Gymnast Jade Carey Shares Why She Fell During Floor Routine

As I read through these inspiring stories of Simone Biles, Hezly Rivera, Joscelyn Roberson, and Leanne Wong, I couldn’t help but be in awe of their resilience, determination, and unwavering commitment to their passion for gymnastics. Each woman’s journey is unique yet shares common threads of overcoming challenges and turning setbacks into opportunities for growth.

Jade Carey is reflecting on how she lost her balance.

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Team USA’s gymnast, aged 24, experienced a fall while performing her floor routine during the Women’s Gymnastics Qualifiers on July 28. Following her performance, she revealed that she had fallen ill during the games.

Jade admitted to Olympics.com that she hadn’t been feeling good the last few days and hadn’t managed to eat anything due to illness, not nerves.

She expressed, “I lacked the usual zest today and felt disconnected from my thoughts. I wanted to let others understand that I wasn’t feeling my best, as something was amiss.”

The athlete who won gold for her floor routine at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics enthusiastically encouraged her teammates Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, and Hezly Rivera during their performances. Famous faces such as Tom Cruise, Nick Jonas, Lady Gaga, Chrissy Teigen, John Legend, and Snoop Dogg were among the crowd, cheering on Team USA as well.)

“I didn’t anticipate today being the way it was, Jade admitted in her July 28 Instagram update. “But I can’t express enough gratitude for your love and encouragement. I’m incredibly proud of this team and what we achieved today. We still have more to go.”

As I prepare for the Paris Olympics, I want to share with you my personal journey of dealing with a common challenge among gymnasts: the “twisties.” This condition occurs when, in mid-air, your body loses control and your mind experiences a mental block. It’s an unsettling experience that can be disorienting and hinder performance. But I’ve learned to overcome it through focused practice, mental preparation, and the support of my coaching team.

She shared with Elle in an interview on July 17 that many people experience this. It’s frustrating because we can visualize ourselves performing the task in our minds, and we know we have the ability to do it since we’ve done it before. However, our bodies aren’t cooperating.

She explained that in challenging situations, her approach was to take a moment to regroup, simplify matters, and rebuild confidence. Retracing steps can be disheartening, but it’s an essential aspect of this game.

In another aspect of this activity, giving your all is crucial, a point Jade stressed is particularly significant this season.

Before the Paris Olympics, Jade shared her struggle with dealing with “twisties” – a condition where a gymnast experiences a loss of control over their body during mid-flight and faces a mental block.

She shared with Elle during an interview on July 17 that many people experience this situation. It’s disconcerting when you can mentally visualize yourself performing a task, knowing you have the ability to do so due to past successes, yet your body fails to cooperate.

She added, “In challenging situations, I often take a break and reassess, returning to fundamental principles or even starting from scratch. It can be disheartening to regress, but it’s an essential aspect of this field.”

In another aspect of the game, giving your all is crucial, a point Jade stressed is particularly significant this season.

“Reaching the winning team and earning the gold would hold significant value for my teammates and me. We aspire to prove that we have grown stronger than before with this achievement.”

Keep reading for more on the U.S. gymnasts going for the gold in Paris.

Simone Biles, the 27-year-old gymnast from Texas, is widely recognized as the greatest of all time (GOAT) due to her impressive record. She has collected a total of 10 Olympic medals, including four golds, one silver, and five bronze, from the 2016 and 2020 Olympics. Additionally, she has amassed an incredible 30 World Championship medals, with 23 of them being gold.

Sunisa “Suni” Lee, born in Minnesota in 2003, began her gymnastics training at the age of six. Her dedication paid off when she became the first Asian American woman to win the gold medal in the all-around competition at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Additionally, she won silver with her teammates and a bronze medal in the uneven bars. After the Olympics, Lee attended Auburn University and competed for their gymnastics team. With her eyes on the 2024 Paris Olympics, she announced that her final collegiate season would be her last. However, her tenure on the squad was cut short when she revealed in April 2023 that she was dealing with a kidney issue. Lee shared with TopMob News in June 2024 that she was doing well health-wise and had qualified for the Olympic team. Reflecting on her journey, she expressed pride in her determination to persevere despite numerous challenges. “I think I would give myself a medal for not giving up,” Lee stated. “There were many opportunities where I could have given up and moved on with my life. But I wanted more for myself and wanted to leave the Olympics or this quad knowing that I had given everything I had, without any regrets.”

In simpler terms, Jordan Chiles, named after basketball legend Michael Jordan, began gymnastics at the age of six and progressed through the competition levels, amassing trophies as she went. However, despite her achievements, Chiles, now 23, often felt unwelcome due to racial discrimination and criticism about her appearance.

Jade Carey is grateful to her parents, who owned a gym and introduced her to the sport as infants, for her passion towards gymnastics. Born in 1997, she began training in 2002 and competed at the elite level starting from 2017. In 2020, Carey qualified for the Olympics team but faced a setback during the vault event, which led her to perform differently, not stick her landing, and place eighth. Despite the disappointment, she rallied back to win gold in the floor exercise competition shortly after. Reflecting on the experience, Carey shared with Olympics.com that she was proud of herself for overcoming the challenge and turning a difficult day into a successful one, with encouragement from her father. While Carey initially thought she would retire after the Olympics, her experience fueled her desire to return and strive for more achievements at the 2024 Olympics.

Hezly Rivera is set to participate in her first Olympics experience. This remarkable achievement comes just weeks after she turned 16, making her the youngest athlete on the U.S. team for the 2024 Games. Rivera shared her excitement with TopMob News in July, expressing disbelief upon learning she had made the team: “I was elated because all my efforts had finally paid off. I couldn’t believe it when I heard my name called.”

Joscelyn Roberson, a native of Texas who is now 18 years old, has earned a spot as one of two backup gymnasts for the US women’s Olympic team in 2024. She’s thrilled about this opportunity and expressed her excitement on Instagram by writing “THIS! IS! EVERYTHING!” in July after qualifying. Her gymnastics journey began in 2009, but it was only recently that her career took a significant leap forward. According to NBC Sports, Roberson’s mother got a job in Houston which allowed her to attend World Champions Centre – the gym run by the Biles family – where she found support and motivation among athletes she could relate to. This change proved beneficial for her as she finished first in vault and second in balance beam at the 2023 Winter Cup, and won first place in vault at the 2023 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships.

Leanne Wong, aged 20 from Kansas, serves as a traveling backup gymnast for the 2024 women’s Olympic team. Previously, she was an alternate for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo but had to quarantine following fellow alternate Kara Eaker’s COVID-19 positive test. This experience led Wong to reconsider her future in gymnastics and return to elite competition, ultimately winning silver and bronze at the 2021 World Championships, as well as gold with her team in both 2022 and 2023. Besides competing on the international stage, she is a member of the University of Florida Gators gymnastics team and claimed the NCAA uneven bars title this year.

2024-07-29 18:18

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