2024 Olympics: Gymnast Jade Carey Shares Why She Fell During Floor Routine
Aly Raisman is taking to the floor for a Team USA Olympian.
After Jade Carey faced a fall due to illness during the Women's Gymnastics Qualifiers July 28 at the 2024 Summer Olympics, the retired gymnast spoke out in defense of her fellow athlete.
"you did so well today & I'm so proud of you!!!," Aly wrote on X, formerly Twitter, July 28. "It breaks my heart that our society is so hard on athletes that you feel the need to explain yourself."
Aly—who previously won six Olympic medals as part of the U.S. women's gymnastics team—added that Jade's performance in Paris showed that she was only human and it's "OK to make mistakes."
"I can't wait to watch you in the days to come," the 30-year-old continued, "& I hope you feel better You inspire so many & remember there are people at home dreaming of one day being just like you."
read2024 Olympics: Simone Biles Fights Through Calf Pain During Gymnastics Qualifiers
And Jade was clearly feeling the love, replying, "Awe thank you aly. you're the best!"
The 24-year-old—who is currently competing at the Paris games alongside teammates Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles and Hezly Rivera—explained after her performance that she has been sick while preparing for her competitions.
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"I just have not been feeling well the past few days and haven't been able to eat or anything," she told Olympics.com. "I had no energy today and didn't really have a sense of what was going on in my head."
As Jade put it, "I just kind of wanted people to know that, so they know that there's actually something wrong."
And that's not the only thing she wanted fans to know. Jade also made sure to express her gratefulness for their support through it all.
"Not the day I was expecting to have but I can't thank you all enough for the love and support," she wrote on Instagram following her floor routine. "I am so proud of this team and what we accomplished today. We're not done yet."
And Jade—who took home the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics for women's floor exercises—also wanted to reassure fans that her performance had nothing to do with overcoming the "twisties," something she's previously talked about.
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"It's something a lot of us go through," she told Elle in an interview published July 17. "It's frustrating, because you can see yourself do it in your head, and you know you know how to do it, because you've done it before, but your body is not allowing you to."
"I always handled those situations by taking a step back," she said, "going back to the basics, building it back up again, or going into the pit until you feel really 100 percent confident. It is frustrating to have to go backwards, but it is part of this sport."
For more about Team USA's gymnastics team going for gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, keep reading.
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Watch the 2024 Paris Olympics daily on NBC and Peacock until the summer games end with the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, Aug. 11, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.