Laurie Hernandez shares names to watch for at the 2024 US Olympics gymnastics trials

The 2024 United States Olympic trials are officially underway.

The trials in Minneapolis will finalize the roster of competitors that will head to Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics in July.

The trials started June 27 and end June 30, with two days of competition for men and two for women. Here's what to know, how to watch and some names to look out for.

When are the 2024 Olympic team trials for gymnastics?

The Olympic team trials will be going on from June 27-30, with men competing on June 27 and June 29 and women on June 28 and June 30. Here's when each day of trials will begin:

• Thursday, June 27: 6:30 p.m. ET

• Friday, June 28: 7:30 p.m. ET

• Saturday, June 29: 3 p.m. ET

• Sunday, June 30: 8 p.m. ET

The male athletes are competing in the floor, high bar, parallel bars, pommel horse, rings and vault categories. The female athletes are participating in floor, uneven bars, balance beam and vault categories.

Where are the Olympic team trials for gymnastics?

The Olympic team trials are occurring at Target Center in Minneapolis, which has been transformed into Gymnastics City USA since June 21.

The Minneapolis Convention Center hosted the USA Gymnastics Championships, which features rhythmic gymnastics, acrobatic gymnastics and trampoline and tumbling. The center is also holding the USA Gymnastics for All National Championships & Gymfest.

For tickets to the Olympic trials, click here.

Which gymnasts will compete?

Sixteen women and 20 men are competing in their respective trials over the course of four days.

Simone Biles has headed into the competition as a favorite for Team USA at 27 years old.

When asked what makes her one of the best competitors in women's gymnastics, Olympic medalist and NBC Sports gymnastics analyst Laurie Hernandez said it has everything to do with who Biles is as a person.

"Well, her balance between enjoying life outside of practice and being able to come in and work has been something that she's talked about. Mental Health, between balancing mental and physical training, is another thing that allows her to just really embrace quality over quantity," Hernandez said on Saturday TODAY June 29. "I think that's why we're seeing older athletes come out today and just embrace that life."

If Biles makes the squad, she will become the first American woman to compete at three consecutive Olympics in artistic gymnastics since Dominique Dawes in the 1990s and 2000.

Here's the full roster for the competition:

Women

• Simone Biles

• Skye Blakely

• Jade Carey

• Dulcy Caylor

• Jordan Chiles

• Kayla DiCello

• Shilese Jones

• Suni Lee

• Kaliya Lincoln

• Eveylynn Lowe

• Zoey Molomo

• Hezly Rivera

• Joscelyn Roberson

• Simone Rose

• Tiana Sumanasekera

• Leanne Wong

Men

• Fuzzy Benas

• Jeremy Bischoff

• Cameron Bock

• Tate Costa

• Alex Diab

• Asher Hong

• Patrick Hoopes

• Paul Juda

• Josh Karnes

• Brody Malone

• Kiran Mandava

• Yul Moldauer

• Stephen Nedoroscik

• Curran Phillips

• Frederick Richard

• Kai Uemura

• Colt Walker

• Donnell Whittenburg

• Shane Wiskus

• Khoi Young

Which female gymnasts are leading the Olympic trials?

In addition to Biles, gymnasts Jordan Chiles and Suni Lee are at the top of the leaderboard in Minneapolis.

Hernandez also shared a few more names viewers should look out for, including 16-year-old "underdog" Hezly Rivera, who is from Hernandez's home state of New Jersey.

"It is fun to see a new athlete come out and get some of that spotlight," she said. "And of course, Jade Carey, who was part of that Tokyo team."

Hernandez said Carey has competed with an Amanar vault, a move named for 1996 Olympian Simona Amanar that carries a high difficulty score, marking an "upgrade" for the gymnast.

"Athletes are really putting their best foot forward this weekend. And on Sunday night, we will determine who will be on that Paris team," Hernandez said.

Injuries have majorly impacted the competitive field in women's gymnastics.

Skye Blakely, who finished second to Biles at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships in June, injured her right Achilles tendon during training June 26. USA Gymnastics confirmed June 27 that she would not compete at the trials.

Then frontrunners Kayla DiCello and Shilese Jones were both seemingly injured after their vault routines at the trials and withdrew from the competition.

Hernandez said the injuries are "heartbreaking."

She noted that because there is so much training from the trials to the Olympics games, which kick off at the end of July, "the Olympic committee is definitely going to consider — they need an athlete who is healthy."

"That's why we're seeing a lot of familiar faces, a lot of Tokyo team, coming back up, seeing them on the podium," she said. "A lot of that has to do with the fact that they have peaked at the right time. It shows their experience."

How to watch the Olympic team trials

The first day of the Olympic team trials aired on USA Network on June 27. From June 28-30, the trials are broadcast on NBC. Find the complete TV schedule here.

All four days will be streamed live on Peacock. (Peacock is owned by TODAY.com's parent company, NBCUniversal.)

This article was originally published on TODAY.com