Sloane Blakely Explained

Sloane Blakely
Fullname:Sloane Blakely
Country:United States
Birth Date:23 December 2002
Birth Place:Dallas, Texas USA
Hometown:Frisco, Texas USA
Height:5ft 1in
Discipline:WAG
Level:Senior Elite
Level 10
NCAA
Natlteam:2019 (USA)
Club:World Olympic Gymnastics Academy
Collegeteam:Florida Gators (2022–25)
Headcoach:Tatyana Shadenko
Show-Medals:yes

Sloane Blakely (born December 23, 2002) is an American collegiate artistic gymnast and was a member of the United States women's national gymnastics team. She is currently competing for the Florida Gators in NCAA gymnastics. She is the older sister of gymnast Skye Blakely.

Early life

Blakely was born to Steven and Stephanie Blakely in 2002 in Dallas, Texas and has one sibling, Skye. She originally did ballet and tap dancing prior to starting gymnastics training.[1]

Gymnastics career

2016

Blakely qualified as a junior elite gymnast in 2016. She made her elite debut at the 2016 U.S. Classic where she placed 21st in the all-around.[2] She next competed at the U.S. National Championships where she finished 18th.[3]

2018

Blakely became age-eligible for senior level competition in 2018. She made her senior debut at the American Classic where she placed sixth in the all-around.[4] Later that month she competed at the 2018 U.S. Classic where she placed seventh in the all-around and fourth on balance beam.[5] In August Blakely competed at the 2018 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships. She finished 16th in the all-around.[6]

2019

In February Blakely was named to the team to compete at 2019 L'International Gymnix in Montreal, alongside Kara Eaker, Aleah Finnegan, and Alyona Shchennikova. As a result, she was named to the national team for the first time.[7] While there she helped the USA win team gold and individually she won silver on balance beam behind Eaker and finished fourth on floor exercise.[8]

In June Blakely competed at the American Classic where she placed first on balance beam, second on vault behind Faith Torrez, and fifth on floor exercise. After the conclusion of the American Classic, Blakely was named as one of the eight athletes being considered for the team that would compete at the 2019 Pan American Games, along with Kara Eaker, Aleah Finnegan, Morgan Hurd, Shilese Jones, Sunisa Lee, Riley McCusker and Leanne Wong.[9] The following month Blakely competed at the U.S. Classic where she only competed on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise. She was not selected to compete at the Pan American Games.[10]

In August Blakely competed at the U.S. National Championships where she once again only competed on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise. She finished ninth and sixteenth on the latter two events.[11]

2020

Blakely competed at the 2020 L'International Gymnix as a Challenger and not part of national team. She finished first in the all-around and on balance beam.[12] In November Blakely signed her National Letter of Intent with the Florida Gators.[13]

2021

Blakely dropped down to level 10 in 2021. She qualified to[14] and competed at the Nastia Liukin Cup where she finished 13th.[15] In May Blakely competed at the Developmental National Championships where she placed first in the senior-F division and swept titles on all apparatuses. In doing so Blakely became the first level 10 gymnast to sweep all of the titles at a National Championships.[16]

Collegiate gymnastics career

2021–2022 season

Blakely made her NCAA debut on January 7 in a quad meet against Rutgers, Northern Illinois, and Texas Women's. She competed on all four apparatuses and had the highest all-around and balance beam scores of the meet.[17] Blakely became the first Florida Gator gymnast since Kytra Hunter in 2012 to win the all-around in a debut collegiate meet.[18] As a result, Blakely was named SEC Gymnast of the Week. In doing so she became the first freshman to earn the opening SEC Gymnast of the Week honor of a season since the honor began in 2000.[19]

Regular season rankings

Season All-Around Vault Uneven Bars Balance Beam Floor Exercise
2022 57th 91st 112th 20th 165th
2023 N/A 68th 54th 62nd N/A
2024 32nd 77th 145th 36th 59th

Competitive history

align=center Yearalign=center EventTeamAAVTUBBBFX
Junior
2016 align=left 21 15 33 15 11
align=left 18 15 25 11 17
Senior
2018 align=left American Classic 6 11 13 6 9
align=left 7 16 4 11
align=left 16 18 11 15
2019align=left 4
align=left American Classic 5
align=left 14 16
align=left 9 16
2020 align=left
Level 10
2021 align=left 13
align=left L10 National Championships
NCAA
2022 align=left SEC Championships 11
align=left
2023 align=left SEC Championships
align=left 21
2024align=left NCAA Championships4391228

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Sloane Blakely. USA Gymnastics.
  2. Web site: Alexeeva wins junior title at Secret Classic. June 4, 2016. USA Gymnastics.
  3. Web site: O'Keefe wins first junior U.S. title. June 26, 2016. USA Gymnastics.
  4. Web site: Jones, DiCello win all-around titles at 2018 American Classic today. USA Gymnastics. July 7, 2018.
  5. Web site: Biles, Wong win all-around titles at 2018 GK U.S. Classic. USA Gymnastics. July 28, 2018.
  6. Web site: Biles shines on all four events on way to record fifth U.S. senior all-around title. August 19, 2018. USA Gymnastics.
  7. Web site: USA Gymnastics announces women's spring international team assignments. USA Gymnastics. February 24, 2019.
  8. Web site: USA wins four junior, senior event titles at 2019 Gymnix International. USA Gymnastics. March 10, 2019.
  9. Web site: USA Gymnastics names eight women eligible for 2019 U.S. Women's Pan American Games Team. USA Gymnastics. June 23, 2019.
  10. Web site: Biles, McClain win all-around titles at 2019 GK U.S. Classic. USA Gymnastics. July 20, 2019.
  11. Web site: Biles soars to sixth U.S. women's all-around title at 2019 U.S. Championships. USA Gymnastics. August 11, 2019.
  12. Web site: 2020 International Gymnix Results. The Gymternet. March 9, 2020.
  13. Web site: Sloane Blakely Signs with Gator Gymnastics Team. Florida Gators. November 11, 2020.
  14. Web site: An additional 16 gymnasts qualify for the 2021 Nastia Liukin Cup. February 17, 2021. USA Gymnastics.
  15. Web site: Smith, Zhou take 2021 Nastia Liukin Cup senior and junior titles. February 26, 2021. USA Gymnastics.
  16. Web site: Region 8 claims Super Team title as 2021 USA Gymnastics Women's Development Program National Championships wrap in Daytona Beach. USA Gymnastics. May 17, 2021.
  17. Web site: Preseason No. 2 Florida Gymnastics Opens with Quad Meet Win. Florida Gators. January 7, 2022.
  18. Web site: Freshman Blakely Delivers Big In Gators Debut. Florida Gators. January 8, 2022.
  19. Web site: Baumann and Blakely Claim Week 1 SEC Weekly Honors. Florida Gators. January 11, 2022.