Jade Carey wasn’t going to let a slip-up affect her Olympic performance. After taking a tumble on her floor exercise, the 24-year-old made a strong comeback on vault. Jade ended up with a score of 14.800, which helped Team USA get closed to the highly coveted hold.
The gymnast’s epic vault comes two days after she fell during the July 28 qualifying round at the Paris Olympics. Shortly after the setback, Jade explained that she had been battling an unknown illness and lost energy before competing, per Olympics.com.
“I just have not been feeling well the past few days and haven’t been able to eat or anything,” she explained. “I had no energy today and didn’t really have a sense of what was going on in my head. So, I just kind of wanted people to know that so, they know that there’s actually something wrong.”
Jade Carey did NOT come to play. 😤
Starting things off strong for Team USA. #ParisOlympics
📺 NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/qKBellq0LB
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 30, 2024
It’s still unclear what caused Jade’s brief illness. Fellow Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman weighed in on the situation and pointed out that Jade “should be so proud of herself.”
“One of the hardest things about sports is that no matter how much you prepare you, sometimes the morning that you wake up for a meet, you might not be feeling well,” Aly, 30, said, according to the outlet. “You might be jet lagged, you may not have slept well, and fluke things can happen. It’s just so devastating to hear that she hasn’t been feeling well,” three-time Olympic champion Aly Raisman told us. “I hope that she knows that she did an unbelievable job.”
The two-time Olympian added, “Gymnastics is already hard enough when you’re feeling your peak, at your best. So, the fact that she said she hasn’t eaten in a few days and has been sick and was able to perform at that level, is truly remarkable.”
Jade isn’t the only American athlete who had to overcome a setback. Her teammate Simone Biles performed with a calf injury over the weekend. She dominated in each event despite dealing with the pain in her leg.
