Ahead of the Worlds selection camp that will take place tonight, USA Gymnastics has announced that Riley McCusker and Shilese Jones had to withdraw from the competition.
McCusker is said to have “a mild case of rhabdomyolysis, which prevented her from preparing for the competition”. Rhabdomyolysis is a condition in which skeletal muscle breaks down and can potentially lead to permanent kidney damage. However, in less serious cases, the condition is highly treatable.
McCusker won silver in the all-around, gold on bars, and bronze on beam at the Pan American Games this summer. She had to withdraw from the second day of the US Championships due to an illness but was added to the national team and was one of the main contenders for the Worlds team. Her senior elite career has been often limited by injuries and she had to miss the 2017 Worlds due to an injury.
Shilese Jones is an outstanding gymnast and would make all the teams in any country other than US due to her solid all-around scores but she was not very likely to make the Worlds team due to the depth of the US senior field.
The trials for the Worlds team will take place today, when the gymnasts will compete in the all-around, and on Monday, where gymnasts will compete on select two events. Thirteen gymnasts are competing for six available spots: Simone Biles, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Kara Eaker, Aleah Finnegan, Morgan Hurd, Emily Lee, Sunisa Lee, Grace McCallum, MyKayla Skinner, Trinity Thomas, Faith Torrez, and Leanne Wong.
The gymnasts winning the all-around (a longer way to say “Simone Biles”) will make the Worlds team automatically, while the remaining five gymnasts will be selected after the Monday’s competition. The all-around competition on Sunday will be streamed on the USAG Youtube channel.
The US team will then fly to Stuttgart for the World Championships that start next week.
Mccusker is a graceful gymnast. It is saddening to see someone become ill when they work hard. I was hopeful to see her and Melanie. China is a nice team too