Courtesy of NBC Sports
Elite gymnasts used to have two choices: go to the Olympics or compete in college. Now, thanks to NIL deals and being able to lengthen their careers, gymnasts can do both.
Before this Olympics, the few gymnasts who went to both the Olympics and competed in college would go to the Olympics as a teenager before heading to the NCAA. Many gymnasts, including ones still in their teens, also missed out on a college career due to deciding to go pro, in which they could earn money from competitions before college athletes were allowed to make NIL deals.
The 2024 Paris Olympics will see many gymnasts who are heading to the NCAA, currently competing at college, or have already finished their college careers.
Three of the gymnasts on Team USA have NCAA experience. Suni Lee, the first Olympic all-around champion to compete in the NCAA, spent over a year at Auburn, Jordan Chiles competed for two years at UCLA and may return after the Olympics, and Jade Carey was competing for Oregon State while simultaneously training for the Olympics. Additionally, Olympic alternate Leanne Wong competes for Florida, training both for the NCAA and elite like Carey, and alternate Joscelyn Roberson will compete for Arkansas this coming NCAA gymnastics season.
Competing in her third Olympics for Canada, after having finished five seasons at Alabama, is Shallon Olsen. Olsen is a World silver medalist on vault and competed in the vault finals at the past two Olympics. Other members of Team Canada will compete in the NCAA after the Olympics: Cassie Lee and Aurélie Tran are committed to Iowa, and Ava Stewart is committed to Minnesota. Alternate Emma Spence competes for Nebraska.
Romania qualified a team for the first time since the 2012 Olympics. Featured on this year’s team is Lilia Cosman, who has verbally committed to Michigan State.
Two NCAA standouts will be competing as individuals for the Philippines. LSU’s Aleah Finnegan clinched her spot in the 2023 World Championships, becoming the first Filipina gymnast to qualify for the Olympics since 1964. UCLA’s Emma Malabuyo qualified at the 2024 Asian Championships. Both gymnasts continued to compete in the NCAA while training for the Olympics. Levi Ruivivar will also be competing for the Philippines; she is committed to Stanford.
Csenge Bácskay will be making her Olympic debut in Paris for Hungary. Bácskay competed two seasons for Nebraska and will finish her NCAA career with Georgia after the Olympics.
After competing for five seasons at Alabama, Luisa Blanco will be competing for Columbia at the Olympics. Blanco was the 2021 NCAA balance beam champion.
Lynzee Brown will be Haiti’s first gymnast to compete in the Olympics and one of only four athletes representing the country in Paris. Brown spent six seasons at Denver where she was the 2019 NCAA floor exercise champion.
It’s so exciting watching athletes be successful simultaneously in the NCAA and in achieving their Olympic dreams. I wish them all the best of luck and cannot wait to watch them compete in just a few short weeks!
The qualification round for women’s gymnastics begins July 28.
Edited By: Bailey Massey
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