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It won’t be hard to forget Jade Carey’s name this July at the Tokyo Olympics.
Carey, 21, is currently the only U.S. gymnast who has already earned a place on Team USA. Though Simone Biles is practically a certainty for the top spot, the official roster will be announced following the U.S. Trials this weekend (June 24-27) in St. Louis.
“It would be amazing just to be there and represent my country. It’s unbelievable,” Carey told PEOPLE in a previous interview. “Just being a role model for little kids is a really cool thing that happens.”
Carey, herself, looks up to defending Olympic all-around gold medalist Biles, 24. “She definitely just reminds us to have fun and she’s just really awesome,” Carey said. “Like we know that we can go to her for anything because she’s been there and she’s done it all so she knows exactly how everything goes.”
“Definitely vault and floor are my strongest events. I can put up a pretty good score on those two,” said Carey, who in June unveiled atriple-twisting double layouton floor, a skill no female gymnast has ever competed with. (She also has three world championship medals and the top spot in the World Cup standings on vault and floor.)
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Lucky for Carey, she’s already clinched a spot on the roster amid a very competitive group of gymnasts.
Carey is still expected to compete at this weekend’s trials despite her decision.
To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics this summer on NBC.
source: people.com
