| USA Gymnastics Names its Women’s Worlds Team |
| By Sally Haase September 18, 2013 Eleven of the nation’s top female gymnasts made the trek to New Waverly, Texas to the Bela and Marta Karolyi ranch for the final test. The final tests would narrow down the members of the Team USA who will compete in the World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium at the end of the month. The women spend about a week at the camp where they perform their routines for the Karolyi’s and others on the selection committee. A bad performance at the ranch does not necessarily mean that you will not make the team. Many factors are put into place when choosing the right gymnasts to compete, their performance throughout the past year is looked at, as it the difficulty and execution of their routines are looked at, and medal probability. The 2013 Worlds will not feature a team competition but it will still have event and all-around medals to be awarded. The 2013 team consists of four and one alternate, all five selected are experienced in international competition and two of the five have Olympic medals on their resume. The members are Simone Biles, Brenna Dowell, McKayla Maroney, and Kyla Ross. Elizabeth Price was named as an alternate. The Karolyi’s have to feel great about their selections; first of all you have Olympic champions Maroney and Ross leading the team. Ross will be in the running for the all around title with her steady hand approach and great lines that the international judges love. Maroney is the reining world champion on vault and took first place on vault and floor exercise in the P & G Championships in August. Maroney will certainly compete on vault, but she is in the mix for floor and possibly the all- around. Biles just barley held off Ross to win the all-around in the P & G Championships and she placed second on all four individual events. Another excellent all-around gymnast for the United States. Dowell, along with Maroney will likely be the team specialists; Dowell placed third in the all-around and the uneven bars at the P & G Championships. The team will train for a few more days at the Karolyi ranch, then return to their home gyms to train with their respective coaches before traveling to Worlds. |
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