Blakely, Pease Tie In Night One Thriller At 2026 U.S. Gymnastics Championships

Aug 08, 2026 11:50 AM - 1 hour ago 1

2026 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships

A fierce conflict took style connected Friday astatine the 2026 U.S. Gymnastics Championships. Claire Pease and Skye Blakely tied for the lead aft Friday night’s title successful Phoenix, mounting up a highly contested Sunday finale successful the Valley of the Sun.

Pease, the 2024 U.S. Junior champion and Blakely, a two-time World Team Champion, some delivered exemplary routines successful the last rotation to stock the lead. First-year elder Charleigh Bullock followed adjacent behind, scoring a immense 55.400 successful her first nationalist championships arsenic a elder gymnast.

Defending U.S. Champion and 2024 Olympic golden medalist Hezly Rivera vanished successful fourth, overcoming a important shortage aft falling connected the uneven bars. 2024 Olympic teammate Jade Carey vanished successful 5th successful her first U.S. Championships since the Paris Olympic Games.

U.S. Championships All-Around Standings

1. Skye Blakely & Claire Pease: 55.600

3. Charleigh Bullock: 55.400

4. Hezly Rivera: 55.000

5. Jade Carey: 54.400

For Blakely, the consequence almost elicited tears – “I almost cried a small bit,” she said to reporters aft the meet. Today’s meet marked Blakely’s first elite all-around title since she tore her Achilles tendon astatine the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Pease, a nine teammate of Hezly Rivera, attributed today’s successes to her “positive attitude.” Like Blakely, Pease has a redemption arc of her own: successful 2025, she missed an opportunity to make the 2025 World Championship squad owed to an untimely injury.

While scores transportation complete to Sunday’s finale, the title title remains highly contested. Should Rivera execute a comeback, the 18-year-old will subordinate an elite database of American gymnasts to triumph aggregate U.S. titles. Any different victor would subordinate the history books arsenic the U.S. nationalist champion.

Here’s really the action unfolded connected Friday successful Phoenix.

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The Phoenix Play-By Play

Rotation One: Blakely, Esponda Shine

Skye Blakely began her title connected uneven bars, an arena wherever she is the reigning U.S National Champion and finalist astatine the 2025 World Championships. Blakely swung pinch powerfulness and trouble to commencement the meet, cleanly landing her dismount for a beardown 14.200.

First-year elder elite Charleigh Bullock showed jitters successful her U.S. Championships elder debut, bouncing retired of her vault landing. Despite the landing error, Bullock received a beardown people of 14.000 owed to beardown execution successful her twists. Next up, U.S. Classic All-Around Champion Reese Esponda. While Esponda had directional issues connected her vault, Esponda nailed the landing for a near-perfect stick, earning a 14.200 to necktie pinch Blakely for the lead.

Reigning U.S. Champion and Olympic golden medalist Hezly Rivera’s nighttime started connected level exercise, an arena she won astatine the 2025 championships. Rivera showed beardown powerfulness and artistry successful her exercise, but struggled pinch endurance connected her last tumbling pass. Nonetheless, a people of 14.000 marked a beardown start.

In her first U.S. championships since winning 2 medals astatine the Paris Olympic games, Phoenix autochthonal Jade Carey returned to the beam. Though Carey began her regular pinch tentativeness, she showed her trademark composure to present a deed exercise. Carey clapped successful celebration, opening her homecoming pinch a hit.

One of the apical contenders for the AA title, reigning Pan American level champion Claire Pease opened her nighttime connected level exercise. Pease struggled pinch excess powerfulness connected her landings, but showed singular elasticity successful her creation elements.

Top Five After One: 1. Reese Esponda & Skye Blakely: 14.200, 3. Charleigh Bullock & Hezly Rivera: 14.000, 5. Lavi Crain: 13.950

Rotation Two: Bullock Pulls Ahead, Rivera Holds Steady

Heading to her second-consecutive ‘legs event,’ Rivera powered done the vault aft her beardown opening connected level exercise. Despite a caller hamstring “aggravation,” Rivera delivered different deed workout to people a 14.200.

Minutes later, Bullock took to the uneven bars – an arena wherever she is the 2025 U.S. Junior champion. Bullock quickly proved why, nailing her merchandise moves and sticking her dismount for a 14.250, the highest bars people of the night. Two routines in, the 16-year-old took the lead complete the defending nationalist champion.

Over connected the floor, erstwhile Olympic level champion Jade Carey took to her signature event. Carey nailed her first 3 landings, only to bounce retired of her last walk – a elemental double back; perhaps, excessively easy for the three-time Olympic medalist. “She looks exceptionally amended than [the] U.S. Classic,” commentator John Roethlisberger reflected. Carey received a beardown 13.750, the highest level people since Carey began her comeback.

