For the first time since early 2020, international gymnastics competition is making a comeback on November 8, 2020 in Tokyo! This small invitational, consisting of teams from China, Japan, Russia, and the United States, may serve as a practice run for the Olympic events that have been rescheduled for 2021. Athletes will be tested before they leave their homes, and then will continue to be tested once daily while in Tokyo, but they are exempt from the 14-day quarantine. Their travel will be restricted while visiting Japan. It is rumored that two thousand spectators will be allowed inside the Yoyogi National Gymnasium, and though it is not confirmed, that is what Japanese news agency Kyodo is reporting.
USA Gymnastics has announced that Sophia Butler, eMjae Frazier, and Shilese Jones will compete from the Women's National Team, and Paul Juda, Yul Modauer, and Shane Wiskus will represent the American men. While all press covering this event has verified that 8 gymnasts will represent each country, these are the 6 Americans currently slated to compete. The USAG website states that, "Athlete selection for the Friendship and Solidarity Competition was based on interest from U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Team members."
While each country will have 8 athletes competing, only the top three scores from each event will be tabulated.
Meet the athletes:
• Shilese Jones - While there is no doubt that every member of the Women's National Team is incredible, I am most excited to see Shilese compete in this event. In 2018, after placing 5th all-around at the US National Championships, Jones was added to the senior women's national team for the first time. After her performance at the 2019 championships, she did not retain her spot on the team, but was still invited to Worlds Team Trials. Eventually, though, she had to withdraw due to injury. Early in 2020, Shilese was assigned to the team competing at the City of Jesolo Trophy alongside Sophia Butler, Leanne Wong, and Kara Eaker, a competition that the US withdrew from due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Over the past 8 months (ok, probably 6 since I'm sure her gym was closed for a couple months), she has been working tirelessly adding upgrades and looks stronger than ever! This is a huge chance for her to prove herself and I, for one, can't wait to watch her do it.
• Sophia Butler - Sophia was slated to make her senior debut at the City of Jesolo Trophy in 2020, which unfortunately, the USA didn't attend because of the pandemic situation in Italy at the time. She is eager to compete internationally at the senior level. As one of the athletes who could potentially benefit greatly from the postponement of the 2020 games, she has a lot to prove to be in the mix for one of the coveted Olympic spots, but this could be a big step in the right direction for her if she performs well in Tokyo. It is this writer's humble opinion that this young gymnast's Olympic berth would more likely be at the 2024 games, but we all know that it's all about who peaks at the right time, and she's had a successful career for a reason!
• eMjae Frazier - eMjae was invited to join the Junior National Team in 2019 after finishing 9th all-around at the National Championships. This competition will serve as her international debut and really introduce her to the world as a senior elite gymnast. Historically, she has had the most success on vault and floor.
• Paul Juda - A current member of the gymnastics team at the University of Michigan, this will be the first international meet for Juda. Most recently he was awarded the bronze medal on high bar at both the 2020 Winter Cup and the 2019 US Championships.
• Yul Moldauer - Moldauer was the gold medal all-around winner at the 2017, 2018, and 2019 American Cups. He was also the 2017 World bronze medalist on floor. In my opinion, Yul is one of the American men that, barring injury, is almost guaranteed a spot on the 202ONE Olympic team.
• Shane Wiskus - Shane is currently a senior at the University of Minnesota and a member of their men's gymnastics team. He has been the leader of the protests to keep men's gymnastics at Minnesota. He was the all-around silver medalist at the 2020 Winter Cup, the 2019 US vault champion and parallel bars bronze medalist, and a member of the 2019 World Championships Team. Wiskus is right in the mix for one of the Olympic team spots, and has a great chance of representing the USA in 202ONE.
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