Achilles Curse Plague US Gymnastics Trials as Frontrunner Kayla DiCello and Skye Blakely Out of Competition

Before coming to Minneapolis for the US Olympic gymnastics trials, both Skye Blakely and Kayla DiCello were counted as the favorites to make it into the American team bound for Paris. They had plenty of reasons to support the claim. Among all the positive factors, the most standout could be their position in the Xfinity US Gymnastics Championships, which was hailed as a trial before the actual trial and the gymnasts achieved the podium finish there.

In the final leaderboard, Skye Blakely remained the second, whereas Kayla DiCello chased her in the subsequent rank. Now, 27 days later, both gymnasts are far away from continuing their success streak. Skye Blakely left the scene two days ago, hurting her Achilles on the podium training. Furthermore, it was the abrupt landing in a pass while completing her floor exercise. Now Kayla DiCello has followed her, losing the dream to feature in the Paris Olympics. 

Kayla DiCello and Skye Blakely fall prey to the gymnastic boon

On the very first day of the US Olympic gymnastics trials in the women’s category, Kayla DiCello had to face the wrath of injury. She was performing her first routine, setting the tone for the evening. However, Kayla was executing her vault routine to improve her chances. But the unfinished rotations on air and a faulty landing on the mat in her vault routine left her at the mercy of her fate. She could be seen crying on the mat and shaking her head, learning the outcome. Later, USA Gymnastics’ X handle posted about her Achilles injury and subsequent withdrawal from the trials. Does that mean withdrawal from the Paris Olympics as well? 

Possibly, yes! Like Skye Blakely, she might get a chance to submit a petition to feature in the Paris Olympics team because of her ranking at the US Nationals, but that would depend on her fitness. As of now, no update on her fitness has come out. But a situation can be thought of, after seeing Skye Blakely with her boot plaster yesterday. She is nowhere to gain full health in the coming month, whereas her chance of submitting a petition faced rock bottom. A similar tone has been echoed in a research paper recently. 

The paper has been submitted to the American Physiology Summit, and it says that a gymnast could take six months to one year to make a comeback after experiencing an Achilles injury. In maximum cases, the surgical need extends the need for the duration of gaining full health. Along with that, the same report shows that the Achilles injury comes following the difference in the stiffness of the floors and for those gymnasts who have been competing for more than 10 years. Landing on a floor that is more stiff compared to the practice floor could invite injury to the Achilles tendon. That speaks volumes about the recent increase in the number of gymnasts facing the same curse. 

Achilles’ injury demolishes more dreams than failure does 

Not just Kayla DiCello and Skye Blakley, the Paris Olympics will miss several more gymnasts who have borne the brunt of Achilles injuries. Among them, the Japanese gymnast Ayaka Sakaguchi took herself away from the possibility of featuring at the Paris Olympics in March this year. A detailed IG post from her says that Ayaka faced her Achilles injury during her practice routines. However, her doctors subsequently confirmed her physical state, which showed no hope of an early cure. The same fate followed an Australian gymnast. 

Georgia Godwin, the Australian standout, availed her Paris Olympics ticket last year. However, during a practice session in May this year, she tore her Achilles and the fate of featuring in the French capital. Georgia formed an important part of the Australian national squad that headed in the Tokyo Olympics. But this time, she will have to miss it. In this bunch of gymnasts who have faced the tentacles of Achilles’ injury, Konnor McClain comes with the most sad tone. 

The LSU Tigers’ gymnast performed heavily this season to make her camp national champion. But when it came to stepping into elite gymnastics, a brutal fall at the US Core Hydration Classic 2024 decimated her dream to make it to the national team for the Paris Olympics. The fall resulted in a ruptured Achilles tendon – the reason for death for many dreams. A thorough awareness among all the stakeholders should be needed to nip the problem in the bud. Otherwise, the rampage will continue.