expect those three to definitely be in the final. Davtyan remains consistent but perhaps doesn’t have the upside of some of the others. Asil is a danger to break into the podium positions. I think Petrounias gets his third Olympic medal, which would make him the most successful rings performer in the Olympics of all time, but Asil puts together a big routine to take silver.

🥇Liu Yang 🇨🇳

🥈Adem Asil 🇹🇷

🥉Eleftherios Petrounias 🇬🇷

Men’s Vault

The reigning world Champion is Jake Jarman (Great Britain). The flying Brit also won the 2022 Commonwealth Games and European Championship. He could only finish second in the 2023 European championship behind Artur Davtyan (Armenia), who reversed the order from 2022. In 2022, he was also the world champion and won Olympic bronze in Tokyo. Third in both the 2022 and 2023 European Championships after winning it the two years prior, was Igor Radivilov (Ukraine). He is a four time World Championship medalist and won bronze back at the 2012 Olympics. Winning bronze at the 2023 World Championship was Nazar Chepurnyi (Ukraine). Carlos Yulo (Philippines) disappointed, having been a world champion in 2021 and finishing second in 2022. He also finished fourth in the Tokyo Olympics. Wataru Tanigawa (Japan) is an Olympic veteran, having won the team gold medal in Tokyo. He won the vault at the 2023 Asian Games. Audrys Nin Reyes (Dominican Republic) was the winner of the 2023 Pan-American Games. The Turkish pair of Adem Asil (Turkey) and Ahmet Onder (Turkey) both made the final in Tokyo. Asher Hong (United States) will probably have his sights set on the all-around competition but can compete here. Lee Jun-ho (South Korea) made the final in 2022 but could only finish sixth. Harry Hepworth (Great Britain) was a finalist in 2024, finishing seventh, and has made the podium of a World Cup event, each of the last two seasons.

To win the gold medal, vaulters will probably need to average 15. This allows gymnasts to decide whether they are risking the big moves for gold but will potentially miss out on a medal. I think the gymnasts who have the ability to hit those marks are Jarman, Davtyan, Yulo, Hong, and Tanigawa. It does make this probably the hardest gymnastics event to call. Davtyan tends to be the most consistent of that group, so I expect him to medal. I think Hong causes a bit of a surprise and medals over Jarman.

🥇Carlos Yulo 🇵🇭

🥈Artur Davtyan 🇦🇲

🥉Asher Hong 🇺🇸

Men’s Parallel Bars

Zou Jingyuan (China) is the reigning Olympic champion and has won three world titles. The current world champion is Lukas Dauser (Germany), who also won silver the year prior and at the Tokyo Olympics. The other Olympic medalist was Ferhat Arican (Turkey), winning bronze. He won the European Championship in 2020 and 2021 but could only win silver in 2023. Beating him was Illia Kovtun (Ukraine), who has also dominated the World Cup events in 2022 and 2023. Carlos Yulo (Philippines) did win in Baku and has also won World Championship silver in 2021 and bronze in 2022. Kazuma Kaya (Japan) finished fourth in 2023 after winning bronze in 2019. The world champion that year was Joe Fraser (Great Britain), who also won both Commonwealth and European gold in 2018. Former Olympic and world champion Oleg Verniaiev (Ukraine) will compete after his drug ban was reduced on appeal. Daiki Hashimoto (Japan) has a fourth place finish from the 2021 World Championship. Robert Tvorogal (Lithuania) and Thierno Diallo (Spain) have both won European bronze medals. Other potential contenders include Noe Seifert (Switzerland), Jake Jarman (Great Britain), Asher Hong (United States) and Fred Richard (United States). 

Again, I generally want to pick the gymnasts who have a high difficulty. Dauser and Jingyuan combine the potential for high scores with consistency. Kovtun is also getting to a similar place. Yulo is a bit more hit and miss. Arican, and Hashimoto will also potentially expect to compete. Verniaiev can compete at his best but I’m not sure he can reach those levels. I think Jingyuan can continue his dominance of this event by scoring close to 16. Dauser will follow with a score in the high 15s and I think Kovtun call follow those two home. 

