2022 OOFOS U.S. Gymnastics Championships: Konnor McClain edges Shilese Jones for national title in thriller
TAMPA, Fla. – The senior women’s title was decided on the last skill of Shilese Jones’ last routine at the 2022 OOFOS U.S. Gymnastics Championships.
A boisterous crowd pulsed energy into Amalie Arena on Sunday evening, with Jones (Ascend) and Konnor McClain (WOGA) in a battle of execution to win a title that has belonged to Simone Biles in seven of the past eight championships.
Jones, 20, was at a 0.800 advantage entering the final day of competition, but that lead was wiped away in the first rotation, when she fell of the beam on her side aerial to layout step-out series.
That fall opened the door for McClain, who jumped into the lead by 1.100 points after scoring a 14.350 for her double-twisting Yurchenko on vault.
Two rotations later, the 17-year-old beam specialist saw a tougher challenge on her trademark event versus Day 1.
On her opening standing full, McClain had a major balance check, kicking her leg into the air before recovering. She had another check after her two-footed layout series and opted to axe the difficult ring leap, seeing a 0.300 reduction in her difficulty score to earn a 14.100 versus a night one 14.800.
Meanwhile, Jones executed her double-twisting Yurchenko to near perfection – earning a 9.500 execution score – to cut McClain’s lead to 0.500 heading into the final rotation.
Jones rotated to bars, and McClain rotated to floor, with the former having approximately a one-point advantage when comparing their average scores on each event.
In layman’s terms: hit and you win.
McClain was first up on floor, where she hit a nearly identical routine to night one, earning a 13.850 to add to her 13.900.
All Jones needed to do was hit a similarly executed set to night one, when she earned a 14.850.
And she did hit it – clean – until the landing on her dismount went horribly wrong.
After swinging a beautiful set, floating through her releases and connections, Jones geared up for her double front dismount. As she flew through the air, everyone watching knew she was a landing away from winning it all, but the landing she needed never came. Instead, Jones sat the skill as an audible gasp rippled through the arena.
In that moment, McClain became the U.S. women’s all-around champion, long before Jones’ bars score flashed 13.600.
In a what if scenario, it’s easy to calculate that the one-point deduction Jones received for the fall would’ve easily cleared the 0.750 points that separated her and McClain in the end. But gymnastics scoring balances difficulty and execution for a reason, and on Sunday, McClain found a good balance of both to win the all-around title in her senior nationals debut – 112.750 to 112.000.
“I don’t even know what to do with myself right now,” McClain said after the meet. “I wish I could talk to my dad.”
Persevering together despite devastating tragedy
Perhaps more remarkable than the exceptional two-days of performances that put McClain and Jones 1-2 on the podium is the nearly identical tragedies both women have persevered through in the past year.
They lost their dads a week apart from one another in December, with Shilese’s dad, Sylvester, passing from Kidney disease on December 20th, and Konnor’s dad, Marc passing from COVID-19 a week later.
“We definitely check up on each other all the time,” McClain said. “Just being here and being one-two, day one and day two, is just so nice because we’ve been through the same things, and it’s definitely been hard on the both of us. Just being here with her and her going through the same thing. It’s so nice.”
The gymnasts carried their fathers’ legacies with them throughout the week in Tampa, honoring their memory with tributes on their leotards. Jones had the date of her dad’s death embroidered on her sleeve; McClain’s mom put a patch with the initials MM on the back of her leo, a tradition she started at Winter Cup earlier this year.
“Both of them picking themselves up and finding something to pour themselves into, it helps with grief,” High Performance Strategic Lead Alicia Sacramone-Quinn said. “I think when you have something else you’re passionate about, you can channel that energy and that hurt and that pain into something productive. It looks like that’s what they did because their gymnastics… There’s something more to them. When you watch them, you know it’s not surface level. You can see it’s in their soul.”
Olympians don’t miss a beat in return to elite
Finishing 3rd and 5th in the all-around on Sunday were 2020 Olympians Jordan Chiles (World Champions) and Jade Carey (Oregon State), respectively.
Both gymnasts have been training nearly nonstop since Tokyo, opting to go straight to competing in college and then coming back to elite after the NCAA Championships in April.
“I don’t really take breaks. I don’t like taking breaks. I’m that type of person,” Chiles said of her return to elite. “If I know I have something to give, I’m gonna keep going until I can’t go no more, and I still haven’t hit my peak. I still haven’t hit that 100% that I know I can hit. Just being able to finally be in that position to be like, Okay, let’s see how far I can go. And that’s what I’m doing.”
If anything, it seems competing every week during NCAA season has helped both gymnast’s consistency. Chiles and Carey both went eight-for-eight over two days of competition. Despite college gymnastics emphasizing execution of easier skills, their difficulty scores were also on par or better than the rest of the field, depending on the event.
Paris 2024 is the goal for both athletes, but in the short term, their focus this fall is on making the 2022 world team.
Chiles confirmed she’s taking her UCLA classes online this upcoming semester while she trains at World Champions Centre in Texas. Carey’s dad/coach, Brian, has been making frequent visits to Oregon State, where Carey has been training alongside her college teammates.
Kayla DiCello bids farewell to elite – for now or forever?
The only top-five finisher who is not expected to make a bid for the world team is Kayla DiCello (Hill’s), who finished fourth with a 110.950.
DiCello brought four bags with her to Tampa and is heading straight to Gainesville, just a two-hour drive north, to start her college career at the University of Florida.
As of now, the 2020 Olympic team alternate and 2021 world all-around bronze medalist is focused on preparing for her first season as a Gator.
A current UF gymnast might still represent in Liverpool, though, as DiCello’s fellow Olympic team alternate and 2021 world all-around silver medalist Leanne Wong (GAGE) is bidding for a spot on the team.
After winning the U.S Classic in July, Wong pulled out of the all-around in Tampa on Day 1 when an awkward landing on her beam dismount seemed to cause visible discomfort. The withdrawal seemed to be precautionary, as she competed bars and beam on Sunday, tying Jones for the bars title.
2022 OOFOS U.S. Gymnastics Championships – Event Winners
- Vault: Jade Carey (Oregon State)
- Bars: TIE Shilese Jones (Ascend) and Leanne Wong (GAGE)
- Beam: Konnor McClain (WOGA)
- Floor: Shilese Jones (Ascend)
- All-Around: Konnor McClain (WOGA)
2022 OOFOS U.S. Gymnastics Championships – Senior Women’s National Team
- Skye Blakely (WOGA)
- Jade Carey (Oregon State)
- Jordan Chiles (World Champions)
- Kayla DiCello (Hill’s)
- Shilese Jones (Ascend)
- Konnor McClain (WOGA)
- Elle Mueller (Twin City Twisters)
- Lexi Zeiss (Twin City Twisters)
Note: Additional gymnasts may be added.
See the full scores from Day 2 of junior women’s competition at the 2022 OOFOS U.S. Gymnastics Championships here: Senior Results: All-Around | Events.
Relive the competition with our live blog here.
