CORVALLIS, Ore. — It's an exciting time for Team USA gymnasts, with the women taking home team gold, including two who call the Pacific Northwest home: Jordan Chiles of Vancouver and Jade Carey, who has big ties to Oregon State University as a gymnast there for the past three years.
Carey was sick and had a tough start, but she pulled through with an outstanding vault in the team competition. She has certainly made her mark in Oregon and now in Paris, getting the gold with her team.
It was the vault of a lifetime for Carey, and with team gold in her sights, the OSU star trucked down the runway and flew to perfection, sticking the landing in her favorite event.
The 24-year old from Phoenix, Arizona has found a second home in Oregon with the OSU gymnastics team. She'll be a senior in the coming school year and enjoys strong support back in Oregon. So when she struggled on the floor during the qualifying round, and local fans she was ill, it was hard to take. But the team competition was different.
“I was feeling a lot better so that definitely helped, but just knowing that I’ve trained for this my whole life. So with me for a few days not feeling well, it's not going to be the end of the world, I still knew what I needed to do,” said Carey.
The entire team did what they needed to do to earn gold in Paris. And after an electric evening, the accomplishment set in.
“It feels really, really, really, really special just to be part of the team and to contribute last night, and just having so much fun doing what we love out there, so taking home a gold medal feels really special,” said Carey.
And her fans in Corvallis, like OSU President Jayathi Murthy, think it's special too.
“I want her to know how proud we are, I mean every one of us, our entire Beaver Nation, parents, alums, everybody just blown away by the perfection of her performance, we're just thrilled for her,” said Murthy on Wednesday.
Just before starting her OSU collegiate career, Carey won gold with her floor routine in the Tokyo Olympics. It was a huge accomplishment, but the pandemic meant it happened without crowds in the stands. This time around things were different, with plenty of jubilation in Paris from fans and loved ones.
“That means everything to me. I really missed them last time, and so just knowing that they're here and being able to watch in person and supporting me from the stands and I’ve got so many family and friends here, so it really just means the world to me,” Carey said.