Just a year back, Joscelyn Roberson was under the guidance of gymnastics stalwarts like Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee, Jade Carey, and more. Likewise, last summer’s U.S. Classic, Roberson waited her turn behind names etched into Olympic history. But this year, she walks into the arena with eyes trained on her. Not because she’s chasing someone else, but because others are chasing her. What once felt like a distant torch now rests in her own hands, and she seems well aware of what it means to hold it. What will be the stakes? Heat it in her own words…

A year ago, Roberson was one of the youngest members on a roster crowded with Olympic champions. Today, as she approaches the 2025 U.S. Classic outside Chicago, the roles have quietly flipped. At 19, Roberson now carries the experience of an Olympic alternate, a World team member, and a standout college freshman who qualified individually for the NCAA Championships. Her position within the sport has changed not by design, but by growth. And her tone reflects both the pressure and the pride of that evolution.

“I feel really old,” she said to Olympics.com, half-laughing. “I never thought I’d feel old, but it’s because I was teammates with Simone [Biles] and Jordan [Chiles]. They were the big kids, and I was just trying to make it. Now, it’s like, I feel like everybody’s looking at me and waiting on me.” Surely, what began as admiration has become expectation, and Roberson has accepted the responsibility with surprising calm. “Being a role model is so important to me,” she added. “The Olympic veterans passed that torch to me… so it’s really important for me to pass the torch to the younger kids and make sure they feel like I know who they are and care about them – because I do.” Her return to elite form has been steady, if physically taxing.

Following her NCAA season at the University of Arkansas, she resumed elite training in April and spent three weeks battling soreness from two-a-day sessions. Now, on the eve of competition, she says she feels prepared to compete full routines while continuing to refine her difficulty. Upgrades, including a Cheng vault and enhanced tumbling on the floor, are scheduled for the U.S. Championships in August. For now, she considers herself 80 to 85 percent ready for what she hopes will be a long stretch into October’s World Championships. The climb may be familiar, but the view from where she stands is entirely new.

Joscelyn Roberson makes history with record-breaking NCAA debut for Arkansas

Roberson’s strongest work came early. She opened on beam with a 9.900, then repeated the score on floor, delivering on the event where her execution has been notably consistent all season. The beam performance earned her NCAA Second Team All-America honors for the first time and made her the first freshman in program history to reach All-American status on the event. In the floor standings, her 9.900 placed her 11th in the session and among the top 15 overall. Roberson becomes Arkansas’ first freshman NCAA All-American since 2012, underscoring the competitive clarity she has brought to the team’s postseason efforts.

Her night closed with 9.825 on vault and 9.800 on bars, securing a comprehensive all-around showing without significant error. While head coach Jordyn Wieber did not offer extensive post-meet remarks, she summarized Roberson’s emergence succinctly: “To be an All-American as a freshman is really difficult to do, and for her to be able to do that at her first nationals experience… she really delivered.” In a setting that demands composure, Roberson supplied presence. And now, the teenage star is eyeing to leave her mark in the 2025 World Championships.