Gymnast Jade Carey [1] inched closer to her dream of Olympic qualification on Feb. 24 in Melbourne, Australia. The American gymnast performed a high-flying floor routine that secured gold at a Gymnastics World Cup competition, and it's not hard to see why: each tumbling pass had incredible height and execution; her split leaps showed off major flexibility; and she nailed one stuck landing after another. Jade ended up with a score a 14.366 — more than 0.6 points higher than her closest competitor.
The winning routine not only earned her a World Cup medal, but helps her on her way to the 2020 Summer Olympics [2]. Jade, a two-event specialist, is attempting to qualify for the Olympics through the World Cup individual event route. If she's successful, she'll forfeit her spot at the team event [3], so she wouldn't be able to win a gold alongside her US teammates. However, she would be able to compete for a medal in the individual events she qualifies in: either floor, vault, or both. (Jade's vault at Worlds was second only to that of Simone Biles [4], AKA the most decorated gymnast in World Championship history [5].) She has to finish first in her events, based on points racked up throughout the tour, in order to qualify.
It's a little complicated, but the upshot is that with every World Cup win, Jade gets a little closer to stamping her ticket to her first Olympics; she'll know by the end of the World Cup series in March if she's in. Fingers crossed — but if she keeps turning out routines like this one, we have a pretty good feeling! Watch Jade's full, gold-medal-winning routine for yourself above.
