Jade Carey: She came to Tokyo for a gold medal in gymnastics. Now she has one on floor
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While the other gymnasts at the U.S. Olympic Trials pulled out all of their best skills and anxiously fought for the chance to compete at the Tokyo Olympics, Jade Carey was completely calm. That's because Carey's spot on the team was already guaranteed.
Due to the two-per-country rule, Carey didn't initially qualify for the all-around. But then Simone Biles withdrew from the all-around. Carey placed eighth in the all-around and teammate Sunisa Lee won gold.
Carey is one of the athletes taking advantage of the FIG's new team structure when she competes as an individual in Tokyo. She had a stellar performance in the qualifying round, finishing just behind Simone Biles on the floor exercise and vault to qualify for those individual event finals. Carey was expected be a top contender on both apparatuses, but had a difficult day on vault and did not medal.
But on floor fina, she won gold.
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Get to know the rest of the Team USA gymnastics team:
When will Jade Carey compete in the all-around?
Carey competed in the women's gymnastics all-around on July 29.
Why does Jade Carey have a spot on the Olympic team?
Tthe FIG, which governs international gymnastics, decided to alter the team structure for the Tokyo Olympics. Rather than five team members as it has been since 2012, the FIG reduced the team roster to four spots and add up to two individual competitors per team. The goal of this change was to create more room at the Games for event specialists and smaller countries. Carey earned one of those individual spots and will compete for the United States, but not in the team competition.
How did Jade Carey get an individual spot?
Carey clinched an individual spot over a year ago because of her performances at a series of international gymnastics meets called the Individual Apparatus World Cup Series. The FIG has held World Cups since 2018, and Carey scored enough points to top the standings on both floor exercise and vault. That gave her an automatic qualification to the Olympics.
How old is Jade Carey?
Carey was born on May 27, 2000 and is 21 years old.
How tall is Jade Carey?
Carey is 5-foot-1.
Where is Jade Carey from?
Carey was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. She trains under her father Brian at the Arizona Sunrays gym, also located in Phoenix.
How many Olympic medals does Jade Carey have?
Carey has one gold medal in the floor exercise that she won in Tokyo.
Who has the most Olympic medals?
The most-decorated Olympic gymnast of all time is Larisa Latynina, who competed in three Olympic Games from 1956–1964. She won 18 medals, nine of which were gold. Shannon Miller has won the most Olympic medals for the United States in gymnastics with seven across the 1992 and 1996 Olympics.
When will Jade Carey compete on individual events in Tokyo?
Carey began her competition in Tokyo in the all-around qualifying round July 2. She qualified to compete in the individual event finals for both vault and floor exercise, her two best disciplines. The vault finals were Aug. 1 and the floor exercise finals were Aug. 2.
Where is Jade Carey going to school?
Carey committed to Oregon State University in 2017 but deferred her enrollment to 2021 to continue training for the Tokyo Olympics. She will compete on the Beavers' gymnastics team, which finished the 2021 season ranked No. 21 in the nation.
Contact Emily Adams at eaadams@gannett.com or on Twitter @eaadams6.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jade Carey: American gymnast wins gold on floor
