U.S. Women Fight for Five World Spots

Hezly Rivera © Pinterest

Twelve of the United States’ top senior women’s gymnasts will compete at FlipFest Gymnastics Camp in Crossville, Tennessee, on September 30 and October 1, with five places on the 2026 U.S. World Championships team at stake.

The World Championships will take place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, from October 17–25. The selection event is therefore the final major step for the gymnasts hoping to represent the United States on the world stage.

Schedule

Wednesday, September 30
4:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. CT — All-around competition

Thursday, October 1
11:00 a.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. CT — Selected-event competition

Rivera leads the field

Hezly Rivera enters the event as one of the leading names. The 2026 U.S. all-around and balance-beam champion is aiming to make her first World Championships team after becoming an Olympic team champion in Paris in 2024.

Jade Carey also brings major international experience. The three-time Olympic medalist is chasing a fourth World Championships team and has been working on upgrades to her vault and floor routines.

Skye Blakely is another experienced contender. She is attempting to make her fourth World Championships team and has returned to the all-around competition, with particularly strong routines on uneven bars and balance beam. Dulcy Caylor is the only other gymnast in the field with previous World Championships experience and won last year’s selection event.

Younger contenders add depth

Reese Esponda and Claire Pease are among the gymnasts capable of making the selection race especially competitive.

Esponda won the 2026 U.S. Classic for her first elite all-around title and is the reigning U.S. floor champion. Pease finished second to Rivera at the U.S. Championships and won the uneven bars title while also placing second on vault and beam.

First-year senior Charleigh Bullock also enters the competition after finishing third at the U.S. Championships. She has demonstrated high difficulty on bars and a consistent vault. Tatum Drusch, Caroline Moreau, Zoey Molomo, Lila Richardson and Simone Rose round out a field featuring a mixture of established international experience and emerging talent.

How the team will be selected

The selection process combines performances from the selection event with results from the U.S. Championships.

Day 1 contributes 60% of the selection score through the all-around result. Another 40% comes from the gymnast’s combined all-around score from the U.S. Championships.

The top two gymnasts according to the composite ranking will automatically earn team places. The remaining three spots will be selected at the committee’s discretion. One traveling alternate and one non-traveling alternate will also be named.

With only five team positions available, every routine could have an impact on the final selection.

The 2026 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships are scheduled for October 17–25 in Rotterdam, where the selected U.S. gymnasts will compete against the world’s leading athletes.

Source: article on olympics.com published September 29, 2026.

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By Vitalina Andrushchenko, Staff Writer