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In Minneapolis, top gymnast Shilese Jones has withdrawn from the U.S. Olympic trials due to a left knee injury sustained during a training session on the vault. The injury, which took place a day before her withdrawal, prompted an evaluation on Saturday, after which USA Gymnastics announced her departure from the competition.
Jones, a 21-year-old gymnast with high hopes for making the team, was considered a strong candidate to join the renowned Simone Biles and the rest of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team in Paris, where they’re expected to be the frontrunners for the gold medal.
However, her aspirations took a hit during a vault training session on Friday night. Jones experienced an unfortunate landing that resulted in her left leg bending awkwardly upon impact with the mat.
Although she was visibly injured and had to be assisted away from the event, Jones showed remarkable grit by returning to compete in the uneven bars, where she excels the most. There, she earned the highest score of the night with a 14.675, despite visibly struggling to move off the podium afterward.
Consequently, she did not participate in the balance beam or floor exercise events.
Jones’s Olympic dream came to an abrupt halt alongside two other competitors this week due to injuries. Skye Blakely, a promising gymnast who secured second place behind Biles at the last U.S.
Championships, suffered a torn Achilles tendon on her right leg during a Wednesday training session. Additionally, Kayla DiCello, who served as an alternate for the 2020 Olympics, ruptured her left Achilles tendon during a vault exercise on Friday.
Despite the setbacks, DiCello shared an optimistic message on Instagram, stating, “While this is not the result I envisioned, there’s so much to be proud of,” she continued, “this is not the end of my story.”