U.S. Gymnastic Olympians To Let Loose In Two Connecticut Shows

In the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Gabby Douglas was the first reigning Olympic women’s gymnastics all-around champion to return to the Games since Nadia Comaneci in 1980. Uneven bars specialist Madison Kocian nailed every release move and dismount asked of her. Aly Raisman bawled when she landed her final tumbling pass, realizing she’d finally won the all-around medal that eluded her in 2012.

Just 16, the charismatic Laurie Hernandez shook off the jitters that come with competing on the world’s biggest stage, whispering “I got this” to herself as she mounted the balance beam and then winking at

the judges before the start of her floor routine. And Simone Biles, who will go down in history as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, locked up the final title everyone was expecting of her: the all-around gold medal, plus three more golds and a bronze.

The gold-medal winning 2016 U.S. women’s Olympic gymnastics team dubbed themselves the “Final Five,” chosen to mark the last five-woman squad in Olympic history (teams drop to four members in 2020) and also as a tribute to departing women’s team coordinator Martha Karolyi. And in the months after their August triumphs in Brazil, several team members are celebrating their accomplishments on the Kellogg’s Tour of Gymnastics Champions, which stops at Hartford’s XL Center Nov. 5 and at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport on Nov. 12.

The XL Center is no stranger to elite gymnasts, having hosted the women’s 2016 Secret Classic competition and men’s national championships in June and, before that, the U.S. national championships for artistic gymnastics in 2010 and 2013. The tour is a chance for the athletes to shed the restraints of competition and showcase their high-flying skills in non-traditional routines, solo performances and group dances — with lots of costume changes.

The cast features a starry lineup of current American gymnastics champions, with Biles, Raisman and Hernandez expected to appear alongside men’s Olympic team members Danell Leyva, Jake Dalton, Alex Naddour and Sam Mikulak.

U.S. Olympians from the rhythmic, trampoline and acrobatic disciplines are also on board to show off their talents, along with veterans Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin, who were golden at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, and Jordyn Wieber, who won gold as part of the London Olympics’ Fierce Five team along with Douglas and Raisman. (The cast varies by stop, depending on athletes’ schedules and commitments.)

Johnson, the 2007 world all-around champion and two-time national champion who brought home a gold and three silver medals from the Beijing Games, described the Kellogg’s Tour as “Dancing with the Stars” meets Cirque du Soleil meets Olympic gymnastics.

“It’s this huge production of an event that takes place in an arena with lights and music and staging and costuming, but it’s Olympic-level gymnastics,” she says in a phone interview during a recent tour stop.

Since her retirement from competitive gymnastics in 2012, Johnson, 24, has served as a spokesperson for several brands, published an autobiography and a young-adult novel, and appeared on “Celebrity Apprentice,” as well as two turns on “Dancing With the Stars,” winning the mirror ball trophy in 2009 and returning for the all-star edition in 2012. She’s also a newlywed; Johnson and her husband Andrew East, a football player, were married in Nashville in April.

Johnson was 16 during her first “Dancing” experience, the same age as Hernandez, who is competing on the current season. “We talk a lot about it, all the dances and what she’s going through,” she said. Johnson and Liukin, who competed on the show in 2015, even appeared on a recent episode, giving Hernandez advice before her salsa performance.

As an expert commentator for Yahoo! Sports in Rio, Johnson watched Hernandez and her fellow Final Five team members win nine medals. “It was kind of strange, because I know them all so well and I’ve seen them basically grow up in the sport,” she says. “It was absolutely incredible watching this crop of girls; they’re one of the strongest teams I’ve ever seen.”

Available tickets for Hartford’s Nov. 5 show at 7 p.m. start at $31. VIP tickets ($295) include seats in the first two rows, access to a post-show autograph session with select members of the 2016 Olympic team, and a pre-show “Chalk Talk” hosted by Liukin, featuring a Q&A with select 2016 Olympians. Platinum tickets ($146) include lower-level seats and Chalk Talk access. xlcenter.com

In Bridgeport, the show starts Nov. 12 at 3 p.m. Available tickets start at $77; VIP tickets ($300) include entry to the pre-show Chalk Talk and a post-show autograph session; platinum tickets ($150) include Chalk Talk entry. websterbankarena.com

Information: kelloggstour.com.