5 Athletes + One Team Who Could Surprise in Paris

11 Jul 5 Athletes + One Team Who Could Surprise in Paris

Posted at 23:25h in News & Features, Paris 2024 by Christy Sandmaier 0 Comments

Inside Gymnastics will be on the scene in Paris for the XXXIII Olympiad bringing you all of the action from the Games! Make sure you’re following our social media pages (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & Threads) for all the latest and greatest in what promises to be the most epic and most-watched Olympic Games ever.

Dates: July 27 – August 5
Venue: Bercy Arena
TV channels: NBC, USA Network, E!
Streaming: Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, NBC app, NBC Olympics app

TV Broadcasts + Streaming Info

Primetime coverage featuring marquee events will begin at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and Peacock.
The complete gymnastics schedule, including the apparatus feeds for each session and TV listings, is also available on the NBC Olympics schedule page.
Live and tape-delayed coverage of gymnastics will be shown on the following TV channels: NBC, USA Network and E!

The Schedule

Gymnastics at the 2024 Paris Olympics will air on NBC, USA Network and E!, and stream on Peacock and NBC Olympics platforms starting on Saturday, July 27.

Watch Live Here

Watch Replays and Extras Here

Look for our preview, stars and storylines throughout the Games on InsideGym.com

Our team member Megan Roth names 5 athletes (and one team!) that could surprise in Paris!

1. Ana Bărbosu + Team Romania

Romania will be returning to the team competition at the Olympics for the first time since 2012, in part because of Ana Bărbosu.

Based on competitions from the last year, she has the 6th highest combined D-score out of all gymnasts who will be in Paris. Bǎrbosu doesn’t always hit her full All-Around potential in a meet, often having mistakes on an event or two, but she is an extremely well-balanced All-Arounder and has the potential for huge scores on all four events if she hits.

This season, she upgraded her vaults to a double twisting Tsukahara and a double twisting Yurchenko. She has difficult, unique tumbling passes on floor and does a very impressive front handspring front tuck series on beam.

Look out for her in the All-Around final and potentially some event finals if she hits in qualifications. She has the potential to contribute huge scores for team Romania and could help them into their first team final since 2012!

2. Helen Kevric (Germany)

Helen Kevric is a first-year senior with endless potential. At German Championships and German Olympic Trials, she scored 55.500 and 55.532 in the All-Around which could certainly put her in the top 10 in Paris.

Although Germany did not qualify a full team to Paris, they earned a quota spot to select one gymnast to represent Germany (along with Pauline Schaefer-Betz and Sarah Voss who earned nominative spots at the 2023 World Championships). After a long selection process, Kevric earned the spot, notably over three-time Olympian Elisabeth Seitz who ruptured her Achilles in 2023 and only competed bars at the selection events.

Bars is Kevric’s standout event and consider her a definite contender for the bars final. She upgraded her routine at Olympic Trials and scored a 14.800 with a huge 6.4 D-score. With a double twisting Yurchenko and solid beam and floor routines, she could also be a threat in the All-Around final.

3. Ángel Barajas (Colombia)

At 17-years-old (soon to be 18 in August), Barajas will be the youngest MAG athlete competing in Paris!

He earned his ticket to Paris in the very competitive World Cup series on parallel bars, but he had spectacular results on high bar as well. His season high scores of 14.733 on parallel bars and 14.500 on high bar could very well put him in the event finals and in medal contention.

At Junior World Championships in 2023, he won the silver medal in the All-Around, but he hasn’t competed All-Around internationally since then. If he competes all six events, watch out for him in the All-Around final, but if not, his parallel bars and superb high bar (with a 6.8 D-score and huge release combinations) will be worth looking out for.

This is what the future looks like, and we can’t wait. 🌟

Angel Barajas 🇨🇴 with a world-class Horizontal Bar routine at the 2023 Junior Worlds. ✨

One more look at men’s artistic gymnastics in the year: https://t.co/yvTvPBPQR1 #Artistic #Gymnastics #MAG pic.twitter.com/UEA6rjKrPx
— FIG (@gymnastics) December 31, 2023

4. Manila Esposito (Italy)

Although she has been in the International spotlight since 2022, 2024 has been Manila Esposito’s year.

At Euros in 2024, she won the team, All-Around, beam, and floor gold medals and has since upgraded her vault to a double twisting Yurchenko. Surprise might not be the word gymnastics fans would use to describe Esposito, since she’s always had stunning gymnastics, but in Paris, she could find herself on the All-Around podium.

Apart from helping Italy potentially win a team medal, look out for her in the All-Around final (maybe in the top rotating group), beam or floor finals. Beam is for sure her standout event. She does a very difficult layout step out mount in combination and has beautiful split positions. While being very difficult, her gymnastics looks like it’s effortless for her which makes her all the more stunning the watch.

5. Emma Nedov (Australia)

After being age-eligible for the London, Rio, and Tokyo Olympics, Emma Nedov is finally heading to her first Olympics. What makes her story even more spectacular is that she returned to the sport after retirement just 8 months ago.

While her story is incredible, her gymnastics is too. Look out for her on beam – her two foot layout mount is jaw-dropping and she has scored in the 14s, putting her in contention for the beam final.

She could also help Australia find themselves in their first team final since 2014 Worlds, an incredible feat considering Australia did not qualify a team to the 2016 or 2020 Olympics.