Miss gymnastics yet?

If you loved watching gymnastics at the Tokyo Olympics and are missing the thrill of a stuck landing, you’re in luck, because gymnastics doesn’t just happen at the Olympics. In fact, the 2021 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships are set to kick off in Kitakyushu, Japan on Monday, featuring some of the top athletes in the sport.

Normally, worlds are held only in non-Olympic years. But when the 2020 Olympics were postponed, 2021 worlds stayed in place on the calendar, making this the first time in 25 years that a world gymnastics championship has been held in the same year as an Olympics. In 1996, the competition happened a few months before the Games, so it acted as a dress rehearsal for top talent like Simona Amanar and Svetlana Khorkina.

Here, a worlds held just months after the Olympics will be less predictable. We’ll see some overachievers who have pushed through after the Olympics, but we’ll also see athletes from very deep countries like the United States, China and Russia who were left off of their Tokyo teams and now hope to make a name for themselves.

It’s not the type of competition you can expect to see each year, but if you’re a fan during the Olympics, this one is well worth your time. The competition starts Monday with qualifications. The all-around final on Thursday and the event finals on Saturday and Sunday will air live on the Olympic Channel. NBC will also provide tape-delayed coverage.

Here are five things to look out for at this year’s worlds:

Melnikova could clean up

Russian star Angelina Melnikova just won a gold and two bronze medals at her second Olympic Games. If anyone told her that it’s OK to take a breather after the best competition of her life, she hasn’t listened, instead plowing through to make the Russian team for her fourth world championships.

In fact, despite injuries, a breakup with her longtime coach, changes in her body and even the now-infamous twisties, Melnikova says she hasn’t missed a competition since 2017. “I thought about whether to take a break [after Tokyo] or go to the World Championships,” she said in an interview translated by Gymnovosti. “But since I was invited to various … competitions, I still need to be in shape. So, why not try it?”

Why not? Melnikova is at the top of her game and excels in all four events, so this could be a worlds where she cleans up. Plus, without U.S. stars Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee — who beat her at the Olympics — in the mix, the coveted world all-around title appears to be hers to lose.

But first, she’ll have to answer to Rebeca Andrade. A veteran of the Brazilian team, Andrade came back this year after tearing her ACL three times and repeatedly missing world and Olympic podiums to do what we all knew she was capable of — winning.

In Tokyo, she earned a silver medal in the all-around, her country’s first-ever Olympic medal in gymnastics, and an incredible gold on vault. “I wanted to shine in the best way possible, and I think I did,” she told the FIG.

Look out for her powerful Cheng, an Yurchenko-style vault and one of the most difficult performed by women today.

Where does the U.S. stand?

After the Olympics, many of the top U.S. gymnasts are away, either recovering from injuries, off at college or participating in Biles’ post-Olympic tour. That’s why, when the U.S. held worlds trials earlier this month, only six athletes competed.

That doesn’t mean there’s a dearth of talent on the U.S. team, though. Quite the contrary: Kayla DiCello and Leanne Wong, both Olympic team alternates, are world-class athletes who hope to make a splash on the international stage. DiCello had an impressive showing at trials, winning the all-around and earning the highest score on three events. Plus, she doesn’t seem phased at all by the prospect of leading this team. “This is our turn to show the world what we can do,” she said.

Wong, meanwhile, earned the top score on floor, where she competes a gorgeous whip to triple twist. After spending much of her Tokyo experience in her hotel room after her teammate tested positive for COVID-19, Wong hopes to have a better showing at worlds.

“I was really disappointed in my experience,” she said. “And I just wanted to train more and get the real experience of competing outside the country.”

She’s had trouble with consistency in the past, but if she does what she’s capable of next week, then she has a real shot at a medal.

Filling out Team USA’s roster are eMjae Frazier, who surprised when she took second in the all-around at trials, and Konnor McClain.

McClain’s year has been marked by drama and unmet expectations. After an incredible 2019 season, MClain had disappointing performances in the lead-up to the Olympic trials, followed by a last-minute gym change. Then, at worlds trials, she fell twice on beam and twice on floor.

But there’s reason to be hopeful for McClain at worlds. After trials, she told the media that she’s feeling much better at her new gym, both mentally and in terms of her gymnastics. “I didn’t feel any nerves at all [at worlds trials], so I just felt different. It was a good experience,” she said. “The last four months have been really good … it’s just crazy how much it has changed and how happy I am to go into the gym every day.”

She also said that she hit her high-difficulty beam routine during the behind-closed-doors session on Day 2. If she can replicate that at worlds, then this could be a turning point for her career.

China’s redemption

China’s best gymnasts, normally representing a superpower in the sport, had a rough outing at the Tokyo Olympics, coming in seventh as a team in the final. Team members Tang Xijing, Lu Yufei and Fan Yilin also underperformed in the all-around and bars finals to miss the podium. It looked like China could actually go without a medal until the beam final, where Guan Chenchen and Tang went 1-2 in glorious fashion.

