Joscelyn Roberson Leads The Way after Session 1 of Core Hydration Classic

Joscelyn Roberson Leads The Way after Session 1 of Core Classic

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Don’t count out Joscelyn Roberson. That’s perhaps the biggest takeaway from session one of  the 2023 Core Hydration Classic, where Roberson walked away with the highest All-Around score of the day (54.050) and the top score on vault (14.650), beam (14.300) and floor (14.000).  

“I’m really happy with how I did, especially with the first three events,” Roberson said. “I got a personal best on beam and vault, and floor I’m staying in the 14-range, so I’m really excited about that.” 

It was an absolute victory for Roberson, who wasn’t feeling the greatest during podium training the day prior. Today showed she could not only bounce back from a tough day, but put up scores that will keep her in the conversation for Paris. 

The highlight of her day of course was nailing her upgraded Cheng vault – her face lit up when asked about the moment. 

“I loved it, especially because yesterday I was not feeling good,” Roberson said. “I had a really bad headache, I could barely see. I was trying to keep it under wraps but your gymnastics never fails to show how bad you’re feeling that day, so nailing it in the competition was great.”

While hitting her new Geinger release move on bars was one of her goals for the competition, she is still happy with the performance she put out this afternoon. 

“It’s a new skill, but that’s why I did it here at Classics because I didn’t need to qualify or anything,” Roberson said. “So this was just a practice meet and I’m really happy with how I did.” 

The unofficial winner of session one was French Olympian and 2019 European All-Around Champion Mélanie de Jesus dos Santos, who posted her highest All-Around score (56.200) of the quad in Hoffman Estates. 

Since she is an international competitor, her scores won’t count in the official rankings, however, it’s certainly a performance that will boost her confidence moving forward. 

Competition resumes this evening with session two, which includes the 7-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles and reigning Olympic All-Around Champion Suni Lee, both of whom are competing for the first time on the Elite stage since the Tokyo Olympics. 

Photos by Lloyd Smith for Inside Gymnastics 

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