The Reason For Jade Carey’s Fall During Her Floor Routine

U.S. gymnast Jade Carey attributed her unusual performance during the first day of the women’s gymnastics competition on Sunday (July 28) to an illness. Carey uncharacteristically fell backward and out of bounds during the last tumbling pass of her floor routine, marking one of three instances she stepped out of bounds, which led to nearly a one-point deduction.

Carey, an Olympic gold medalist for her floor routine in Tokyo, explained to Olympics.com that she has “not been feeling well the past few days” and has been unable to eat.

“I had, like, no energy today and didn’t really have a sense of what was going on in my head,” the 24-year-old gymnast shared, emphasizing that nerves did not affect her routine. “I just kind of wanted people to know that, so they know that there’s actually something wrong.”

While Carey did not specify the cause of her ailment, she posted on social media that she gave her performance on Sunday (July 28) “everything” she had and thanked fans for their support in a post on X Sunday morning.

Carey’s father and gymnastics coach, Brian Carey, was reportedly feeling unwell on Thursday (July 25), causing him to miss the women’s podium training, according to USA Gymnastics.

Despite Carey’s challenges, Team USA advanced to the all-around final.

Although her floor routine score of 10.633 means she won’t defend her floor title at this year’s Olympics, she still excelled in the vault with a score of 14.433 and will likely advance to the final in that event.