🥇Zou Jingyuan 🇨🇳

🥈Lukas Dauser 🇩🇪

🥉Illia Kovtun 🇺🇦

Men’s Horizontal Bars 

Daiki Hashimoto (Japan) will enter the competition as favourite. He is the reigning Olympic and World champion, having finished second in the two World Championships prior. The winner in 2022 was Brody Malone (United States) who improved on his bronze in 2021 and a fourth at the Tokyo Olympics. Tin Srbic (Croatia) won silver in the Tokyo Olympics and is a three time World Championship medalist, most recently winning silver in 2023. He was the 2023 European champion, where he beat Carlo Macchini (Italy) into second. Macchini had won the 2022 World Cup event in Cairo. Behind him in third at the European Championship and the 2023 winner in Cairo was Illia Kovtun (Ukraine). China should have multiple contenders. Zhang Boheng (China) made a World Championship final in 2022 and won at the 2023 Asian Games, while Sun Wei (China) finished fourth in the 2022 World Championships. Another former world champion is Arthur Mariano (Brazil), who won his title in 2019. He also came third in the 2022 World Championship and won at the 2023 Pan-American Games. Marios Georgiou (Cyprus) was the 2022 European champion, while Richard Tvorogal (Lithuania) won the 2020 European Championship and has since finished second twice. In the World Cup events this year, he visited each podium spot once. Tang Chia-hung (Taiwan) beat him on his wasy to winning in Doha and Cottbus. Milad Karimi (Kazakhstan) was an Olympic finalist in Tokyo and finished fourth in the 2023 World Championship. Fred Richard (United States) and Xiao Ruoteng (China) are also potential competitors.

China will have a few potential competitors in the final, as Wei and Boheng tend to perform very consistently on this apparatus. Hashimoto is most likely to win an apparatus medal in this event. Srbic is perhaps not at the same level as he was at the past Olympic cycle. Kovtun and Karimi are both potential contenders. Richard is probably too inconsistent to compete but Malone at his best should factor in. Chia-hung should not be dismissed given his 2024 form. I think Hashimoto repeats as Olympic champion with Wei, Karimi and Malone competing for the medals. 

🥇Daiki Hashimoto 🇯🇵

🥈Brody Malone 🇺🇸

🥉Sun Wei 🇨🇳

Women’s Team All-Around

United States have medalled at every Olympics since 1996 but could only win silver in Tokyo as Simone Biles struggled with the twisties. They have dominated the World Championships, with 2010 being the last year they failed to win gold. Russia beat them that year and were also benefactors when they struggled in Tokyo, but will not compete in Paris. China have historically been strong and won at the 2023 Asian Games but could only finish fourth at the World Championships. Brazil took silver, led by Rebeca Andrade, improving on their fourth from 2022. Behind Brazil in 2023 was France and in front of a home crowd, they will be expecting a repeat. Canada won bronze in 2022, finishing behind Great Britain, who also took the Olympic bronze in Tokyo and won the 2023 European Championship. Italy finished behind Great Britain in 2023, having won in 2022 and then winning it back in 2024. They could only finish fourth in Tokyo and have been consistent, finishing fifth at the last two World Championship. The Netherlands also medalled at the 2023 European Championship, winning bronze. Romania have a young team, led by talented Sabrina Maneca-Voinea. Japan also has a young team, but have reached all the recent major finals, but will only compete with four after not replacing Shoko Miyata. It would be a surprise if Australia or South Korea could challenge for medals. 

