Is Jade Carey Sick? Gymnast Falls During Floor Exercise

U.S. gymnast Jade Carey pushed through some recent health issues to compete in the women’s gymnastics qualification round on Sunday, July 28. 

The 24-year-old revealed to Olympics.com after a heartbreaking fall in the floor exercise — the event that earned her a gold medal in Tokyo — that she has been feeling sick and struggling to eat. She did not disclose a specific illness.

“I just have not been feeling well the past few days and haven’t been able to eat or anything,” she said.

She continued, “I had, like, no energy today and didn’t really have a sense of what was going on in my head. So, I just kind of wanted people to know that so, they know that there’s actually something wrong.” 

During her floor routine, her last tumbling pass ended with her on the ground out of bounds.

Retired Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman also spoke to Olympics.com and applauded Carey’s persistence. 

“One of the hardest things about sports is that no matter how much you prepare you, sometimes the morning that you wake up for a meet, you might not be feeling well,” Raisman said. “You might be jet lagged, you may not have slept well, and fluke things can happen. It’s just so devastating to hear that she hasn’t been feeling well. I hope that she knows that she did an unbelievable job.” 

News of Carey’s illness comes after teammate Simone Biles also experienced pain during the opening round. Before the floor exercise, Biles had to briefly leave the mat to get her left ankle taped. Both Carey and Biles still delivered for Team USA, which ended the round in the lead with a total score of 172.296. 

Read on for what Carey has said about her health so far in the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

Is Jade Carey sick?

Carey opened up more about how she has been feeling on X July 28.  

In response to a tweet from journalist Scott Bregman about his Olympics.com article, she said, “I haven’t been feeling the best the past few days but I gave it everything I had today.”

The gymnast added, “Thank you for all the support I have received. I’m so grateful,” with two red heart emoji. 

After receiving a 10.633 score on the floor, putting her out of the running to defend her gold medal, Carey rallied on the vault with a with a 14.433.

Tune in to the Paris Olympics on NBC and Peacock.