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In her quest to make the U.S. Olympic team, Ute gymnast MyKayla Skinner to compete Saturday at U.S. Classic

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) MyKayla Skinner celebrates her landing on the vault as Utah hosts Penn State in their season opener at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019.

Utah gymnast MyKayla Skinner will take the first step in her quest to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games on Saturday at the U.S. Classic in Louisville, Ky.

Skinner will compete in the senior session at at 5 p.m. MT. The meet will be broadcast on the Olympic Channel, and livestreamed at OlympicChannel.com, the Olympic Channel app and the NBCSports app.

The U.S. Classic is the final qualifying event for the 2019 U.S. Gymnastics National Championships on Aug. 8-11 in Kansas City, Mo.

Skinner, who has qualified on all four events, will open competition on the vault, followed by bars, beam and floor. The U.S. Classic field includes 22 competitors, including 2016 Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles. Skinner was an alternate on the 2016 USA Olympic team.

Skinner has put her final year of NCAA eligibility on hold while she pursues her Olympic dream. She has been training in Arizona this summer with Desert Lights Gymnastics.

Skinner established herself as one of the country’s best collegiate gymnasts in her first three seasons at Utah, winning NCAA championships on floor and vault, finishing as the NCAA all-around runner-up twice, setting a school record with 26 All-America awards and an NCAA record for consecutive routines without a fall (161). She is also an eight-time NCAA Regional and seven-time Pac-12 champion.

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By The Salt Lake Tribune