Saturday, June 27, 2026

Who is MyKayla Skinner? Gymnast replaces Simone Biles in Vault


U.S. team gymnast MyKayla Skinner will participate in the 2020 vault final Olympic Games In Tokyo, Japan, Simone Biles was where she left school on Sunday.

The American Gymnastics Association issued a statement on Friday saying Byers will not participate in the vault or uneven bars finals Prior to this, she decided to withdraw from the women’s team finals and all-around finals.

Skinner is from Gilbert, Arizona, and won the silver medal in the 2021 US National Championship vault, behind Byers. The 24-year-old qualified for the Olympic trials and won a place at the Tokyo Olympics.

Skinner was a substitute for the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil and joined in the Tokyo Olympics as an individual, which means that although she is a member of the US team, she is not a member of the team.

This state is new to the 2020 game and has proven to be controversial. It will no longer be used in 2024.

Some people criticized Skinner and Gymnast Jed Carey Because they will compete with each other for the same medal.

Before the game started, Skinner announced that she would withdraw from the gymnastics team after this year’s game and return to the University of Utah to complete her studies.

On July 3, Skinner wrote on Instagram: “I am very happy to be able to participate in the Tokyo competition in just a few weeks. I am grateful for your support. I want to announce that I will become a professional player instead of coming back to participate in the competition. NCAA [National Collegiate Athletic Association]The Olympic Games will be the last gymnastics competition before my official retirement. “

Just on the first day of the competition, when Biles and Carey qualified for the two American places in the vault finals, Skinner’s hopes of winning the medal seemed to be shattered. The two-person rule in each country and her fourth place in the qualifiers seemed to abruptly end her competitive career.

However, Skinner now has a new opportunity to compete for Olympic medals. In a statement on Friday, the American Gymnastics Association pointed out her previous performance and Kylie’s performance. Both will participate in the vault on Sunday.

The statement said: “MyKayla Skinner, who achieved the fourth-highest vault in the qualifiers, will participate in the U.S. vault final with Jade Carey, who has the second-highest result.”

Her coach Lisa Spini said on Friday before Byers announced that she and Skinner were planning to leave Japan, “but were asked to stay.”

“She did very well in training,” Spini said. “Her vaulting horse in qualifying was not her best.”

“This is not the way you want to get an opportunity, but you have to seize it. Her first dream is to become an Olympian, and her second dream is to win medals,” Spini said.

Weekly newspaper The United States Gymnastics team has been asked for comment.

MyKayla Skinner of the U.S. team reacted on the balance beam in the women’s second day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan on July 25, 2021. After Simone Byers withdraws, Skinner will participate in Sunday’s vault final.
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images



Source link

Related articles

spot_imgspot_img