Asian American gymnasts in the running for the U.S. Women's Olympic team

Emma Matabuyo surprised at the U.S. Championships.

Two Asian Americans are among the gymnasts who might make the U.S. Women's Gymnastics Olympic Team.

There's Simon Biles' then, everybody else on the U.S. Women's Gymnastic Team that will compete in the Olympics this summer.

Biles, who does feats no one else can do on the competitive floor, is in a category all by herself, placing first in the U.S. Championships held last weekend.

While the Olympic team won't be announced until after the Olympic Trials being held June 24-27 in St. Louis, Missouri, barring injury, BIles is essentially a lock for the Tokyo Olympics.

In addition to winning a record-breaking seventh all-around national title at the 2021 U.S. Championships, Biles also extended her undefeated streak: she has won every all-around competition she’s entered since March 2013.

The remaining question is who will be joining her on the four-member Olympic team. 

Coming in the Championships' scoring is Suni Lee, which gives her a strong bet for the team. Lee was the only athlete not named “Simone Biles” to claim a national title at U.S. Championships. She posted the highest score on uneven bars and also finished second in the all-around, a particularly impressive achievement given that the 18-year-old Hmong American is currently coming back from a foot/Achilles injury.

“I think this is a really good confidence booster because I wasn’t even at my full potential on floor, and obviously my vault could have been a little better and today my bars was a little rough,” Lee said. “It definitely helps my confidence because I know I don’t have to be 100 percent to be in the top with Simone, so I’m really proud of myself.”

Jordan Chiles, who appears to be peaking at just the right time, rounds out the top three.

Filipino American gymnast Emma Malabuyo from Texas finished a surprising fourth. 

“Clearly Emma Malabuyo was super impressive,” high-performance team coordinator Tom Forster noted. “She came out of a very, very low position at the U.S. Classic, and it’s great to see her back in her international form that she was in a couple years ago since she’s wrestled with a couple injuries here and there. … There were a couple of surprises today but I’d say she was the best surprise that we weren’t expecting.”

In the top five is 18-year old Leanne Wong of Kansas. The University of Florida-bound gymnast's strongest event was her floor routine.

Besides Biles and Lee, the scores at the Championships or the trials won't necessarily provide a a cleaerfut choice for the team. The complicated selection process is mystifying for anyone outside of the world of gymnastics.

“The gymnast does not have to be an all-arounder,” Forster said of the additional, individual athlete. “Our goal is to provide our athletes with the most opportunities to win medals for themselves and for Team USA. We believe that we’re going to have our strongest all-arounders on the team. … Whoever is really stepping up and showing the best potential for winning a medal or medals will earn that [individual] spot.”