Wikipedia

Shilese Jones

Shilese Jones (born July 26, 2002) is an American artistic gymnast. She was a member of the teams that won gold at the 2022 World Championships, 2023 World Championships, and the 2018 Pan American Championships. Individually she is the 2022 World all-around and uneven bars silver medalist and the 2023 World all-around and uneven bars bronze medalist. Jones is also a two-time U.S. National Champion on uneven bars (2022–2023) and the 2022 U.S. National Champion on floor exercise. She currently trains with Ascend Gymnastics.

Shilese Jones
Jones in 2024
Personal information
Full nameShilese Jones
Nickname(s)Shi
Country represented United States
Born (2002-07-26) July 26, 2002 (age 22)
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
ResidenceEdgewood, Washington, U.S.
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior International Elite
Years on national team2018–present (USA)
GymAscend Gymnastics
Buckeye Gymnastics (former)
Head coach(es)Sarah Korngold
Assistant coach(es)Brett Wargo
Former coach(es)Christian Gallardo
Medal record
Women's artistic gymnastics
Representing the  United States
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Liverpool Team
Gold medal – first place 2023 Antwerp Team
Silver medal – second place 2022 Liverpool All-Around
Silver medal – second place 2022 Liverpool Uneven Bars
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Antwerp All-Around
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Antwerp Uneven Bars
Pan American Championships
Gold medal – first place 2018 Lima Team
FIG World Cup
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
World Challenge Cup 1 1 0
Total 1 1 0

Early life

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Jones was born in Seattle, Washington to parents Sylvester Jones and Latrice Bryant. She has two sisters.[1] She began gymnastics in 2006.[1] Her father died in 2021 after a prolonged battle with kidney disease.[2]

Junior gymnastics career

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2014–15

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Jones qualified to junior elite in 2014. She made her elite debut at the American Classic where she finished 29th in the all-around but fourth on vault.[3] She later competed at the U.S. Classic where she placed fourteenth in the all-around, seventh on vault, ninth on floor exercise, and twenty-third on uneven bars and balance beam.[4] At the 2014 National Championships Jones placed twentieth in the all-around.

In July 2015 Jones competed at the U.S. Classic where she finished sixth in the all-around, on vault, and on floor exercise. The following month she competed at the 2015 National Championships where she placed tenth in the all-around, ninth on vault, fourteenth on uneven bars and floor exercise, and tenth on balance beam.

2016–17

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Jones competed at the 2016 U.S. Classic in July where she finished nineteenth in the all-around and seventh on vault. In August she competed at the 2016 National Championships where she finished seventh in the all-around but won bronze on vault behind Chae Campbell and Madeleine Johnston and on floor exercise behind Maile O'Keefe and Riley McCusker.

Jones competed at the 2017 U.S. Classic where she placed seventh in the all-around.[5] She was scheduled to compete at the 2017 National Championships but had to withdraw due to injury.[6]

Senior gymnastics career

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2018

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Jones turned senior in 2018. She competed at the American Classic where she placed first in the all-around, on vault, and on floor exercise, placed fourth on uneven bars, and twelfth on balance beam.[7] Later in the summer she competed at the 2018 U.S. Classic where she placed fourth in the all-around behind Simone Biles, Riley McCusker, and Morgan Hurd, sixth on uneven bars, eleventh on balance beam, and fifth on floor exercise.[8]

At the National Championships Jones finished fifth in the all-around, behind Biles, Hurd, McCusker, and Grace McCallum, sixth on uneven bars, tenth on balance beam, and seventh on floor exercise.[9][10] As a result of her performance she was added to the senior national team for the first time.[11] The following day, Jones was named to the team to compete at the Pan American Championships in Lima, Peru alongside McCallum, Trinity Thomas, Jade Carey, and Kara Eaker.[12] In the team competition, Jones helped the United States' win the gold.[13][14]

In October Jones participated in the Worlds Team Selection Camp. During the competition she placed eighth in the all-around, second on vault behind Biles, fifth on uneven bars, ninth on balance beam, and eighth on floor exercise.[15] The following day she was not named to the team to compete at the 2018 World Championships.[16][17]

2019

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In February Jones was named to the team to compete at the 2019 City of Jesolo Trophy alongside Sunisa Lee, Emma Malabuyo, and Gabby Perea.[18] While there she contributed scores on vault, beam, and floor that helped the team win gold.[19]

