Brightest U.S. gymnastic stars make Texas stop before Rio 2016

The road to gymnastics competition of the Rio Olympics goes through Arlington this month.

The best gymnasts from around the world will converge on AT&T Stadium in Arlington for the American Cup on March 7 for one of the premier competitions leading up to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The competition will be a chance for some Americans to prove they belong on Team USA next year.

For two-time world all-around champion Simone Biles, it’s a chance to solidify her spot on Team USA.

“I guess I’m just approaching it now as I know what I’ve done in the past, and I know what I’m capable of doing,” Biles said.

Along with her all-around titles at the world championships, Biles is a two-time U.S. all-around champion, a two-time world floor champion and a member of the gold-medal winning team at the 2014 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.

Despite all that, Biles, a resident of Spring, is looking forward at the opportunity of showing her talent in her home state.

“I’m really excited to compete because I know a lot of my friends and family haven’t seen me compete since my first year,” Biles said. “We have a lot of people coming out to watch me, and they are really excited and I’m really excited to compete.”

Joining Biles is 2014 world team gold-medalist Mykayla Skinner, along with 2014 world team bronze-medalist Donnell Whittenburg and 2014 American Cup champion Sam Mikulak on the men’s side.

Whittenburg, based out of Baltimore, hopes the football vibes of AT&T Stadium will bring a new kind of atmosphere to an event making its first appearance in a football venue.

“It’s definitely going to be a cool experience,” Whittenburg said. “Who doesn’t like football? It will get us pumped up. I’m just ready to go out there and put on a show.”

AT&T Stadium will also host the Nastia Liukin Cup on Friday, featuring some of the best up-and-coming stars in American gymnastics.

Skinner, who participated in the Liukin Cup five years ago, said the move from participating in that event to headlining the American Cup has been surreal.

“I never really dreamed of being able to being something so big since the last couple years now,” she said. “I’m really excited.”

The American Cup has been going since 1976 and has previously made a stop in Texas, twice in Fort Worth in 1997 and 1998.

The past two years the event was held in Worcester, Mass., and Greensboro, N.C.

Never has the event been staged in a stadium the size of AT&T Stadium.

“I just thought we are going to look like ants down there because the stadium is so big, but I guess we need a big stadium for big gymnastics,” Biles said.

This story was originally published February 28, 2015 at 6:43 PM with the headline "Brightest U.S. gymnastic stars make Texas stop before Rio 2016."