Gymnastics: Simone Biles and Gabby Douglas make US Olympic team – as it happened

One more thing. I met Laurie two weeks ago and spent a day with her and her coach, Maggie Haney, and watched them train. You can read the piece and see the video here.

So we’re still waiting as the selection committee are just about done. Good thing NBC were expecting this...surely after these commercials we’ll find out.

Stay tuned.

Love this.

Dale!!!!

MyKayla Skinner on floor and she repeats Raisman’s mistakes as both feet went out of bonds. Skinner did a great job this weekend but it might just not be enough.

And now, the last performance falls to Laurie Hernandez on beam and let me just say this: it was the best beam performance of the weekend. A fantastic dismount and ladies and gentleman, Hernandez is going to Rio. The crowd chant her name and she will be the first US-born latina in more than 30 years to go to the Olympics.

Marta Karolyi and the selection committee walk to the decision room and now we wait.

If you want my opinion here is what I think:

Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Laurie Hernandez, Gabby Douglas, Madison Kocian.

One of the greatest characteristics about gymnasts is the level of unity that they possess. During each performance, all of them, all the ladies are rooting for one another. It really is a lesson for other athletes from different sports. These women are true role models.

Aly Raisman now on the floor and Miss Consistency makes a mistake as both feet went out of bounds after a front layout. The rest of the routine, however, was flawless and the most decorated American gymnast from 2012 is most definitely going to the Olympics.

True knocking.

ALERT: Simone Biles is human. A slight mistake made her lose her balance and fell off beam. No need to worry as first place is locked for this electrifying athlete. Now we wait and see who take the other four spots. We are so lucky to see a gymnast like Simone Biles.

Madison Kocian takes on the floor and nothing went wrong. It was a solid routine and her night is done. Locklear’s scores for beam were 14.300. Both ladies are finished, all up to Karolyi and the selection committee.

Now or never for Ashton Locklear as she takes on beam. There were some shaky moments but all in all it was encouraging. Great landing and we’ll just have to see if it’s good enough to beat Kocian.

Ragan Smith on beam: I have loved everything about this 15-year-old. She is fearless. Her beam routine was excellent. Bela Karolyi, USA’s previous coach and Marta’s husband, salutes the petite gymnast and her coach, Kim Zmeskal who funnily enough was coached by him in the 1992 Olympic Games.

The more you know.

Maggie Nichols on beam: After falling on Friday she delivers a stronger performance with a solid landing. She waves to the crowd, happy with what she did. Nichols’s night is done and she should be proud but I would be shocked if she made it to Rio.

Gabby says her goodbyes after floor.

Gabby Douglas now on the floor: A solid performance by Douglas as she looks to bounce back from her mishaps on beam. She wowed the crowd and probably impressed Karolyi enough with that routine. If you ask me, she’s going to Rio. Gabby’s night is done. Now comes the waiting game.

Here are the current standings after three rotations.

This is how close the UB battle is between the specialists.

LeBron is the Simone Biles of the NBA.

Simone Biles just did her uneven bars routine and let me just say this: this is her weakest event, and she is better than most. It’s incredible.

Meanwhile on beam it’s Aly Raisman and the name of the game is clutch. This young lady just delivers. Great landing. Great job.

Death, taxes, Aly Raisman.

Well, things just got really interesting for the two girls going for the specialist spot. Kocian fell on beam (just as Locklear did on Friday) so things are dead even between both of them. Kocian fell on a standing Arabian as she lost her balance. At this point it’s pretty much all even between them.

Ashton Locklear is up on the uneven bars and if she is to book a spot it’s right here as she is a specialist on this event. Well, she came through and performed admirably. A tremendous effort. Locklear nailed her landing.

Maggie Nichols just finished her uneven bars routine and she did well. One note regarding Nichols: Coming off a big knee injury from April, she’s not 100% so it’s commendable that how well she’s doing. But the you don’t go to Rio for excellence in effort so her chances of getting a spot are minimal.

In case you’re wondering: who is Marta Karolyi?

Gabby Douglas has just completed her beam routine and once again she fell after doing a full twisting back tuck. That pretty much means Laurie Hernandez should be the third choice to go to Rio. Wow. Just huge news as Douglas, the reigning all-around Olympic champion might not go to the Olympics. If she does go, she definitely won’t do beam. Her mom is being interviewed and I’m not sure what NBC is thinking here...

After her vault.

Hello everyone and welcome to the second half of what has been an exciting evening. Tonight is THE night and by 11 pm (ET) we will find out who will join Simone Biles in Rio as a member of the USA gymnastics team. I mention Simone as a lock for the Olympics because at this point no one (unsurprisingly) can catch up to her. Simone has led throughout the weekend and as the winner gets an automatic berth we are looking at four spots to be filled.

This is Marta Karolyi’s last Olympics and at the risk of romanticizing the moment, she will be leaving behind a dynasty. Team USA has not lost a team competition (World,Olympics) in six years and her goal for Rio is simple is quit simple: Take the very best.

So who are the contenders?

After Simone Biles the obvious choice is three-time Olympic medallist in 2012: Aly Raisman. At 22-years-old it’s almost laughable to call someone a veteran, but that’s exactly what she is. USA will need her consistency next month.

After that I would say it’s a toss up between Laurie Hernandez and Gabby Douglas. If we’re talking about current form and standings, I would have go with Hernandez. The New Jersey native has been improving in every meet and her floor routine is honestly one of the greatest things I have seen in a long time. It belongs in Brasil.

Gabby Douglas, meanwhile, has not performed well as of late BUT Karolyi loves experience and aside from talent, to her what’s more important is staying cool under pressure. So far, tonight, Douglas has done okay. But will it be enough? So far tonight she has done well, especially in uneven bars.

After these three....well, it gets really tricky because we begin to think about specialists. America’s toughest event to cover is the uneven bars and there are two who can help the cause: Ashton Locklear or Madison Kocian. Locklear fell off during her beam routine on Friday night as Karolyi has stated that Kocian is ahead.

I’ll be back with more updates!

Luis will be here shortly, in the meantime here’s a little information on one of tonight’s hopefuls:

It’s a warm Friday morning on the cusp of the Fourth of July weekend and 16-year-old Laurie Hernandez – her face glistening from sweat – stands frozen on the floor of her gymnasium waiting for the music to begin.

She is not alone as younger gymnasts – eager to become the next big thing – are also here for their own classes and sessions. We are in Gymland, a school and training facility where Hernandez, a New Jersey native, trains most mornings. Her mom drops her off at 8.30am and her day won’t finish until 4.30pm. These days, in preparation for the Olympic trials, she splits her time between two gymnasiums as specific locations are needed for different routines. Gymland is the only gym in the area that has the required floor that is comparable to the one used in big competitions. After lunch, she will move to another facility for training on the uneven bars.

“Alright boys and girls, stop what you are doing and take a seat around the mat. You’re in for a treat,” says one of the youth coaches. “You’re about to watch a star do her routine.”

Laurie’s coach, Maggie Haney, presses play and as the music begins not one single person can take their eyes off this tiny, charismatic gymnast. Hernandez’s dancing background – she started taking ballet lessons at the age of three – makes her floor routine an immediate crowd pleaser and, despite the fact that this is only a practice session and there only two dozen people in the room, she treats it as if it was a national championship.

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