In June, after the conclusion of the American Classic, Jones was named as one of the eight athletes being considered for the team to compete at the 2019 Pan American Games along with Sloane Blakely, Kara Eaker, Aleah Finnegan, Morgan Hurd, Sunisa Lee, Riley McCusker, and Leanne Wong.[20]

At the 2019 GK US Classic, Jones placed ninth in the all-around. She also placed third on vault behind Jade Carey and Aleah Finnegan, eleventh on uneven bars, fourteenth on balance beam, and tenth on floor exercise. After the competition she was named as the alternate for the Pan American Games.[21]

At the U.S. National Championships, Jones placed twelfth in the all-around. She also finished fifth on vault, fourteenth on uneven bars, eleventh on balance beam, and ninth on floor exercise.[22] She did not retain her spot on the national team, but it was announced that despite neither gymnast making the team, she and Faith Torrez had been extended invites to the worlds selection camp. She later withdrew from the camp due to injury.[23]

2020–21

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In March Jones was selected to compete at the City of Jesolo Trophy alongside Sophia Butler, Leanne Wong, and Kara Eaker. As a result she was re-added to the national team. However, the USA decided to not send a team to Jesolo due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy.[24] In October it was announced that Jones would compete at a friendly competition in Japan taking place in November. She competed alongside Butler and eMjae Frazier and against gymnasts from Russia, Japan, and China.[25]

In February 2021 Jones competed at the Winter Cup. She finished second in the all-around behind Jordan Chiles. She also finished third on bars behind Sunisa Lee and Riley McCusker, and tied for third on floor with Lilly Lippeatt.[26] In May Jones competed at the 2021 U.S. Classic where she only competed on vault, uneven bars, and balance beam. She recorded the third highest single vault score behind Simone Biles and Chiles and finished 24th and 23rd on the other two apparatuses.[27]

In August it was announced that Jones would join Biles' Gold Over America Tour.[28]

2022

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Jones competed at the 2022 City of Jesolo Trophy alongside eMjae Frazier, Konnor McClain, Zoe Miller, and Elle Mueller. They won the team event with a score of 164.065. Jones placed fourth in the all-around behind McClain, Asia D'Amato, and Martina Maggio. During event finals Jones won silver on uneven bars and bronze on balance beam.[29] In August Jones competed at the National Championships. She finished second in the all-around behind McClain. She co-won the title on the uneven bars alongside Leanne Wong and outright won the national title on floor exercise.[30]

In September Jones competed at the Paris World Challenge Cup; she only competed on uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. She qualified to all three event finals. During event finals she won gold on uneven bars ahead of Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, silver on floor exercise behind teammate Jordan Chiles, and placed fifth on balance beam.[31]

In October Jones was selected to compete at the 2022 World Championships alongside Skye Blakely, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, and Leanne Wong.[32] During the qualification round Jones helped the USA qualify to the team final in first place. Individually she qualified to the all-around and uneven bars finals. Additionally she was the first reserve for the balance beam final.[33] During the team final Jones contributed scores on vault, uneven bars, and floor exercise, helping the USA win their sixth consecutive team gold medal.[34] During the all-around final Jones competed solid routines on all four apparatuses, earning the silver medal behind Rebeca Andrade of Brazil.[35] On the first day of apparatus finals Jones won silver on uneven bars behind reigning World Champion Wei Xiaoyuan.[36]

2023

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In September Jones was selected to represent the United States at the 2023 World Championships alongside Simone Biles, Skye Blakely, Joscelyn Roberson, Leanne Wong, and alternate Kayla DiCello.[37] During qualifications she helped the USA qualify to the team final in first place and individually she qualified to the all-around, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise event finals. During the team final she competed on all four apparatuses and helped the USA win their seventh consecutive World team title.[38] During the all-around final Jones performed cleanly on all four apparatuses and won the bronze medal behind Biles and Rebeca Andrade of Brazil.[39] On the first day of apparatus finals Jones won the bronze on uneven bars behind Qiu Qiyuan of China and Kaylia Nemour of Algeria.[40] On the final day of competition Jones finished seventh on balance beam and fifth on floor exercise.[41]

