Simone Biles automatically qualified and the rest of the team -- Lauren Hernandez, Gabrielle Douglas, Aly Raisman and Madison Kocian -- will accompany her to the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The United States women's gymnastics team for the upcoming 2016 Rio Olympics has been decided. Simone Biles, Lauren Hernandez, Aly Raisman, Gabrielle Douglas and Madison Kocian will be the five women representing the country in the upcoming Games.
Biles automatically qualified for the team after finishing the two days of competition with the best all-around score. The competition, which consisted of all four events run through on the first day and then again on the second day, only allowed the top all-around scorer to automatically qualify.
The 16-year-old Hernandez finished in second place in all-around score with 121.150 points. Raisman, herself an Olympic gold medalist, finished in third at 119.750. Biles' winning score was 123.250 after putting up a 61.850 on Day 1 and a 61.400 on Day 2.
Biles hasn't lost an all-around competition in three years, so her top spot on Sunday wasn't a surprise in the least.
The selection committee picked the other four spots, basing their decisions heavily upon the results from the two days of trials. Of the five gymnasts, each nation will enter three competitors in each event at the Olympics, so the best team wouldn't necessarily be comprised of the top five finishers in all-around competition.
It's important to note, however, that the U.S. women's team managed the gold medal in individual all-around and team all-around at the 2012 London Olympics. Douglas won the all-around gold medal and will be back to defend her title, despite a seventh-place finish in the trials.
Raisman will also be defending her gold medal in the floor exercise, the first American female gymnast to win gold and then qualify for the ensuing Olympics since 2000.
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