 

It feels incredibly hard to bet against the United States. They have some of the strongest competitors and would be favourites under almost any team format. Perhaps their own challenge is against history and the legacy that this team creates moving forward. Behind them, should be a great battle. Brazil rely on Andrade and Saravia, but as two of the best gymnasts in the world that may not be a problem. If they can get to 112 points between them, they will expect to medal. Great Britain have a really strong team at it’s best, but injuries have come at the wrong time. France showed their potential at the 2023 World Championship but they relied on incredible performance from Melanie de Jesus dos Santos and, I’m not sure she can repeat despite backing by the home fans. China and Italy will also be strong contenders, while Japan are probably sunk by only having four gymnasts. I do think Great Britain would have been a medal pick before the injuries. Italy are also missing a D’Amato twin and maybe that will be too much for them too overcome. Brazil and France do have high variance which could allow the aforementioned in. Instead, I think those two join United States on the podium with Italy and China making this a great battle for bronze. 

🥇United States 🇺🇸

🥈France 🇫🇷

🥉Brazil 🇧🇷

Women’s Individual All-Around 

Simone Biles (United States) has a strong case as the greatest Gymnast of all time. She is a six time world champion in this event and will look to regain the crown she won in 2016. Taking advantage of her struggles with the twisties in Tokyo was Sunisa Lee (United States), who took gold. Winning silver at the Tokyo Olympics was Rebeca Andrade (Brazil). She also won the 2022 World Championship and came second in 2023. Another World Championship medalist is Ellie Black (Canada), who won silver in 2017. Excluding Russia, no European has won an Olympic medal since Sydney 2000 but this is maybe the strongest fields in a while. Nina Derweal (Belgium) was part of the last Olympic final, coming sixth and also finished fourth at the 2018 World Championship. Asia D’amato was the 2022 European champion but misses out due to injury, while her twin Alice D’amato (Italy) came fifth in the 2023 World Championship. She was beaten to gold at the 2024 European Championships by Manila Esposito (Italy). Winning bronze behind the Italians was Alice Kinsella (Great Britain), who came fourth at the 2022 World Championship, buoyed by the home crowd. Zsofia Kovacs (Hungary) was runner-up at the 2023 World Championships. Melanie de Jesus dos Santos (France) is a former European champion who showed her quality in the team event at the 2023 World Championship. Only 17, Qiu Qiuyan (China) may be the main Chinese hope having finished fourth in the 2023 World Championship, while Ou Yushan (China) came seventh in 2022. Kaylia Nemour (Algeria) will also only be 17, and finished eighth in 2023 but if her weaknesses have been worked on she will be a threat. The Japanese threat comes from Mana Okamura (Japan) who was runner-up at the 2023 Asian Games.

There has been signs of a big three developing in women’s gymnastics. Jones, Andrade and Biles have dominated this recently, but Jones misses this due to injury. Lee is obviously a contender given she is the reigning champion, but her absence surely makes the others look likelier. The battle for best of the rest and the person who could capitalise on any weakness will be fascinating. Gadirova may have been the biggest competitor but injury has ruled her out. De Jesus dos Santos has the ability but seems to fail to deliver on the big stage. Saravia, Black and Kinsella are consistently good in all events, while D’Amato and Qiuyan have clear strengths. Nemour has the upside but maybe not enough polish yet. With Gadirova out, young Qiuyan would be my guess for best of the rest. However, I think the top three is set with Biles and Andrade having an edge over Lee.

