American gymnast Shilese Jones wants to go to the 2028 Olympics after hurting her left knee in Paris and missing her chance to go.
Jones, 22, said on social media late Monday that she tore her ACL and meniscus in her knee while warming up on vault on the first night of the U.S. Olympic trials last month.
Jones did a great bar routine after getting hurt, but the next day she pulled herself out of competition and Olympic consideration.
Jones wrote, “My journey hasn’t been easy, and I’m still facing problems as they come up.” “The pain will go away soon, but the scars will make me want to follow my dream even more.”
Jones was seen as one of the best chances to make the five-woman team that is expected to win gold in Tuesday night’s Olympic final. In the past three years, Jones may have been the best American gymnast who isn’t Simone Biles. She won six world championship medals, including a silver and a bronze in the all-around.
She plans to keep fighting at the highest level until 2028, when she will be 26 years old, one year younger than Biles is now. The move is a sign of how things are changing in women’s gymnastics, where athletes are now competing well into their 20s.
She wrote, “Now I’m turning my attention to the future and my next chapter. That’s why I’m thrilled to say you will see me on the road to LA 2028.”