Last year, Konnor McClain’s Olympic dreams took a devastating hit. During warmups at the Core Hydration Classic, she suffered a torn Achilles—one of the most dreaded injuries in gymnastics. Just moments after delivering a strong performance on the beam, she went down to the floor, unable to continue. According to multiple reports, she had to be helped off in a wheelchair, her season over before it truly began. The injury was confirmed by USA Gymnastics, and McClain’s future was suddenly uncertain. LSU coach Jay Clark later revealed she would undergo an MRI, but the damage was done. Fast forward to January 2025, and Konnor McClain was back. The torn Achilles, the uncertainty was all behind her. She’s competing again, stronger than ever. And now? She’s got plenty to reflect on!

Konnor McClain was absolutely crushing it in her freshman season at LSU in 2024! She snagged nine individual titles and nailed three perfect 10s! She even dominated beam at the SEC Championships, proving she was the real deal from day one. “The whole year last year just felt so unreal for me,” McClain shared with Olympics.com on April 1st. “Coming to college was a whole different experience, and you can’t even put it into a group of words to explain what college is and how different it is compared to life before.”

Her incredible freshman run ended with the ultimate prize in a national championship! “Winning the national championship is like the cherry on top of the whole season for all of us,” she gushed. Then came the devastating setback. During warmups at the Core Hydration Classic in May, after her freshman season, McClain tore her Achilles—a gymnast’s nightmare. One moment, she was delivering a strong beam performance, the next being wheeled away, her Olympic dreams shattered.

LSU coach Jay Clark couldn’t hide his disappointment, and in January, he said: “After the year she had and the success she had and how much she seemed to be enjoying herself, it wasn’t fun to see that happen again.” This wasn’t McClain’s first setback, it was the fifth surgery of her gymnastics career. While her Olympic dreams were deferred, with the fifth U.S. team spot going to 16-year-old Hezly Rivera, McClain focused on recovery. Her resilience proved remarkable. Fast forward to January 2025, and McClain was back. Just six months after that devastating injury, she competed on uneven bars in LSU’s season opener against Iowa State, earning a 9.800 despite a slight landing stumble.

But man, did she deliver on her comeback promise! She made her return in LSU’s season opener with scores of 9.800 on bars and 9.825 on beam. By January 11th, she was part of LSU’s historic road opener at the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad Meet, where they scored 197.650 – their highest-ever road opener score. Though she’s been competing on just bars and beam, McClain’s been putting in work behind the scenes. “I’m definitely back,” she told Olympics.com. “I don’t know about competition ready, but I’m definitely training them full-time now. So I’m just happy to be back on them and training them again.”

What’s really changed? Her whole outlook on life. “My mindset is so much different,” she shared with Olympics.com. “I’m just happy to come in here every single day, and I feel so blessed… I really took it for granted, my life before… Now it’s just, I’m happy to be alive, and I’m happy to be here.”

But how did she make such a remarkable recovery in just six months?

Konnor McClain’s road back to Gymnastics

After the glory of her freshman year, Konnor McClain faced the brutal reality of recovery. Behind those social media posts showing progress was a daily battle few could imagine. “Although it looks fast online, recovery is really hard. It’s definitely my hardest recovery from all of my surgeries,” McClain told Olympics.com. “I was in rehab for three hours a day trying to get better and trying to heal myself so I could be back for the collegiate season. That was my main goal, just like, I’m not going to be out again.”

And she wasn’t kidding about the challenges. The early weeks were especially tough. “At three weeks, you cannot move [your foot] at all,” she explained. “For the first five months you can re-tear it, so you have to be very careful. The little milestones – moving my foot, walking in a boot, walking on the ground, squatting on one leg – they were really hard for me.”