When Jade Carey’s foot caught that treacherous patch of carpet during vault finals, Tokyo’s Ariake Gymnastics Centre fell breathlessly silent. Dreams cultivated across continents—Germany, Qatar, Azerbaijan, and Australia (World Championship medals and World Cup Series)—nearly shattered in an instant. But twenty-four hours later, Carey transformed that eighth-place finish in vault into Olympic royalty.
Her floor gold, sealed with a breathtaking 14.366, crowned a global qualification journey spanning continents and defying exhaustion. “This is all I’ve ever dreamed about,” whispered the typically stoic 21-year-old, her voice trembling with raw emotion after conquering gymnastics’ most royal stage as an individual competitor.
Then Paris happened. The defending champion’s body betrayed her during qualifications—illness sabotaged the precision that once made her unstoppable. The routine unraveled like a nightmare in slow motion, leaving her stranded outside the finals she once owned.
The team’s gold medal offered bittersweet consolation. Yet nearly a year later, the sting persists, that elusive 45 seconds where perfection abandoned her (floor routine fall time) haunts Carey’s thoughts as she contemplates her future, dropping veiled hints about World Championships prospects! What did she have to say?
Jade Carey’s performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics, especially during qualifications, was a far cry from the flawless routines she was known for. Carey’s routine collapsed. Her execution score was a shockingly low 6.433, a stark contrast to the typical scores she had earned in major competitions leading up to the Olympics. In the first two sessions of the floor qualifications, Carey’s total score of 10.633 was the lowest, placing her dead last. To put that into perspective, it was nearly 3.5 points lower than the average score she achieved at the U.S. Olympic Trials about a month before the Games.
When reflecting on her performance, Carey admitted the extent of her frustration. “Floor was really disappointing because I worked so hard and had a lot of expectations for myself,” she said to Olympics.com, acknowledging the gap between her efforts and the results. “It was just something I couldn’t control, being sick and being so weak after throwing up and not being able to eat and stuff.” Continuing further, she said, “I think if I would have tried to push myself to do floor in more ways, it would have probably been worse in the end,” she explained.
Paris 2024 Olympics – Artistic Gymnastics – Women’s Qualification – Subdivision 2 – Bercy Arena, Paris, France – July 28, 2024. Jade Carey of United States reacts after falling on the Floor Exercise. REUTERS/Hannah Mckay
After the Paris Olympics, Carey’s thoughts naturally turned to the future, but with an air of uncertainty. “Right when Paris ended, it kind of sounded like something that was a possibility,” she said, hinting at the possibility of participating in the World Championships in Jakarta. But that spark has dimmed slightly for Carey.
After years of flying between two worlds, the intense grind of elite gymnastics and the packed schedule of NCAA meets, two-time Olympic gold medalist Jade Carey finally chose to breathe.
Following her appearance at the 2024 Olympics, Carey decided to take a step back from elite competition and pour her heart solely into one last season with Oregon State. “I think I just want to take the year to kind of come down a little bit,” Carey told Olympics.com Friday (20 September) ahead of the show in Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena, later saying she “probably” wouldn’t try for a spot at the 2025 World Championships. “I knew that if 2028 was something that I wanted to go for, maybe taking 2025 off would just help my body and mind relax a little more.”
That shift in focus came after years of carefully walking a tightrope between her Olympic dreams and collegiate commitments. But this time around, Carey was all in for her teammates. “I feel like I can’t really [hold back]. I like to dive right in, but I’m excited to be able to really focus on my team this year,” said Carey. “I’m not doing elite this year, so I just have them to focus on and that’s it. I’m really excited to jump in with them and be a leader and help get them to where we want to go.”
Jade Carey wants to take the year to come down a bit
And the results? Nothing short of spectacular. Carey delivered a senior season for the history books. She dominated the NCAA scene, winning the all-around title in every single regular-season meet she entered. Along the way, she racked up multiple perfect 10s — a standard she made look almost effortless. Her standout moment came on Senior Night against Air Force, when she posted a career-best all-around score of 39.925, thanks to perfect routines on both the balance beam and floor exercise.
“I think after having the college season and just having so much fun and only focusing on that, I didn’t wanna do this summer because I wanted to end on just being able to focus on college gymnastics and take a break,” said Carey of her decision not to compete in elite gymnastics this year.
That break didn’t mean stepping away from excellence. Carey’s magical final season earned her the prestigious AAI Award, naming her the top senior female gymnast in the nation, only the fourth Oregon State gymnast ever to receive the honor. She closed out her collegiate chapter by qualifying as an individual for the 2025 NCAA Championships, clinching her spot with the highest all-around score at the Alabama Regional. While she failed to win her 1st NCAA individual title, it was worth a ride!
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