3 Utah gymnasts heading to Tokyo Olympics

Photo Courtesy: Utah Athletics

ST. LOUIS, Mo., June 28, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah gymnasts Grace McCallum, MyKayla Skinner and Kara Eaker will all head to the Tokyo Olympics after the Sunday night at the Olympic Team Trials.

“Incoming freshman McCallum earned a berth as a member of the four-gymnast Team USA squad, while Skinner collected her Olympic berth as an individual,” said a news release from University of Utah Athletics. “Lastly, incoming freshman Kara Eaker heads to Tokyo as an alternate to round out the three Utes.”

Utah’s trio of gymnasts all finished in the top-seven of the all-around standings following Sunday’s competition, the news release said. McCallum finished fourth overall in the all-around (112.564) at the Olympic Team Trials this weekend to solidify her position on the team, while Skinner finished in fifth place (112.264) and Eaker placed seventh (111.097).

“McCallum’s consistency was displayed throughout the weekend as she finished fourth on floor, and fifth on the uneven bars and balance beam,” the news release said. “She posted the second-best floor score on the first day of competition and the third-best score on bars Sunday night. With her consistency paying off, McCallum was one of two positions filled by the selection committee at the end of the night.”

Skinner, who made the decision to put her college career on hold and return to elite gymnastics, will compete as an individual in Tokyo after placing second on vault at the Olympic Team Trials and seventh overall on floor.

Selected as an alternate, Eaker finished second on the balance beam. She also placed sixth overall on the floor to aid in her seventh-place finish in the all-around.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympic competition schedule for the three Utah gymnasts is:

July 25 — Women’s Qualification
July 27 — Women’s team final
July 29 — Women’s all-around final
Aug. 1 — Women’s vault and uneven bars final
Aug. 2 — Women’s floor exercise final
Aug. 3 — Women’s balance beam final

For updates on McCallum, Skinner and Eaker’s Olympic journeys, follow @Utahgymnastics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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