Women's Gymnastics Qualifier - Day 1, Paris Olympics, 2024

Good morning, America! Did we sleep well? We have a lot to catch up on with Day 1 of the Women's Artistic Gymnastics Qualifier round going on live in Paris!

Simonee Biles - Paris 2024 Olympics

Team USA arrived with infectious enthusiasm to compete for day 1 of the Olympic Qualifier. Adorned in a stunning star-patterned, crystalled leotard, the designs of this years uniforms have really impressed me. The vibe this year is respectively: sparkly- patriot-firework- core, and I love that for us.

I'll be honest here - I only caught the last two rotations, myself. And, that's waking up at 5 am Chicago Time.

Simone Biles closed up the vault rotation for Team USA, performing a soaring Yurchenko Double Pike and leading the scoreboard for Third rotation with a 15.3.

Germany and Israel held down on the Floor Exercise for rotation Three. Team Germany once again brought back the the unitard uniforms they debuted last Olympic Games. I can

Team Germany sporting full-body leotards

always appreciate when athletes take the artistic liberty to represent their

country. Either by leotard expression, or like how Israeli gymnast, Lihie Raz, incorporated traditional Jewish music into her floor routine. It was a fun watch, and both teams performed well.

Sixteen-year-old, Hezly Rivera, kicked off rotation number Four for Team USA on Uneven Bars, giving a stellar performance. I am so impressed by her ability to hold her weight against so many gymnastics legends, but she's doing a great job. Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, (14.26) and Simone Biles all followed, all solid in their performances with roaring applause.

Team China gave stellar performances on their Fourth rotation: Floor Exercise. Zhang Jin, was energized on the floor for her routine, and the crowd certainly gave that energy back! She's the cutest little thing, (and we happen to share a birthday?), but she's also a really strong competitor! She was all smiles after her performance.

Stay tuned for more Olympic Updates as they take place in Paris, France from July 26th - August 11th! More excitement to come from Team USA!