🥇Simone Biles 🇺🇸

🥈Rebeca Andrade 🇧🇷

🥉Sunisa Lee 🇺🇸

Women’s Vault

Simone Biles (United States) will be the undoubted favourite here to regain the crown she won in 2016. The Biles II has such a high difficulty threshold that she came second in the 2023 World Championship despite not landing it. Taking advantage of her stumble in 2023 was Rebeca Andrade (Brazil), as she did at the Tokyo Olympics. Jade Carey (United States) was the 2022 world champion after being runner up in 2017 and 2019. Compatriot Jordan Chiles (United States) finished behind her in 2022 ahead of Coline Devilard (France). In 2023, she won the European title and World Cup events in Doha and Baku. Yeo Seo-jeong (South Korea) won bronze at both the 2023 World Championship and Tokyo Olympics, finishing ahead of Alexa Moreno (Mexico) in both of these events. Ellie Black (Canada) has also suffered the disappointment of finishing fourth at a World Championship, in 2017 and 2022. Another pair of teammates could compete, Zsofia Kovacs (Hungary) is a double European champion while, Csenge Backsay (Hungary) has reached two of the last three world finals. Valentina Georgieva (Bulgaria) was runner-up at the 2024 European Championship and has found the podium in three World Cup events this season. An Chang-ok (North Korea) was the winner of the 2023 Asian Games and has finished in the top two at three World Cup events this season.

Biles has the ace card. She didn’t land her Yurchenko double pike vault in the final and still won silver. Her difficulty makes it so hard to see her out of the medals. You have to think that Andrade will be looking to up her difficulty to compete with Biles, but it may leave her vulnerable if she’s unable to land a higher difficult vault. Ultimately, I think those two finish well clear of the field. Devilard has increased the difficulty of her second vault to put her in contention. I think she will compete with Carey, Seo-jeong and Moreno for the final medal. I edge towards Seo-Jeong for whom this will be a priority and she has shown an ability to pull it out the bag when it comes to the big events. 

🥇Simone Biles 🇺🇸

🥈Rebeca Andrade 🇧🇷

🥉Yeo Seo-jeong 🇰🇷

Women’s Uneven Bars

Reigning Olympic champion and 2018 world champion is Nina Derwael (Belgium). However, the last three world titles have gone to China. Qiu Qiyuan (China) was the 2023 world champion in 2023, while there are three other specialistis who have not been picked in the Chiense team. Luo Huan (China) has competed in major finals, but the last was the 2018 World Championship where she came fourth, while Zhang Yihan (China) was a decorated junior who was strong in this event. Alice D’amato (Italy) won the European Championship in 2023 and also claimed World Cup events in 2023 in Cottbus and Cairo. Compatriot Elisa Iorio (Italy) won silver in the 2024 European Championship and the World Cup event in Baku this season. Giorgia Villa (Italy) was twice a runner-up on the 2023 World Cup scene. The United States also has a strong hand. This is Simone Biles’ (United States) weakest discipline, with only one global medal, winning silver in the 2018 World Championship. Sunisa Lee (United States) has bronze medals from the Tokyo Olympics and 2019 World Championship. Silver medalist in 2023, with an exciting routine was Kaylia Nemour (Algeria). Only 17, she grew up in Paris and will be hoping to wow the Paris crowd. Rebeca Andrade (Brazil) is another World Championship medalist, winning silver in 2021. Becky Downie (Great Britain) is another former World Championship silver medalist, coming second in 2019, while compatriot Georgia-Mae Fenton (Great Britain) won the 2022 Commonwealth Games and was bronze medalist at the 2024 European Championship. Zsofia Kovacs (Hungary) is a past European champion, though that success came in 2020. An Chang-ok (North Korea) won the 2023 Asian Games. Both Naomi Visser (Netherlands) and Sanna Veerman (Netherlands) have made the last two World Championship finals. 

China does have a strong team here, though their lineup could have been stronger. Qiyuan will be their number one. Out of the European athletes, it seems D’Amato should have the best chance. Biles could make the final but would not expect to medal. Andrade is probably a safer bet. The wildcard could be Nemour, whose routine at the 2023 World Championship was incredibly fun. I think with another year of experience, her and Qiyuan will be massive competitors for this title. I think they get the medals along with Andrade edging the other contenders for bronze. 

