Katelyn Ohashi will not advance to the 2026 U.S. Championships. The 29-year-old gymnast concluded her senior elite comeback at the U.S. Classic in Hartford, Connecticut, on Saturday night just four-tenths of a point shy of the qualifying threshold. She needed a combined score of 26.800 across two apparatuses to move forward. She finished with a 26.400.
The math left no room for error. Ohashi posted identical scores on her two chosen events, earning exactly 13.200 on beam and 13.200 on the floor exercise. The senior women’s competition officially concluded at 9:00 PM EDT.
Key Details
- The Big Upset: U.S. gymnast Reese Esponda posted a career-best 54.900 to defeat two-time Olympic gold medalist Jade Carey (54.050) for the 2026 U.S. Classic all-around title.
- Routine Structure: Ohashi and her coaches intentionally scaled her floor routine back from three tumbling passes to two, prioritizing artistry and physical longevity over raw difficulty.
- The Timeline: Prior to a preliminary return at last month’s American Classic, Ohashi had not competed in a major elite-level field since April 2013.
That 2013 appearance was the American Cup. She won that event, finishing ahead of a 16-year-old Simone Biles. Injuries derailed her elite trajectory shortly after, leading her to transition into collegiate gymnastics at UCLA. There, she went globally viral in 2019 for a perfect-10 floor routine that focused entirely on joyful expression.
This elite run carried the exact same philosophy. Ohashi reunited with her former UCLA coach, Valorie Kondos Field, to craft routines that sidelined punishing difficulty for self-expression. The Hartford crowd celebrated the return loudly. But the judges adhered strictly to the scoring code.
While Ohashi dominated the crowd’s attention, the actual leaderboard told a different story. Esponda shocked the field by edging out Carey by 0.850 points. Carey settled for second place with her 54.050 total, cementing Esponda’s breakout performance.