Jessica Gadirova released by surgeon as return from ACL injury enters new phase - Gymnastics Weekly News
Plus, Olympic champion Henrietta Onodi on the mend after heart attack and a look back at Team USA on the floor exercise from Atlanta 1996.
Artistic Gymnastics
Artistic gymnastics Olympian Jessica Gadirova of Great Britain has been cleared by her surgeon to resume full training.
The 19-year-old shared on Instagram: “9 months post op, the news I’ve been waiting for,” she wrote, captioning a photo of her giving two thumbs up. “I’ve officially been signed off and discharged from my surgeon!! I feel a huge whirlwind of positive emotions right now.”
The Olympic team bronze medallist from Tokyo 2020 in 2021, and 2022 world floor exercise champion, suffered an injury at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. It ultimately held her out of the recent Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Gadirova has shared much of her recovery journey online through her social media platforms.
“Relearn[ing] how to move my body normally was so hard and challenging every still day both physically and mentally,” she said. “But there was always a goal to chase that helped me get through it whether that was getting swelling down, improving my range of movement, building my quad muscle back, or pushing through tough testing days, to getting closer to feeling like a gymnast again.”
With the all-clear, the GB athlete can begin preparations for a return to competition, which could include next year’s World Championships set for 19-25 October 2025 in Jakarta.
“More to come,” Gadirova concluded her post with.
Olympic champion Henrietta Onodi recovering after heart attack
1992 Olympic vault gold medallist Henrietta Onodi of Hungary is on the mend after suffering “a complicated heart attack with neurological implications,” according to an update from the International Gymnastics Federation.
The 50-year-old, two-time Olympian, who now lives in Florida in the United States, collapsed at a grocery store in March and underwent surgery afterward. She was in a coma for several weeks following the operation.
“It’s amazing that she is actually alive,” Barbara Onodi-Klausler, Henrietta’s sister, said. “But after she started coming out of the coma it was clear that we were dealing with much, much more.
“Compared to where she started, the injury she suffered, she is making milestones. The goal of course is a full recovery,” Onodi-Klausler added. “Is it possible? Well, we have faith in this family, and I believe with faith everything is possible. And I don’t think with the type of injury Heni has that you can give a prognosis. I think you just have to take it with time.”
IOC member and FIG president Morinari Watanabe added his support.
"The solidarity and devotion that Henrietta Onodi's friends and family are showing her are truly inspiring,” said Watanabe. “After such a tragedy, it is precious to be able to count on the support and kindness of those around you. I hope that it will give her the strength to continue her path to recovery, and I wish her the very best."
In addition to her vault gold medal at Barcelona 1992, she also won silver on the floor exercise at those Games. She is the winner of three world championship medals, including a 1992 win on the vault, as well as several European titles.
From the vault…
This week, we take a look back at the U.S. women on the floor exercise during the team optionals at Atlanta 1996. The squad, later nicknamed the Magnificent Seven, won Team USA’s first-ever Olympic women’s team title in artistic gymnastics. Dominique Dawes had the high score on the apparatus, a 9.850.