After a first-vault error involving her steps kept her off the podium [1] in that Tokyo Olympic event final on Aug. 1, Jade Carey [2] came back strong with a gold-medal finish in the floor final the following day. The soon-to-be Oregon State University gymnast received a 14.366 with a huge difficulty score of 6.3. It was a well-controlled, jam-packed routine that clinched her first-ever Olympic medal.
Four-time Olympian Vanessa Ferrari of Italy, who qualified in the top spot after the preliminary round, claimed silver upon executing a beautiful 14.2-scoring performance. This is the first individual medal of any color, on any event [3], in women's artistic gymnastics for her country, and, at 30, she's the oldest artistic gymnastics medalist [4] of the Games so far, according to NBC Sports's Nick Zaccardi. Tied for third were the Russian Olympic Committee's Angelina Melnikova and Japan's Mai Murakami with a score of 14.166. Murakami's bronze marked the first time a Japanese woman gymnast has won an individual event medal [5], Reuters reported.
Great Britain's Jennifer Gadirova took Simone Biles's place once she withdrew from the floor final [6], joining twin sister Jessica [7] in the lineup of eight women. They received seventh and sixth place, respectively. This competition also featured Brazil's Rebeca Andrade, who has already made history for her country [8] in Tokyo with her gold medal on vault and silver in the all-around [9]; she finished fifth.
Carey, along with Rio 2016 alternate MyKayla Skinner [10], clinched an individual berth to represent the United States [11] in Tokyo, as opposed to a spot on the four-person squad [12] that took silver in the July 27 team event [13]. She stepped in for Biles in the July 29 all-around final when the 24-year-old opted out for her mental health [14] — Carey was next in line due to the two-per-country-maximum rule and placed eighth.
In the floor final, Carey did not do the triple-double layout [15] that she submitted at the beginning of the Games [16] to be named after her if she successfully landed it in competition. It would have been worth a K value (1.1 points) in difficulty, becoming the highest-valued skill in men's and women's gymnastics. However, Carey's tumbling was still quite the spectacle — she's known for an impressive repertoire of flips and twists.
"Coming back from a day like yesterday [17], I'm really proud of myself for being able to put that behind me and finish with probably the best floor routine I've ever done in my life," Carey said post-competition, according to NPR. Congrats on a golden performance!
Jade Carey Wins Gold in the Tokyo Olympics Women's Gymnastics Floor Final
Congratulations to All the Medalists!
