Floor is the key for Lincoln
Lincoln’s strength on the floor exercise could be her key to the Olympics.
According to the Washington Post, the highest scoring U.S. team based on results across the 2023 and 2024 seasons includes Lincoln for her prowess – and 14.233 score – on the event.
The past year has given her the tools she’ll need to contend.
“It was for me the world selection camp,” said Lincoln of when she felt like she started to belong among the sport’s upper echelon. “I came in from [the U.S.] championships not having the best competition, so I was definitely still nervous from that competition. But once I saw my results from selection camp, it definitely gave me a boost of confidence.”
So, too, her berth and subsequent performance at the Pan Am Games.
“Pan Ams definitely taught me a lot of things,” Lincoln said. “It’s different from international assignments I’ve been to before. It’s bigger. I think I would just be more prepared for the next international assignment and kind of understand what’s going on and how everything works. I’ll definitely take that with me.”
Lincoln has one other secret weapon in her back pocket – advice from her idol-turned-friend Gabby Douglas, the 2012 Olympic champion.
“She gives me a bunch of advice,” she says. “If I have any questions, if I need someone to talk to, she’s obviously there for me. Before every competition, she does send me a text saying good luck.”
It’s a surreal feeling for the teenager who was just five when Douglas grabbed her first of three Olympic golds at London 2012.
“It’s kind of hard to believe sometimes because she was my role model for so long, and now I’m having normal conversations with her,” said Lincoln. “It’s definitely still shocking to me.”