PHOENIX (AP) — Jade Carey doesn’t need to be at the U.S. gymnastics championships. At least, not like this.That’s part of what makes it all so sweet.The 26-year-old knows she could have walked away following her final season at Oregon State in the spring of 2025, with a resume stuffed with Olympic and world championship medals and her place in the history of the storied U.S. women’s program secure.She tried, kind of. The athlete who had been going nonstop for the better part of 20 years gave her body a bit of a break after her NCAA career ended. It lasted a handful of weeks.Then one day, she popped into the gym and, in the words of her father and longtime coach Brian, “started playing again.”Emphasis on “playing.” If there’s anything the two-time Olympic gold medalist has learned, it’s that taking this too seriously can quickly rob you of the joy that brought you to it in the first place.
Asked if she feels the weight of living up to the standard she’s set for herself as the Phoenix native prepares to salute the judges at the national championships for a seventh time when the women’s competition begins at Mortgage Matchup Center, Carey shrugs.“I just feel like right now I have one more opportunity to just have fun with it,” she said. “No expectations, no pressure.”