🥇Kaylia Nemour 🇩🇿

🥈Qiu Qiyuan 🇨🇳

🥉Rebeca Andrade 🇧🇷

Women’s Balance Beam

The United States have medalled in each renewal of this since the 2000 Olympics. Simone Biles (United States) may feel disappointed that her Olympic record includes only two bronzes, given she is a five time world champion, including taking gold in 2023. Sanne Wevers (Netherlands) won gold at the 2016 Olympics. She was the 2023 European champion and finished fourth in the 2023 World Championship. Pauline Schafer-Betz (Germany) has won a World Championship medal of every colour, most recently silver in 2021. The 2023 World Championship silver medal winner was Zhou Yaqin (China), while compatriot Ou Yushan (China) finished sixth at the 2022 World Championship. Winner at the 2023 Asian Games was Mana Okamura (Japan), who also won a 2023 World Cup event in Cottbus. There has been two Japanese world champions in recent years but neither is competing. Ellie Black (Canada) won silver at the 2022 World Championship and finished fourth in the Tokyo Olympics. Rebeca Andrade (Brazil) is the current World Championship bronze medalist and won at the 2023 Pan-American Games ahead of Flavia Saraiva (Brazil) who came seventh in Tokyo. Young Sabrina Maneca-Voinea (Romania) won the 2023 World Cup event in Doha, while Giorgia Villa (Italy) took wins in Baku and Cairo. Compariot Manilla Esposito (Italy) won the 2024 European Championship after winning silver in 2023. The 2023 champion was Sanne Wevers (Netherlands), improving on silver in 2021. She was also fourth at the 2023 World Championships. Marine Boyer (France) was fourth at the 2022 World Championship and won bronze at the 2024 European Championship. Compatriot Melanie de Jesus dos Santos (France) is a former European Champion as well, winning gold in 2021, while Alice Kinsella (Great Britain) took gold in 2019.

This is another event that has had a bit of an Asian stranglehold in recent years. Japan have previously dominated but may not bring their best squad to Paris. China, by contrast, will hope Yaqin and Yushan can medal here. These two will probably do the biggest difficult routine along with Biles. This leaves a tall task for most of the other athletes who have to execute incredibly to compete. Esposito is another live contender if at her best. Maneca-Voinea also has a high difficulty but maybe lacks the consistency so it comes down to Andrade or Wevers to try and claim a medal. 

🥇Ou Yushan 🇨🇳

🥈Simone Biles 🇺🇸

🥉Rebeca Andrade 🇧🇷

Women’s Floor

Another event where Simone Biles (United States) will be favourite. She was the 2016 Olympic champion and has six world titles in this discipline, including the 2023 edition. Jade Carey (United States) was the benefactor of her struggles in Tokyo, taking the Olympic crown, before also winning bronze at the 2022 World Championship. Finishing second in the 2023 World Championship was Rebeca Andrade (Brazil), improving on her bronze from 2022. Compatriot Flavia Saraiva (Brazil) won bronze in 2033, having finished fourth in 2019 and fifth in 2018. She beat Sabrina Maneca-Voinea (Romania) into fourth in 2023. The young Romanian also won the 2023 World Cup event in Doha. Kaylia Nemour (Algeria) took the victory in Doha in 2024, while Charlize Moerz (Austria) won in Baku. Zhou Yaqin (China) made the World Championship final in 2023, while Naomi Visser (Netherlands) has made the last two. Jordan Chiles (United States) was the silver medalist at the 2022 World Championships. Manila Esposito (Italy) is the 2024 European champion. Other possible European contenders include Alice D'Amato (Italy), Alice Kinsella (Great Britain), Andrea Andreoli (Italy), Marine Boyer (France) and Melanie de Jesus dos Santos (France). 

Again the edge of Biles mainly comes from her edge in difficulty rating. She isn’t unbeatable but she is favourite and a good performance will give her the gold. Behind her, Carey should be the other American to qualify. Saravia always executes well but may not have the difficulty to compete at the stronger end. Instead, I think it will come down to Andrade and Carey. The outside contender is Maneca-Voinea and I will not be shocked if she does snag a medal. I do think Gadirova would have won a medal here but with the injuries, I think it goes to the big three.

🥇Simone Biles 🇺🇸

🥈Rebeca Andrade 🇧🇷

🥉Jade Carey 🇺🇸