“My Stomach Dropped”: Shilese Jones’ Shoulder Injury Sends Gymnastics Community Into Total Panic For Xfinity Championships

A world of adventure awaits Shilese Jones, but will they be materialized? This is the fundamental question that’s making gymnastics fans nationwide scratch their heads for an answer. With news of the 21-year-old battling another shoulder injury, her prospects of making it to her first Olympics once again are faced with a serious obstacle. However, it seems like the Washington native is hellbent on pushing onward and her fans are holding their breaths.

The journey hasn’t been an easy one for Shilese by any means. Overcoming daunting injuries to make her return last year after 10 months, Jones went on to perform well in both the US Championships as well as the World Gymnastics Championships. However, fans seem to be on the edge with the 2024 Paris Olympics not even two months away.

Shilese Jones comes across an old foe

A recent post on the Reddit group r/Gymnastics highlighted the recent developments ushering debates about Jones’ chance of making it to the French capital in July. Noting, “I saw a post on Instagram from insidegym that she won’t be at full speed due to what they think is a flare up with her bicep, she’s getting treatment and seeing how it goes tonight.” User renees24 hoped for the best for Shilese, especially with the Xfinity US Gymnastics Championships slated to kick off tonight in Fort Worth.

Her injury comes after Shilese dished out a commendable performance at the Core Hydration US Classic. Apparently, at the Classics, Jones suffered a snag that flared up her labrum injury from two years ago. For justifiable reasons, considering the stakes at hand, the gymnastics fraternity has gone into deep speculation mode as to what this may bode for the gymnast after having to sit out the last Olympics.

Fans in teeters speculating what comes next

User GlitteryStranger seems to be feeling the pang of anxiety somewhat more than the others. Given that the weekend’s event in Texas will serve as the last major event before next month’s US Team Trials, the fan’s heart rate looks to have gone off the charts. “The way my stomach dropped when reading this, hoping it’s SUPER minor and she doesn’t overdo it this weekend,” said the exasperated loyalist of the sport.

Redditor Pure-Shores seems to think that Jones can take to the backseat for a while, especially with her going all out in all of the recent competitions. In the last 17 months, Shilese hasn’t finished lower than second in any competition, and the fan believes it’s time to let the upcoming weekend pass without any action. “I hope she can skip out on Nationals and petition for Trials. It is NOT worth it for her to compete this weekend,” wrote the concerned fan.

Magnificantly-flow, another fan, is also in agreement: Shilese missing out on the national championship will be a lesser blow to the guts than having her pull out of the Olympics one more time. While the gymnast admitted her strong will after last year’s US Championships by saying, “I’m a fighter“, the fan believes a break should be warranted. “Just heal up, girl and come to trials. They will 100% accept her petition. We will miss her if she doesn’t compete at nationals, but not as much as we would if she didn’t make it to Paris,” opined the Redditor.

“I don’t think she has a single thing left to prove that requires her to compete at nationals,” commented another fan, who is convinced that Shilese has gone above and beyond to compensate for 2021 and 2022 when injuries kept her on the sidelines for months.

“NOPE NOPE NOPE. DO NOT WANT,” is all Redditor misslenamukhina could blurt out, evidently panic-stricken by the thought of seeing Shilese having to end her sensational note before the Olympics, much like Gabby Douglas.

What would you want Shilese to opt for, with the Olympics looming overhead? Tell us more below!