Years After Stepping Up for Simone Biles, Star Gymnast, Following Suit With Michael Phelps and Shaun White Breaks Ice on the End of Olympic Dream

All’s well that end’s well. Over the years, many staunch athletes have bid farewell to their professional careers after attaining the pinnacle of their sports. In 2022, five-time Olympian snowboarder Shaun White?decided to retire from the sport after participating in the Beijing Winter Olympics. Similarly, the most decorated swimmer of all time, Michael Phelps, after adding five more Olympic medals to his glorious list at the Rio Olympics, decided to retire in 2016. However, there is one other athlete who ceded her career amidst deafening applause.

A 26-year-old gymnast had decided to step down from her career after exhibiting her finesse on the mats for one last time, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Remarkably, she replaced gymnast icon Simone Biles, owing to an unfortunate incident, and retired only after clinching silver at the Games. Years later, the former Olympian spilled unheard details of her final decision to end her illustrious Olympic journey.

Olympics star unravels why she stepped down

On September 15, Olympian gymnast MyKayla Skinner was invited to the podcast MOMCAST with Emma Jade. In the newly released episode, the star athlete talked about retiring from gymnastics after replacing Biles at the Olympics in 2020. According to the 26-year-old, “It was so cool to finish out my Olympic dream, to be able to step in for Simone, go and compete for myself one last time, and finish out my career by winning a silver medal.”

Further, while highlighting her life after retirement, Skinner added, “Sometimes it does not feel real, like am I still an Olympian because I just retired after the Olympics, so it was like a big thing, then going back to, Oh, I am just living a normal life, going back to school, it still doesn’t just seem real.”

Skinner was able to secure her silver at the vault finals after the GOAT of gymnastics, Simone Biles, decided to withdraw from the event amid mental health struggles. The gymnast, who had qualified as an individual after finishing fifth at the Olympic trials, secured her silver with an average score for her Cheng and Amanar vaults of 14.916.

However, following her staunch win at the big games, the athlete decided to bid farewell to her gymnastics career. Interestingly, years after this decision, Skinner has faced many life-changing updates. The 26-year-old is now about to bring a new life to this world.

MyKayla Skinner’s Life After Retirement

After retiring from gymnastics in 2021, MyKayla Skinner dropped an exciting update. Months ago, the athlete, in a surprise post on Instagram, announced her pregnancy with her husband, Jonas Harmer. Skinner posted a heartwarming photo of the gushing couple holding the pregnancy sonography with a sweet little note.

The caption read, “I can?t believe that we are going to be parents! We are so excited for this new chapter!” Amid this post, Simone Biles also congratulated the couple by adding a joyous comment that read, “Congratulations! So happy for ya’ll!!!!!!!”

Also read: Forced to Miss Simone Biles Once Again, Husband Jonathan Owens Extends Unique Support Amid National Gymnastic Championship

From deciding to join Michael Phleps and Shaun White in the retirement club to bringing a new life, MyKayla Skinner’s life has truly unfolded new chapters for her. With her retirement from gymnastics, her fans would eagerly await updates from the athlete from time to time.

Watch this story: Simone Biles Shows Off Her Support For Jonathan Owens In A Customized Outfit