Tom really messed up choosing the +1 spot - the 2 US +1 gymnasts are merely competing against each other in vt qualifying where the loser gets 2 per countried out of finals.
I think Tom always said that the +1 was essentially the built in alternate for the main team. So taking the 5th AAer was always an easy route.
I just feel bad for Leanne. She was 4th AA Night 2 and would have been 4th AA overall but for a biffed beam routine. Plus she had the best VT/FX totals.
Wong was announced first of the alternates so I am guessing that she is the official first alternate. And I can actually see Leanne being used if any of the main 4 go down with injury. Even Suni.
I would have loved them to name Riley as alternate too. Although I think she would only be used if Skinner went down and they needed to replace the +1. If they did indeed offer it to Riley, and she turned it down, she’s gonna be mighty mad if Skinner gets injured or gets COVID.
Of course - but it really devalues US team selection down to the level of Pop Idol or X factor if we are letting Twitter pick the team. Although I do admit that Mykayla does a great job marketing herself - you could see that last night trying to get the crowd supporting her.
I’m not sure if we really know where Jade is on vt - I thought her Amanar looked really good (better than Mykaylas) but she really gave nothing away as she didn’t need to
I think it’s inevitable, given the events of the last few years and the low possibility of any decision actually having a significant impact on results, that USAG are going to prioritise arse covering. That does include taking PR into account when making decisions, for better or for worse. It’ll be interesting to see whether this continues once Simone goes and choices start to matter again.
I wonder if this whole “youtube channel” and following has actually helped raise Skinner’s profile and, as a result, put more pressure on Tom to select her despite the numbers favoring Wong.