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2020 Tokyo Olympics: Jade Carey Opens Up About Overcoming Rough Start to Win Gold Medal

On Sunday, Aug. 1, United States Olympic gymnast Jade Carey struggled in the individual vault competition during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Her struggles included her tripping as she raced down the runway to perform her first vault. This was part of a disappointing finish for the 21-year-old. Disappointing performances are part of sports. They happen all the time.

What matters is how athletes – in whatever sport they compete – bounce back from those disappointing performances. Fortunately for Team USA, and her personally, Jade Carey responded in the best way at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

On Monday, Aug. 2, Carey bounced back to win the gold medal in the women’s floor exercise. Talk about a comeback! The young gymnast shared her thoughts about her 2020 Tokyo Olympics performances with TODAY’s Hoda Kotb after her gold medal win.

“What kept you going?” Kotb wanted to know.

“Last night was definitely hard for me,” Carey said on her previous 2020 Tokyo Olympics individual event. “But, I just had to remember that I wasn’t done yet, and we still had floor. So, I needed to put it behind me and give everything I could into floor.”

In fact, Jade Carey said she was feeling good going into the floor exercise final on Monday – even after her struggles the previous day. She shared how she felt after Kotb asked her if she had “all the confidence in the world” going into the floor exercise.

“I did, actually. I just had to remember that training has been going well,” Carey said. “So, I just needed to do me and do my normal routine.”

Jade Carey Said Gold Medal At 2020 Tokyo Olympics ‘Means Everything To Me’

Unsurprisingly, Jade Carey was very happy to win a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. TODAY’s Hoda Kotb wanted to know how she felt with “that gold medal around your neck.”

“It means everything to me,” Carey said. “This is all I ever dreamed of and all I’ve ever worked for. And I’m really glad it paid off tonight.”

Following her gold-medal-winning performance, Jade Carey shared a special moment with her father, Brian Carey. In addition to being her father, he is also her coach.

“He said, ‘You did it! You’re an Olympic champ!’ Then I almost started crying. I think I did cry, actually,” Jade Carey also said.

According to Sports Illustrated, Carey’s father encouraged her to bounce back from the vault and focus on the floor exercise. “Yesterday was one of the worst days of your life. Today can be one of the best,” Brian Carey told his daughter. He was right about that.

Jade Carey also received encouragement from her famous Team USA teammate, Simone Biles.

“It happened. You can’t do anything about it. Let’s go out and kill floor,” Biles reportedly told Carey.