The Arkansas Razorbacks face off against Alabama for the NCAA gymnastics duel shortly. And Joscelyn Roberson, the traveling alternate who accompanied Simone Biles & Co. to Paris, is probably raring to put on a show. The gymnast is in her debut season at the NCAA. But what perhaps motivates her more than that is to make up for lost time. Recently, she finally opened up about her lowest career phase.

Yes, the gymnast had to stay away from the mats for a long time due to a grueling injury, one that nearly threatened to derail her Paris Olympics bid. Back in 2023, during the warm-ups for the team final at the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp, Joscelyn Roberson ended up injuring her ankle. And in that moment, she felt that her Paris Olympics bid was done for.

“It definitely was; ’24’s not happening,” she thought to herself. How was she going to compete with a team with so much depth at the Olympic trials with an injury? Well, this was not the only thing she was worried about. We had to wait till February 2025 for Simone Biles’s Paris teammate to finally reveal all the thoughts at the back of her mind during that.

She recently

sat down for an interview with Hogs+, released on YouTube on February 27, when Joscelyn made clear what she was feeling at the moment. “I was proud of myself for continuing to do gymnastics, ‘cuz I almost was like, okay, just forget this whole year. We’ll start over, go to Worlds, all that.” There was a point that the gymnast confessed she had almost given up.

“Like I was in February, I was ready to just already be done because I didn’t want to try and fail and be upset that I could have done more. But that feeling of I knew I couldn’t do anymore. ” But she didn’t just give up, knowing she had an injury that was out of her control. Joscelyn Roberson battled her way for a Team USA spot alongside Simone Biles and Co., and she did get it.

She knew from the start, “So for at Worlds, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to just get back. I knew I was going to have to be back and be better, and I didn’t know if that was possible, so finishing that routine, it was like I got back, and I got better.” Yes, she created her moment at the U.S. Olympic trials.

Yes, the moment when her floor exercise in the fourth rotation came to an end, rouding up two days of eight for eight performances. When Roberson hit her final pose—her head thrown back and arms raised— tears started to flow, and the crowd erupted. At that moment, she knew she had made it. Of course, there was uncertainty earlier.

Joscelyn revealed in the Hoggs+ interview, “It was just like the biggest weight off my shoulders” because she knew the selection committee could pick from so many teams because they had great depth. Yet the fact that she made it as a traveling alternate with Simone Biles and Co. really overwhelmed her. Why not? After all, she had relocated all the way to train alongside Biles.

Joscelyn Robserson moved to Houston to train alongside Simone Biles.

Yes! In the Hoggs+ interview, Joscelyn Roberson confessed that her mother had gotten a new job in Houston, and that meant Joscelyn now gets to move and train with Cecile and Luarent Landi, the Hall of Fame coaches. But wait, that’s not the only perk. She does mention, “But I was also training with Jordan, Jordan Chiles, who is now at UCLA, Simone, and a bunch of other elite athletes.”

Yes, Joscelyn was training with Simone Biles at the WCC, which gave her just the perfect atmosphere to shape her into an elite gymnast. She noted that in Houston, people understood what she was going through each day and how hard it was, and that helped her a lot! What do you think about this gymnast’s grit and resilience? Isn’t it exceptional? Let us know below!