Now, China is sending a very strong and talented group to worlds for the chance at redemption. Wei Xiaoyuan, for one, gets to make a name for herself on the world stage after coming in second in the all-around and first in bars at China’s second Olympic trials but still being left off of the Olympic team. Here, she’ll lead China in the all-around after winning that title at the recent Chinese National Games with a 55.064. Bars are her specialty, and if she, Becky Downie and Melnikova compete there at full strength, it will make for a thrilling final.

Wei Xiaoyuan - UB 2021 CHN NG QF pic.twitter.com/73hYp6Wdxa

— Xiaoyu_CHN_DTY_in_Tokyo⚰️ (@xiaoyuonion) September 20, 2021

We also saw the return of Li Shijia, who was a favorite to make the Olympic team before an injury ruined her chances. At the National Games, she earned a 14.666 at qualifications — the highest beam score of the competition — with a routine that she absolutely needs to repeat at a world championships.

Li Shijia BB TQ
Welcome back Jiajia💕💕 pic.twitter.com/koxOmOoCbw

— 体操光年 (@chngym) September 20, 2021

Downie’s comeback

Becky Downie is back. A two-time Olympian and one of the sport’s great veterans — she’s competed as a senior elite since 2008 — Downie was set to contend for a bars medal at the Tokyo Olympics before she was shockingly left off of Team Great Britain. The situation surrounding her omission made it all the more heartbreaking: Downie’s brother died unexpectedly during the trials process, and while British Gymnastics granted her a separate trial, they still didn’t include her on the team.

Downie expressed her disappointment, but didn’t let it stop her from training for her 10th world championships. “I don’t want to retire like this,” she wrote on Twitter.

Her inclusion on Great Britain’s worlds roster, then, was a relief for many fans, who hope to see her dominate in the bars final. Downie is known for her exciting bar routines, which are packed with releases and quick transitions.

Only way is up 🤍 pic.twitter.com/DAcagDEQAV

— Becky Downie (@Bdownie) May 14, 2021

If she’s able to bring her full difficulty to Kitakyushu, it will be a thrill to watch.

The return of one-touch warmups

It’s a small thing, for sure, but the misguided rule that fans and athletes have hated for years is finally gone — the “no one-touch warmup before event finals.”

Some background: In team and all-around finals, athletes get the chance to warm up on each apparatus before they perform. But historically, in event finals, the warmup happens in the back gym, and when athletes come out to compete, they don’t get to try out the equipment again before competing. The rule, according to gymnastics authorities, was meant to appease broadcasters.

It stood at the Tokyo Olympics, where falls during the bars final led to an outcry from athletes and fans, who argued that not having a warmup leaves gymnasts at a disadvantage. McKayla Maroney said on Instagram that when she competed in the vault final, her legs felt “like Jell-O” after the long wait.

The controversy was enough to get the rule changed, starting at these world championships. Here, the first four athletes in an event final will have the chance to warm up before they compete, followed by the other four. It’s unclear what the effects of this will be, but ideally we’ll see fewer falls and better performances. And, needless to say, it probably won’t affect the viewing experience.

Jessica Taylor Price is a freelance sports writer. Her work has appeared in Teen Vogue, ESPNW, and Bleacher Report. She is also the gymnastics writer for the women’s sports newsletter The IX. Follow her on Twitter @jesstaylorprice.

Longtime USWNT fixture Carli Lloyd took to Instagram Wednesday morning to announce that she’s pregnant with her first child. 

"Baby Hollins coming in October 2024!" she wrote. The caption framed a collaged image of baby clothes, an ultrasound photo, and syringes indicating what she described as a "rollercoaster" fertility journey.

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In a Women’s Health story published in tandem with Lloyd’s post, the Fox Sports analyst and correspondent opened up about her struggles with infertility and the lengthy IVF treatments she kept hidden from the public eye.

"Soccer taught me how to work hard, persevere, be resilient, and never give up. I would do whatever it took to prepare, and usually when I prepared, I got results," Lloyd told Women’s Health’s Amanda Lucci. "But I found out that I didn’t know much about this world. I was very naive to think that we wouldn’t have any issues getting pregnant. And so it began."

Lloyd went on to discuss her road to pregnancy in great detail, sharing the highs and lows of the process and expressing gratitude for the care and support her family and medical team provided along the way. She rounded out the piece with a nod toward others navigating the same challenges, encouraging people to share their own pregnancy journeys, painful as they may be.

"My story is currently a happy one, but I know there are other women who are facing challenges in their pregnancy journey. I see you and I understand your pain," she said. "My hope is that more and more women will speak up about this topic, because their stories helped me. I also wish for more resources, funding, and education around fertility treatments. There is much to be done, and I hope I can play a role in helping."

