Simone Biles, Suni Lee, & More Set For 2024 Olympic Trials: How To Watch Live
By Kelly Coffey-Behrens on June 28, 2024 at 4:45 PM EDT
The 2024 Olympic Women's Gymnastics Trials begin tonight, June 28, and sports fans cannot wait to see sports icons, such as Simone Biles and Suni Lee, once again take center stage.
With the 2024 Paris Olympics less than one month away, the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials have begun, kicking off on Thursday evening with the first day of the men's competition, continuing through Sunday night at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
As for the women, they will begin their trials on Friday, June 28, at 7:40 p.m. ET.
When Will Simone Biles Compete?
While she is practically a shoo-in, Simone Biles will still have to compete in the 2024 Olympic Trials. She is expected to kick off with the uneven bars shortly after 7:45 p.m. ET on Friday, followed by balance beam, floor exercise, and vault.
On Sunday night, the Olympian will start on vault, with her first attempt around 8:20 p.m. ET. She will then move on to uneven bars and balance beam before finishing on the floor.
The 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials will be broadcast on NBC and USA Network, with all NBC coverage streaming on Peacock.
Suni Lee Talks 2024 Olympic Trials
Ahead of the Olympic Trials, Suni Lee expressed how "excited" she is to return to competition following her battle with a kidney condition.
"I have had to deal with so much the past two years. Just feel so good to know that I can be back out there, not even at my best, and I can still be able to perform," she said. "I'm so excited."
According to NBC Olympics, the 21-year-old said her biggest goal is to compete in the all-around despite not competing in a floor routine at the elite level since winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
Simone Biles Talks About The 'Twisties'
As sports fans may recall, Simone Biles withdrew from several finals in the 2020 Olympics, citing the "twisties," a condition where the body and mind fall out of sync, per the Olympics.
“As soon as I land[ed my vault in team finals], I’m like ... I salute and I want to run. If I could have gotten on a plane and flown home, I would have done it,” Biles said on "Call Her Daddy," per the outlet. “Just as soon as I landed, I was like, ‘America hates me. The world is going to hate me, and I can only see what they’re saying on Twitter right now.’ That was my first thought.”
The seven-time Olympic medalist went on to explain how her mental health played a role in her dropping out.
“In the back [gym], we already knew my gymnastics was kind of janky,” she recalled. “In training, I was having the twisties already, but I’m trying to push past that. I would literally tell the team, my teammates, like, ‘I’m fighting demons. I’m fighting demons right now, but I’m going to do it for you guys.’ I literally felt like I was fighting my body and my mind to do these tricks.”
Discussing The 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Simone Biles' decision to withdraw sparked a worldwide conversation about the challenges elite athletes encounter and the importance of prioritizing mental health.
"It's really important to use that support system and know they're there for you and not against you, because at the end of the day, us as humans, we hate asking for help," Biles said at the time when advocating for mental health. "We think we can do it on our own, but sometimes we just can't. So use every outlet given to you."
Shortly after dropping out of the Tokyo Olympics, Biles continued her journey by going on tour -- and she made sure to incorporate mental health awareness when traveling the nation. "For me, it was important to include the mental health aspect because I know a lot of people coming out to watch this show go through similar things and to know that I'm not just brushing it aside or hiding it under the rug, that I'm bringing that talking and viewpoint to the forefront," Biles explained.
Despite being 27 years old, she returned to win a bronze medal in the balance beam final, and sports fans can't wait to see her return in the Olympic Trial tonight.