Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships Phoenix

The 2026 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships begin Thursday, August 6, at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona, with national titles and multiple national-team spots on the line. USA Gymnastics said nearly 150 men’s and women’s artistic athletes qualified for the meet, which also serves as a qualifying event for this year’s Artistic World Championships team. For the men, the meet will determine the world team in Phoenix. For the women, results will shape invitations to a later selection camp rather than finalize the team this week. ### Why is this meet more than just nationals? USA Gymnastics said on July 21 that the championships will name the 2026-27 Senior and Junior National Teams after the competition. The federation also described Phoenix as a qualifying event for this year’s Artistic World Championships team, making the meet both a national championship and a selection step in the new Olympic cycle. (usagym.org) Gymnastics Now reported that the championships will determine national champions, national teams and the men’s world team, while the women’s results will be used to decide who is invited to a world selection camp set for late September. That means the women’s standings in Phoenix matter immediately, even though the final five-woman world team will not be named here. (usagym.org) ### How does men’s world-team selection work this week? NBC Sports reported that the men compete Thursday and Saturday in Phoenix, with the rest of the men’s world team to be named by the end of Sunday. NBC also said the men’s all-around champion earns the first spot on the five-man team if he also finishes in the top three on at least three of the six apparatus during the meet. (gymnastics-now.com) Frederick Richard and Stephen Nedoroscik, both 2024 Olympic bronze medalists, lead the men’s field, according to NBC Sports. USA Gymnastics said the broader qualified field included eight Olympians and more than 20 junior and senior world championship team members. ### Why is Leanne Wong not in the field? NBC Sports reported on August 5 that Leanne Wong withdrew after hyperextending her knee in training on Tuesday. (nbcsports.com) NBC identified Wong as the 2025 world all-around silver medalist, making her absence one of the most significant late changes to the women’s field. Gymnastics Now updated its registered senior women’s field to note that Wong withdrew on August 5 after hyperextending her knee during training on August 4. (nbcsports.com) The same registration update listed Jade Carey, Hezly Rivera and Skye Blakely among the senior women expected in Phoenix. ### Which women are now central in Phoenix? NBC Sports said the women’s field is led by 2024 Olympic gold medalists Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera. (nbcsports.com) NBC added that Carey is competing in her hometown, while Rivera can become the second woman in the last 13 years after Simone Biles to repeat as U.S. all-around champion. USA Gymnastics listed Carey as being from Phoenix, giving the host city a home contender in the senior women’s competition. (gymnastics-now.com) Gymnastics Now’s registration update also included Reese Esponda, Claire Pease and Skye Blakely among the senior women entered as of August 3. ### When can viewers watch, and what comes next after Phoenix? NBC Sports said live coverage runs Thursday through Sunday on NBC Sports and Peacock from Phoenix. (nbcsports.com) The men compete Thursday at 10 p.m. Eastern and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, while the women compete Friday at 10 p.m. Eastern and Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern, with additional delayed NBC windows on the weekend. (usagym.org) USA Gymnastics lists the Artistic World Championships for October 17-25 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Before that, Gymnastics Now said the women’s results in Phoenix will help determine invitations to a late-September selection camp, and NBC Sports reported that women’s final world-team selection will come after an early-autumn competition in Crossville, Tennessee. (usagym.org) (nbcsports.com)