2024

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Jones started the season competing at the Core Hydration Classic where she placed second in the all-around behind Simone Biles. Additionally she won gold on the uneven bars, silver on floor exercise behind Biles and tied with Kaliya Lincoln, and placed fourth on balance beam.[42] She withdrew from the Xfinity U.S. Championships hours before the competition was set to begin, citing an injury to her right shoulder.[43]

She petitioned to be able to compete at the 2024 Olympic Trials; her petition was accepted.[44] On the first day of competition at the Olympic Trials, while warming up on vault, Jones injured her left knee. She opted to only compete on the uneven bars where she scored 14.675, which was the highest score of the day on the apparatus.[45] The following day Jones received a medical evaluation which concluded that she would be unable to compete on day two of the competition, thus ending her bid to make the Olympic team.[46] Later in the summer Jones revealed that she tore her ACL and meniscus.[47][48][49]

Competitive history

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Year Event Team AA VT UB BB FX
Junior
2014 American Classic 29 4 24 32 27
U.S. Classic 14 7 23 23 9
National Championships 20 12 20 33 14
2015 U.S. Classic 6 6 14 19 6
National Championships 10 9 14 10 14
2016 U.S. Classic 19 7 17 38 18
National Championships 7   14 20  
2017 U.S. Classic 7 7 18 16 4
Senior
2018 American Classic     4 12  
U.S. Classic 4 6 11 5
U.S. National Championships 5 6 10 7
Pan American Championships  
Worlds Team Selection Camp 8   5 9 8
2019 City of Jesolo Trophy  
U.S. Classic 9   11 14 10
U.S. National Championships 12 5 14 11 9
2020 Friendship & Solidarity Meet  
2021 Winter Cup   4   13  
U.S. Classic 24 23
U.S. National Championships 12 5 24 18
Olympic Trials 10 14 10 10
2022 City of Jesolo Trophy   4    
U.S. Classic     11  
U.S. National Championships     11  
Paris Challenge Cup   5  
World Championships       R1
2023 U.S. National Championships     4  
World Championships       7 5
2024 U.S. Classic     4  
Olympic Trials WD

