The junior competition at the 2016 P&G Championships begins today at 1PM CT at the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis.

With some of last year’s top juniors, like Laurie Hernandez and Jazmyn Foberg, moving up to the senior ranks, gymnasts like Jordan Chiles are receiving more attention.

Unfortunately, a deep bone bruise has caused Chiles to withdraw from her final junior national championships. Otherwise, she certainly would have been a contender.



Chiles is coming off a fourth-place finish in the all-around at the 2016 Secret U.S. Classic, where she was predicted to be a contender for the title. Usually a solid competitor on all four events, she unfortunately had some mistakes on beam and floor that caused her to finish just off the podium.

What really makes this Washington state native stand out in the junior field is her incredibly difficult vault. Chiles, who trains at Naydenov, is the only junior performing an Amanar vault—the same vault McKayla Maroney nearly stuck in London four years ago. Most juniors compete a Yurchenko full, 1.5 or double, but Chiles adds an extra half twist to the double for the most difficult vault being performed by a junior. Even most of the seniors don’t compete such a difficult vault.

At last year’s P&G Championships, she finished fourth in the all-around.

Gabby Perea

Currently in her fourth year as an elite gymnast, Legacy Elite's Gabby Perea looks better than ever.

She competed in her first international assignments earlier this year, which showed she can successfully compete on the world stage. At the Gymnix International Junior Cup in Montreal, Canada, Perea won the all-around and silver on bars, in addition to helping Team USA bring home the team title. At the City of Jesolo Trophy, she continued her solid international performances by finishing third in the all-around and first on bars.

At this year’s Secret U.S. Classic, the Illinois native had her highest domestic all-around finish yet. Perea placed third in the all-around, first on uneven bars and second on balance beam.

While her uneven bar talent was evident when she debuted on the elite scene in 2013, Perea is proving she has all-around potential—a valuable asset for Team USA.

Emma Malabuyo

In just her second year of elite competition, Emma Malabuyo has made significant improvements.

At last year’s P&G Championships, the only event she finished in the top 10 on was beam. At the Secret U.S. Classic earlier this month, she had top-five finishes on three events and earned a silver medal in the all-around.

In addition, she made her international debut earlier this year at the Gymnix International Junior Cup before competing at the City of Jesolo Trophy in Italy. At Gymnix, she won three golds (team, floor and beam) and one bronze (all-around). At Jesolo, she won gold on beam and three silvers (all-around, bars and floor.)

In a large junior field full of gymnasts with varying experience levels, Malabuyo, who trains at Texas Dreams, is showing that though she may be relatively new to the elite scene, she is a rising star.

Morgan Hurd

After competing at the 2014 Nastia Liukin Cup, the tiny gymnast from Delaware captured the hearts of gymnastics fans across the country. Just a few months later, Morgan Hurd competed in her first elite competition.

Hurd, who trains at First State, has been steadily rising since her elite debut in 2014. She didn’t place in the top 10 on any events in 2014, but that changed in 2015.

At the 2015 Secret U.S. Classic, she was second on bars and ninth in the all-around. At the 2015 P&G Championships, she improved her all-around standing to eighth, was fourth on bars and added a top-10 finish on floor with seventh.

Hurd won this year’s American Classic, her first elite all-around victory. Earlier this month, she won floor, was second on bars and was fifth in the all-around.

While floor and bars appear to be her stronger events, her increasing all-around performance shows she’s improving on the other two events as well. With a solid performance this weekend, Hurd could be on her way to making her first national team.


Related:
Start List: 2016 P&G Championships - Junior Women
Jordan Chiles Out of P&G Championships, Ends Final Junior Season