The presidential elections are over in the USA, and it seems voters have returned to familiar territory. Donald Trump, who served as the 45th president from 2016 to 2020, has once again won the presidency. After his 2020 loss to Joe Biden, Trump has now defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 race and is set to preside over the country for the next four years. But one community where the news hasn’t landed well is gymnastics.

Many top gymnasts had shown strong support for the Democrats and Kamala Harris, making Trump’s victory an unexpected blow. Several gymnasts have now taken to social media, sharing their disappointment and even shunning the result of the presidential elections altogether. For them, this election’s outcome feels like a surprising step back, stirring up strong reactions across the sport.

Many gymnasts have used their platforms to speak out against Donald Trump’s election win, and one of them was University of Alabama gymnast Jamison Sears. She shared a post on her Instagram story, expressing her gratitude to Kamala Harris for her efforts as vice president and for her presidential campaign. It was a strong statement of support during a politically charged time.

Sears’s post described Harris as the most qualified candidate for the presidential elections. That’s not all. University of Denver gymnastics athlete Cecilia Cooley also made her stance clear, sharing a post on her Instagram story criticizing Trump’s return. She highlighted Trump’s past felony accusations and his exit from the White House after losing to Joe Biden, captioning her story with a blunt message: “Do better, America.”

University of Georgia gymnast Nyla Aquino also joined the conversation, expressing her disappointment on X, where she criticized American voters for choosing Donald Trump despite his controversial history and extremist stance on various policies. Joining the wave of gymnastics stars’ reactions was Tess McCracken, girlfriend of two-time Olympic bronze medalist Stephen Nedoroscik. McCracken took to her Instagram story to post about the election results, calling it a dark day for the country.

Her post highlighted her concern that Trump’s victory showed a disregard among voters for major issues like prejudice and racism. “And it is terrifying,” the post read. Stephen Nedoroscik himself edited his Twitter bio, saying, “I’m sorry to everyone who’s lives are about to change, let’s stay hopeful.” The backlash from the gymnastics community has been swift and unified, with many prominent athletes speaking out. Even some of the “Golden Girls,” who were Team USA members of the U.S. gymnastics team at the Paris Olympics, voiced their disappointment.

Gymnastics stars including Simone Biles and Suni Lee make their stance clear on the US presidential elections

While parts of the country celebrated Donald Trump’s election victory, the Paris Olympics gold medal-winning gymnastics team showed little enthusiasm. Simone Biles, a vocal critic of Trump in the past, took many digs at the presidential election results. On November 6, Biles tweeted, “Mr. Biden, I need you to stand up, straighten your back, and make some things shake before your departure,” expressing her disappointment in the outcome.

She also took to Instagram stories expressing her frustration about POTUS Trump returning to the Oval Office. This came just a day after the 11X Olympic medalist Biles openly shared her support for Kamala Harris on Threads, writing, “Let’s go kamala mamala.” But wait, there’s more!

Biles’ gymnastics teammate Suni Lee shared a more stunned reaction to the presidential elections. She posted a photo of herself looking shocked, captioned, “Bc what?” Jordan Chiles took an even more somber tone, openly sharing her heartbreak over the result, posting, “Could things get any worse? I’m heartbroken. Just WOW.” These reactions underscore the concern across the gymnastics community over the direction the country may take under Trump’s leadership. Only time will tell if their worries are well-founded, but for now, the unease among these gymnastics athletes is visible.