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Needing to capitalize connected her 2 strongest events, Skye Blakely mounted the beam. Hitting her opening opinionated afloat twist, Blakely astir fell disconnected the beam connected her acrobatic bid but recovered her hit complete the people of the routine. Despite the wobbles, she scored a beardown 13.750. A world finalist connected beam, Blakely has agelong battled pinch consistency.

At the halfway mark, Bullock took the lead, pinch Esponda dropping to 5th owed to constricted trouble successful her uneven bars routine. With little than a constituent separating the apical 5 competitors, the all-around title quickly heated up.

Top Five After Two: 1. Charleigh Bullock: 28.250, 2. Hezly Rivera: 28.200, 3. Skye Blakely: 27.950, 4. Claire Pease: 27.500, 5. Reese Esponda: 27.300

Rotation Three: Bullock Holds Strong

Sitting conscionable extracurricular the apical 5 successful the all-around race, Jade Carey went to vault, an arena wherever she is simply a World Champion and Olympic medalist. Competing little trouble owed to her caller comeback, Carey cruised done her 2 vaults to return a comfortable lead successful the vault standings.

Heading to the beam, Reese Esponda needed to deed earlier heading to her strongest event, level exercise. Esponda almost came disconnected the beam connected 2 occasions, but showed unthinkable conflict to salvage the routine. Though she scored conscionable a 12.350, she avoided counting a fall.

Entering the rotation successful third, Skye Blakely returned to the elite level for the first clip since tearing her Achilles tendon astatine the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. Nailing her intricate double beforehand pass, Blakely performed 3 front-tumbling passes to minimize deterioration connected her ankles.

Next up: Claire Pease and Hezly Rivera connected the uneven bars. After 2 jittery routines to commencement her competition, Claire triumphed pinch a instrumentality to rocket up of Blakely and Carey. Minutes later, Rivera hoped to travel her teammate’s lead. However, Rivera’s stellar commencement came to a halt aft a autumn connected her caller merchandise move. She received conscionable a 12.500, dropping her disconnected the podium – for now.

Needing a 13.450 to support her all-around lead, Bullock went to the equilibrium beam. Though 1 of the youngest successful the field, Bullock carried herself pinch veteranlike focus, moving done her regular pinch confidence. Landing her difficult 2.5-twisting layout pinch ease, Bulllock fto retired a melodramatic sigh of relief. She received a 13.700 – conscionable for illustration that, Bullock entered the last rotation up of 3 World aliases Olympic champions.

Top Five After Three: 1. Charleigh Bullock: 41.950, 2. Claire Pease: 41.700, 3. Skye Blakely: 41.400, 4. Jade Carey: 41.050, 5. Hezly Rivera: 40.700

Rotation Four:

Finishing her nighttime connected her weakest event, the uneven bars, Jade Carey did what Jade Carey does best: hit. While she committed shape errors successful her modulation skills, the Olympian nailed her caller dismount to the loudest crowd roar of the night. “She’s specified a gamer,” Rothlisberger remarked. In her first championships since 2024, Carey was backmost successful contention.

Next up of the contenders: Skye Blakely connected vault. Known for her powerfulness and execution, Blakely could vault into the apical spot pinch a beardown landing. Hitting her vault to adjacent perfection, Blakely received a 9.4 execution people – the champion of the night, launching the 21-year-old into the lead.

Needed astir a 14.000 to return the lead from Blakely, Pease vanished her nighttime connected equilibrium beam. With immoderate of the astir intricate beam activity successful the competition, Pease did precisely what she needed. Putting her “best ft forward,” Pease received a immense 13.900 – putting her successful a dormant power for the lead.

Up next, Hezly Rivera. Before saluting the judges, Rivera embraced her coach Anna Liukin for a long-winded hug. After a disastrous barroom routine, the Olympian had to hit. Floating done her bid and leaps pinch confidence, Rivera closed her title pinch a spectacular effort to enactment successful contention.

Needing a 13.650 to return the lead, Charleigh Bullock looked to decorativeness her stellar debut pinch a hit. Despite little difficulty, Bullock showcased impeccable leaps and twisting form, earning a beardown 13.450 to clinch 3rd spot down Blakely and Pease.

Though U.S. Classic champion Reese Esponda dropped successful the standings aft a disappointing beam routine, she closed the title pinch 1 of the night’s highlights connected floor. Esponda nailed her highly difficult tumbling, soaring to the highest level people of the night.

Next Up: Day Two successful Phoenix

The athletes will bask a remainder time tomorrow earlier returning to Mortgage Matchup Center for the 2nd and last time of competition. On Sunday, nationalist champions will beryllium crowned.

Day 2 of the 2026 U.S. Championships originates astatine 6 p.m. ET and will beryllium broadcast unrecorded connected NBC and Peacock. Here’s how and wherever to watch.