Kayla DiCello allowed herself to sit down and relax after a better-than-expected start to her season. Olympic champion Sunisa Lee was a little angry at herself for literally not meeting the high bar she set – twice, in fact.
DiCello grabbed the accolades expected for some of her better-known counterparts by winning the uneven bars and floor exercise en route to the all-around title at the USA Gymnastics Winter Cup on Saturday with a total score of 56.850. Skye Blakely scored 54.650 for silver, while WOGA teammate Hezly Rivera took bronze with 54.000.
Former NCAA all-around champion Trinity Thomas placed fourth at 53.250.
Meanwhile, Lee tried to keep things in perspective after falling twice on the bars – her specialty – on a day she hoped would pave the way to obtaining a skill named after her.
Beginning a quest for an Olympic return at this summer’s Paris Games was also on the table for the 2020 all-around champion, especially after battling a kidney-related health issue that halted her college career at Auburn. Both goals remain, but Lee has work to do.
“It’s good that it happened here and not somewhere else,” Lee said. “It’s just annoying because that was the first one I missed. So that’s what makes it so bad. But it’s fine. I have the time and I know I can do it and I can succeed every time. … We just have to work on that.”
The Winter Cup was the first major US gymnastics competition of the 2024 season. It was expected to mark the return of 2012 Olympic champion Gabby Douglas after an eight-year absence, but she withdrew on Thursday after testing positive for Covid -19.