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TOKYO – Jade Carey recovered from a disappointing performance in the cellar final, returning to the Tokyo Games the next day to win the gold medal in floor exercise.
Wearing a red, white, and blue leotard that shimmered in the lights of the Ariake Gymnastics Center, she spun, twisted, and danced toward the top of the podium, displaying her extremely difficult skills with strength and ease.
Italian Vanessa Ferrari won silver and two gymnasts won bronze: Japanese Mai Murakami and Russian Angelina Melnikova.
Realizing that she had won, Carey gave a big hug to her coach Brian, who is also her father. The day before, the two had hugged on the arena, but out of sadness.
In Sunday’s vault finale, Carey, 21, of Phoenix, tripped as she ran to her first vault. He had planned to do a Yurchenko 2½ with 2 ½ twists and a flip in the air, but he was only able to flip it once without the twist. His low score on that vault ruined his medal chances. He left the competition in tears.
But Carey had a chance to come back in these Games and used it.
In the qualifiers, Carey finished third behind Ferrari, who finished first in floor exercise, and Simone Biles, Secondly. Biles chose not to compete in the final, despite announcing on Monday that he would qualify for the balance beam final on Tuesday, his last possible event at the Tokyo Games.
Maggie Astor contributing reporting.
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