Jade Carey: "I've learned to handle a lot of pressure."
The Olympic floor exercise gold medallist from Tokyo 2020 in 2021 says she's ready to jump back into elite competition again ahead of Paris 2024.
Artistic Gymnastics
Olympic floor exercise champion Jade Carey's gymnastics marathon is set to continue.
The 22-year-old has been going nearly non stop for the better part of two years, having competed in the run up to her Tokyo 2020 Games gold medal in 2021, followed by Simone Biles' 35-city U.S. tour, followed by her freshman campaign at Oregon State.
Then, she returned to elite competition where she helped Team USA to a historic sixth-straight World title while taking the individual vault crown.
Two months later, she began her sophomore college season.
"I feel like I have been going through quite a long time, but my coaches, my dad, my trainers, everyone is very good at keeping my schedule balanced and taking care of me and just listening to my body is really important," Carey told Olympics.com Wednesday (13 April) after completing her training session at the NCAA women's gymnastics championships in Ft. Worth, Texas. "So taking it easy when I can and just knowing when to push."
Jade Carey: "I feel like this year I'm even more prepared for elite."
The secret to it all? Her love of the sport.
"I'm just having a lot of fun with it, so that makes it even better," she said. "I don't even really think about it too much."
Carey one again won't have much time to relax as she plans to attend the U.S. national team camp set to begin 28 April. It's part of a schedule that the American now feels she and her team understand how to handle.
"I will be at camp," Carey confirmed, "but I feel like this year I'm even more prepared for elite than I was last year. Last year, it being the first year doing [both], it was very new and we didn't really know what to expect. But now we do. So I've been able to do a little bit more elite in my training than I was last year."
As for her 2024 schedule, she's yet to decide if she'll compete in her junior season at Oregon State as she attempts to make the Team USA squad for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
"I think definitely after this Nationals, we'll sit down and talk it through and see what sounds the best," explained Carey. "And then if later down the road we have to tweak that plan a little bit then we will."