References

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  1. ^ a b "USA Gymnastics: Shilese Jones".
  2. ^ "Gymnast Shilese Jones Reveals How Her Late Father Sylvester Is Inspiring Her Road to the Olympics". E! News. December 31, 2023.
  3. ^ "Toronjo, Foberg win all-around titles at 2014 American Classic". USA Gymnastics. July 5, 2014.
  4. ^ "Biles, Chiles take Secret U.S. Classic all-around titles". USA Gymnastics. August 2, 2014.
  5. ^ "2017 U.S. Classic Meet Results - Juniors" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. July 29, 2017.
  6. ^ "54 women will compete at 2017 P&G Championships". USA Gymnastics. August 7, 2017.
  7. ^ "Jones, DiCello win all-around titles at 2018 American Classic today". USA Gymnastics. July 8, 2018.
  8. ^ "Biles, Wong win all-around titles at 2018 GK U.S. Classic". USA Gymnastics. July 28, 2018.
  9. ^ "Biles wins fifth senior women's all-around title at 2018 U.S. Gymnastics Championships". USA Gymnastics. August 19, 2018.
  10. ^ "2018 U.S. Championships Results". The Gymternet. August 20, 2018.
  11. ^ "USA Gymnastics names 2018-19 U.S. Women's National Team". USA Gymnastics. August 20, 2018.
  12. ^ "USA Gymnastics names U.S. Women's Team for 2018 Pan Am Championships". USA Gymnastics. August 20, 2018.
  13. ^ "U.S. women win team gold at 2018 Senior Pan Am Championships". USA Gymnastics. September 16, 2018.
  14. ^ "McCallum, Thomas go one-two in women's all-around at 2018 Senior Pan Am Championships". USA Gymnastics. September 15, 2018.
  15. ^ "Biles wins U.S. women's World Team Selection Camp competition". USA Gymnastics. October 11, 2018.
  16. ^ "USA Gymnastics announces 2018 U.S. Women's World Championships Team". USA Gymnastics. October 12, 2018.
  17. ^ "Qualification line-up for U.S. women is announced for 2018 World Championships". USA Gymnastics. October 25, 2018.
  18. ^ "USA Gymnastics announces women's spring international team assignments". USA Gymnastics. February 24, 2019.
  19. ^ "USA wins senior team title at 2019 Jesolo Trophy, captures 14 other medals". USA Gymnastics. March 3, 2019.
  20. ^ "USA Gymnastics names eight women eligible for 2019 U.S. Women's Pan American Games Team". USA Gymnastics. June 23, 2019.
  21. ^ "Biles, McClain win all-around titles at 2019 GK U.S. Classic". USA Gymnastics. July 20, 2019.
  22. ^ "Biles soars to sixth U.S. women's all-around title at 2019 U.S. Championships". USA Gymnastics. August 11, 2019.
  23. ^ "Fans can watch U.S. Women's World Championships Selection Camp competition live on Sept. 22". USA Gymnastics. September 21, 2019.
  24. ^ "U.S. women to compete in 2020 Gymnix International". USA Gymnastics. March 3, 2020.
  25. ^ "Uchimura Kohei to compete in Japan's first coronavirus-era international sporting event next month". Olympic Channel. October 12, 2020.
  26. ^ "2021 Winter Cup Senior Women Results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics.
  27. ^ "Biles debuts unprecedented Yurchenko double pike vault en route to fifth GK U.S. Classic title". USA Gymnastics. May 22, 2021.
  28. ^ "Team USA to headline night of gymnastics at Enterprise Center". KMOV. August 19, 2021.
  29. ^ "U.S. athletes earn 14 medals, six gold, on final day of 2022 City of Jesolo Trophy". USA Gymnastics. April 10, 2022.
  30. ^ "McClain reigns at the 2022 OOFOS U.S. Gymnastics Championships". USA Gymnastics. August 21, 2022.
  31. ^ "USA dazzles in Paris with ten medals, including four gold". International Gymnastics Federation. September 26, 2022.
  32. ^ "USA Gymnastics names dynamic, new-look women's roster for Artistic World Championships". USA Gymnastics. October 22, 2022.
  33. ^ "U.S. women qualify to team and all individual finals at 2022 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships". USA Gymnastics. October 30, 2022.
  34. ^ "U.S. women capture record sixth-straight World Championships team title". USA Gymnastics. November 1, 2022.
  35. ^ "Rebeca Andrade wins Brazil's first world all-around gymnastics title". NBC Sports. November 3, 2022.
  36. ^ "U.S. gymnasts capture three medals on first day of World Championships apparatus finals". USA Gymnastics. November 5, 2022.
  37. ^ "U.S. senior women's teams named for 2023 World Artistic Championships, Pan American Games". USA Gymnastics. September 20, 2023.
  38. ^ "Team USA women win historic gold at Artistic World Championships". USA Gymnastics. October 4, 2023.
  39. ^ "Biles makes history again, Jones wins all-around bronze at Artistic Worlds". USA Gymnastics. October 6, 2023.
  40. ^ "Biles, Young claim silver medals, Jones takes bronze at World Championships". USA Gymnastics. October 7, 2023.
  41. ^ "Biles wows with golds on beam, floor; Young scores second silver as U.S. wraps up thrilling World Championships". USA Gymnastics. October 8, 2023.
  42. ^ "Biles wins senior all-around crown at 2024 Core Hydration Classic". USA Gymnastics. May 18, 2024.
  43. ^ "Shilese Jones withdraws from Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships". NBC. May 31, 2024.
  44. ^ "USA Gymnastics announces rosters for 2024 Olympic Team Trials – Gymnastics". USA Gymnastics. June 3, 2024.
  45. ^ "Biles tops all-around on first day of women's action at U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Gymnastics". USA Gymnastics. June 28, 2024.
  46. ^ "Gymnast Shilese Jones pulls out of U.S. Olympic trials with leg injury". AP News. June 29, 2024.
  47. ^ Bregman, Scott (July 29, 2024). "Shilese Jones eyes LA 2028: "I'm shifting my focus to the future."". olympics.com. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  48. ^ "American gymnast Shilese Jones pointing toward 2028 Olympics following knee injury at US trials". Associated Press. July 30, 2024.
  49. ^ Armour, Nancy (July 29, 2024). "Shilese Jones says she'll train for 2028 Olympics after missing Paris Games with torn ACL". USA Today. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
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