Skye Blakely withdraws from U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials after suffering an Achilles injury
The lead-up to the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials in Minneapolis took a heartbreaking turn after one of the top contenders for the women's Olympic team was injured during podium training.
Skye Blakely, a 19-year-old from Texas, sustained an injury to her right Achilles tendon and will not compete in the trials, USA Gymnastics confirmed Thursday.
Stream every moment and every medal of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Peacock, starting with the Opening Ceremony July 26 at 12 p.m. ET.
Blakely was having an excellent training day Wednesday before moving to the floor exercise, where she was injured on a double layout. She was carried off of the competition floor with her face in her hands and wheeled out of the arena by medical staff.
She finished second earlier this month in the all-around to Simone Biles at U.S. Championships in Fort Worth and was a near-lock for the Paris team, having recently debuted a valuable skill on the vault, the Cheng.
"I see myself practice every day, I know what I can do," Blakely said in Fort Worth of her performance there. "But to be able to finally put it out there on the floor and show everybody and myself, it really means a lot to me."
The scene at the Target Center in Minneapolis was an echo of her experience at the Tokyo Olympic trials in 2021, when Blakely was forced to withdraw in the 11th hour after sustaining an elbow injury in warmups for the competition.
Stream every moment and every medal of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Peacock, starting with the Opening Ceremony on July 26 at 12 p.m. ET.
Blakely competed for Team USA at the two most recent world championships, winning gold medals in the team event and qualifying for beam finals both years.
Blakely's withdrawal opens up a door for other gymnasts like Kayla DiCello, Jordan Chiles and reigning Olympic floor champion, Jadey Carey.
