Two names on top in Phoenix
Skye Blakely walked into the U.S. Gymnastics Championships with something to prove. By the end of Friday’s opening day of women’s competition in Phoenix, she had company at the summit. Blakely and 17-year-old Honolulu native Claire Pease each posted 55.6 points in the all-around, and the pair head into the weekend locked together in first place.
The margins behind them are razor thin. Charleigh Bullock, a 16-year-old from Virginia, sits third at 55.4. Defending all-around champion Hezly Rivera is right in the mix at 55.0, with Jade Carey (54.4) and Reese Esponda (54.1) still close enough to strike. One clean rotation on Sunday could reshuffle the entire order.
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Blakely’s road back
Blakely’s score carried more weight than the number suggested. The 21-year-old was part of the United States teams that won gold at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships, then watched the 2024 Paris Olympics from the sidelines after tearing her Achilles at the U.S. trials. She came back to competition last year and shared the uneven bars title with Rivera. “That felt really good. I’m really proud of myself,” she said, per Olympics.com. “It’s not easy, but I feel like I handled each moment the best of my ability.”
Pease, competing without the weight of a long senior résumé, called the co-lead “definitely a dream.” Her plan for the next two days sounded deliberately narrow. “I just like to stay focused on what I’m doing in the gym.”
Where Sunday gets decided
The apparatus scores map out a tight fight. Bullock produced the day’s best uneven bars mark at 14.25, edging Pease and Blakely, who both landed on 14.2. Rivera, an Olympic team gold medalist in 2024, fell on bars and paid for it, then answered with the top balance beam score of the day at 14.3 and a 14.0 on floor. Esponda led the floor at 14.45. Pease and Blakely followed Rivera on beam at 13.9 and 13.75. The women’s event wraps up Sunday, and six gymnasts still hold a live claim to the crown.
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