The 41-year-old New Jersey native retired from professional soccer in 2021, closing out her decorated career with 316 international appearances, the second-most in USWNT history, in addition to 134 international goals. A legend on the field, Lloyd walked away from the game with two World Cups, two Olympic gold medals, and two FIFA Player of the Year awards.

On Tuesday, FIFPRO announced the launch of Project ACL, a three-year research initiative designed to address a steep uptick in ACL injuries across women's professional football.

Project ACL is a joint venture between FIFPRO, England’s Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), Nike, and Leeds Beckett University. While the central case study will focus on England’s top-flight Women's Super League, the findings will be distributed around the world.

ACL tears are between two- and six-times more likely to occur in women footballers than men, according to The Guardian. And with both domestic and international programming on the rise for the women’s game, we’ve seen some of the sport's biggest names moved to the season-ending injury list with ACL-related knocks.

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Soccer superstars like Vivianne Miedema, Beth Mead, Catarina Macario, Marta, and England captain Leah Williamson have all struggled with their ACLs in recent years, though all have since returned to the field. In January, Chelsea and Australia forward Sam Kerr was herself sidelined with the injury, kicking off a year of similar cases across women’s professional leagues. And just yesterday, the Spirit announced defender Anna Heilferty would miss the rest of the NWSL season with a torn ACL. The news comes less than two weeks after Bay FC captain Alex Loera went down with the same injury. 

Project ACL will closely study players in the WSL, monitoring travel, training, and recovery practices to look for trends that could be used to prevent the injury in the future. Availability of sports science and medical resources within individual clubs will be taken into account throughout the process.

ACL injuries in women's football have long outpaced the same injury in the men's game, but resources for specialized prevention and treatment still lag behind. Investment in achieving a deeper, more specialized understanding of the problem should hopefully alleviate the issue both on and off the field.

With recent transfers Talia von Oelhoffen and Kiki Iriafen joining first-team All-American JuJu Watkins and the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class at USC next season, the Trojans look to transition from an up-and-coming squad to a legitimate title contender. 

Former Oregon State graduate student von Oelhoffen is the latest collegiate talent to commit to the program, announcing her transfer Monday via ESPN. She follows ex-Stanford leading-scorer Iriafen in the jump to the pair’s one-time Pac-12 rival.

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The 5-foot-11 Washington native was a two-time All-Pac-12 guard during her time at Oregon State. But after the recent dissolution of the Pac-12, the Corvallis side found themselves without a permanent home conference going forward. Many big name players opted to take their skill elsewhere as a result, with von Oelhoffen’s fellow ex-Beaver Raegan Beers announcing her own departure to Oklahoma on Monday.

According to DraftKings, USC is now tied with UConn for the second-best betting odds to win the 2025 NCAA women’s tournament. Dawn Staley’s tested South Carolina side, poised for a repeat performance, holds down the number one spot.

Last year, LSU loaded up in the transfer portal after beating Iowa to win the 2023 national championship. The Tigers were clear favorites coming into the 2023-24 season, but were bounced in the Elite Eight by Caitlin Clark’s Hawkeyes. Shortly thereafter, star transfer Hailey Van Lith opted to transfer a second time, this time signing with TCU. 

Yet while history proves that an excess of star power doesn’t always translate to on-court chemistry, on paper, USC sure looks ready to hold their own — in 2025 and beyond.

The United States and Mexico have withdrawn their joint bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup, per a Monday afternoon release from U.S. Soccer and the Mexican Football Federation.

According to the statement, they will instead focus on developing a "more equitable" bid for the 2031 tournament, with the ultimate goal of "eliminating investment disparities" between the men’s and women’s tournaments.

The federations went on to cite the upcoming 2026 Men’s World Cup in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico as an opportunity to build support for local infrastructure, improve audience engagement, and scale up media and partnership deals in preparation to "host a record-breaking tournament in 2031."

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"Hosting a World Cup tournament is a huge undertaking — and having additional time to prepare allows us to maximize its impact across the globe," said U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone. "Shifting our bid will enable us to host a record-breaking Women’s World Cup in 2031 that will help to grow and raise the level of the women’s game both here at home as well as across the globe."

The decision leaves just Brazil and a joint bid from Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands in the running for the 2027 host spot. Brazil — the rumored frontrunner — has never hosted a Women’s World Cup, while Germany hosted the 2011 tournament as a solo venture. 

Furthermore, this postponement doesn’t mean the U.S. is a shoo-in for 2031, as it's been previously reported that 2022 UEFA Women's EURO host England is considering their own Women's World Cup bid. FIFA is scheduled to confirm the winning bid after the FIFA Congress votes on May 17th.