Road to the Olympics Will Stop in Hartford, Same Time Next Year

Same time next year.  That’s the new plan for the GK U.S. Classic, a precursor to the Olympic competition for women gymnasts in the United States.  When the Olympics were scheduled to take place in Tokyo this summer, the event was to be held in Hartford later this month.

With the Olympics pushed back to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, USA Gymnastics announced this week that Hartford will retain the event, also one year delayed, on May 22, 2021 at the XL Center.   All USA Gymnastics premier events slated for this year are being pushed back to next year.

“In light of recent guidance from health experts, and after receiving feedback from our athletes and coaches, we believe it is in the best interest of our community to wait until 2021 to hold premier events,” said Li Li Leung, chief executive officer of USA Gymnastics.

The event was last in Hartford in 2016 as part of the lead up to the 2016 Olympic Games.  That certainly worked out well, given the team’s medal-winning performances at the Olympics, so perhaps history delayed will not be history denied for the American women. 

USA Gymnastics is in the process of rescheduling other key events leading up to the Olympic Games in 2021 and plans to announce new dates for Olympic Trials, the 2021 National Congress and Tradeshow, and USA Gymnastics Championships in the coming weeks. In addition to rescheduling in Hartford, the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, previously scheduled for June 4-7, 2020, in Fort Worth, Texas, will take place June 3-6 next year.

Officials indicated that tickets already purchased for the 2020 events will be valid for the new event dates; alternatively, as new dates are announced, ticketholders will have the option to request a refund during a specified time period.  The event in Hartford was to be held on May 23 this year.  More information on the 2021 events, ticketing, and refunds will be communicated directly to ticketholders in the coming weeks.

Recent years have been torturous for the sport in the U.S. as the sexual abuse scandal and the sports’ mishandling of serious allegations dominated headlines. The hope is that those headlines, and concerns related to coronavirus, will recede, allowing the focus to return to the extraordinary talent of the competitors and prospects for a strong showing in Tokyo.  

The U.S. Classic is known for having a highly competitive field featuring many top gymnasts. Recent events have featured all five members of the Final Five, the 2016 Olympic team gold medalists and many other Olympic and World Championships medalists. The event was held in Louisville, Ky. in 2019; Columbus, Ohio in 2018.  When it was held in Hartford in 2016, that broke a string of six consecutive years when Chicago played host. 

The GK U.S. Classic features athletes competing on the junior and senior levels and is the last opportunity for female gymnasts to qualify for the U.S. Championships, the national championships for men’s and women’s gymnastics is the final qualifying event for the 2021 U.S. Gymnastics Championships.

 “In the Olympic year, the GK U.S. Classic takes on greater importance,” Annie Heffernon, vice president for women’s gymnastics, said earlier this year. “It is a great opportunity for fans to see many of the gymnasts who have their sights on the Olympic Games.”

The U.S. Classic is expected to feature some of the USA’s top junior and senior female gymnasts in the country.  All-world athlete Simone Biles was expected to compete this year, and may do so next year.  Also among those expected to compete for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team this year was Riley McCusker, who grew up in New Milford, Connecticut and was among those competing as a Junior in Hartford four years ago, when she earned a place on the Junior National Team.

The then-15-year-old told CT by the Numbers at the time that “Qualifying to the national team was the best day of my life because I realized then that all of my hard work and sacrifices have started paying off!” She had an enthusiastic and visible cheering section of friends and family on hand at the XL Center in 2016. 

McCusker was a member of the U.S.'s 2018 World Championships' gold-medal team in Doha, Qatar, and helped the U.S win team gold last summer at the 2019 Pan American Games. McCusker also took gold in Pan Am uneven bars competition, silver in all-around and bronze on beam.  She is scheduled to enroll at the University of Florida this fall and start collegiate competition next year, although whether college campus will be open, and athletic competition resumed, remains unclear.