semillon27
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Once you've decided to take the top four AA as the team though, who do you pick as your +1? The best options to make an event final are MyKayla (second at trials on vault and 2014 world vault medalist), Kara (second at trials on beam and 2018 and 2019 worlds event finalist), and Riley (fourth at trials on bars due to a fall and never made a worlds final). Maybe you add Leanne to this group, second at trials on floor, but that seems more of a stretch.On the other hand I'd be annoyed if I were Jade Carey because it would seem like they're basically trying to take away my EF spot that I went out and earned because I've learned you can't depend on USAG for, well, anything.
The one that makes the most logical sense is Riley for bars, because the team only has one other person who is internationally competitive on bars if she hits (Suni). (I know, I know, Simone medaled on bars in 2018, but I don't think anyone realistically expects that to happen again given the state of the international field.) If she hadn't fallen, I think they would have named her no question. But she fell, and with how every team selection has gone under Tom F., I think that pretty much ruled her out. Do you name her even though she fell and has had an injury problem that limited her to bars at trials? Or do you name MyKayla who was 5th AA, just missed the team, and could make the vault final? Despite the redundancy with Simone and Jade, there is logic to it. Plus if something happens with Jade, whom the U.S. can't replace due to her spot being nominative, then it makes sense to have someone who can make the vault final (and maybe even medal) instead.
(ETA: Tom F.'s justification at the press conference made no sense though - saying that bars is "riskier than the other events and so that was in consideration of who the fifth person would be" - that's a load of garbage.)
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