Skye Blakely targets LA 2028 after injury: “It’s definitely a big goal of mine now that I get to work toward”

Two-time world team gold medallist Skye Blakely says the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles are in her sights.

“I think so,” the gymnast said when asked about what would be a home Olympics, according to an interview with Frisco Style. “It’s definitely a big goal of mine now that I get to work toward.”

A favourite for the Paris 2024 Games after finishing runner-up to Simone Biles at the US championships in early June, Blakely tore her Achilles tendon during official practice weeks later ahead of the US Olympic trials.

Since that injury, Blakely has moved from her home in the Dallas suburbs to Gainesville, Florida, to join up with the University of Florida women’s gymnastics team, where her sister Sloane is also a member.

Coaches Jenny Rowland and Owen Field know a thing or two about helping athletes balance the demands of collegiate gymnastics with dreams of elite-level competition, having helped Leanne Wong to two World teams and a recent Olympic alternate position.

“Knowing that I have coaches who have done that before and can balance both, that also helps me,” said Blakely.

The 19-year-old is already working her way back into the sport, recently posting a video on Instagram performing her trademark balance beam mount.

Filipina gymnast Levi Jung-Ruivivar dreams of show business

Fresh off her Olympic debut at Paris 2024, the Philippines’ Levi Jung-Ruivivar is working toward her next dream: showbiz.

The 18-year-old, who will be a freshman at Stanford University this fall, told the PhilStar that she hopes to one day follow in the footsteps of her parents, Anthony Ruivivar and Yvonne Jung, into acting.

“I don’t know if that’s just the way I was born or it had to do with my parents being actors. But I was actually really pushing both my parents to be able to get more involved in the entertainment industry,” said Jung-Ruivivar.

It’s a long-term project as Jung-Ruivivar plans to train for the LA 2028 Games, in addition to her studies and collegiate gymnastics efforts at Stanford.

“If there are little projects that come up here and there, and then that work in my schedule that would be something that I will discuss,” she said. “But bigger projects would have to be after L.A. because I do train almost 34 hours a week sometimes.”

From the vault…

This week, we take a look back at Team USA on the balance beam during the women’s team options at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. The squad, which won the U.S.’s first gold in the event, was led by Shannon Miller’s 9.862 and Dominique Moceanu’s 9.850.