Paris Olympics 2024: Gymnastics Fans Dream of MyKayla Skinner and Other Legends Returning

It is just 100 days, and fans will witness their favorite stars in the Parisian arena. The Olympic stage has seen several legendary gymnasts lighting up the sport, then leaving to pass the baton to continue the legacy. But that doesn’t mean the enthusiasts have forgotten them altogether amid the wave of fresh talents. The memories are still afresh. So much so that they won’t even mind visualizing an imaginary situation where these stars from yesteryears would be back to business to take over from where they left off. A recent social media post fired just that very emotion.

On April 17th, a Reddit post from “r/Gymnastics” went viral, where the user asked, “What Retired Gymnasts you would love to see who could realistically return from retirement for Paris 2024?” and elaborated in the caption. The user asks fans to imagine it’s 2021 or early 2022, allowing ample time for gymnasts to retrain and regain their skills, or even acquire new ones. It then further asks, “If they haven’t competed yet in this code how do you think they would get on? What changes do they have to make to be competitive as AA or EF?”

What better the fans could have asked for to delve into the nostalgia of the bars, beams, and volts? That too in this Olympic season. While names like MyKayla Skinner and Laurie Hernandez were some of the prominent ones from the US, fans also brought up the Romanian Legacy in the sport. Let us take a look at the interesting discussion.

Fans bring up the sport’s talent pool

The comment section starts with the shining name of retired gymnast Larisa Iordache, a former Romanian gymnast. “Her career didn’t deserve to end like this,” laments one devoted supporter. But it is probably her spirit that the fans will never forget. Referred to as “The New Nadia” as early as 2008, she booked her Olympic berth in Tokyo after competing in the qualifiers with severe illness, disregarding doctors’ advice not to compete. Unfortunately, she withdrew from the final because of her ankle injury and subsequently retired from the sport.

Another comment with a heavy heart mentions Ana P who is Ana Padurariu, a Canadian gymnast whose Olympic dreams are at stake after a recent injury. She made her competitive return to elite gymnastics at Elite Canada in February but injured her foot during warm-up. Therefore, a fan sighed, “She came back at 2024 elite Canada but got hurt again. I don’t even think she is being considered for the 2024 team.”

The dream of another shot at Olympic glory extends to the gymnast MyKayla Skinner, who now is the mom of a beautiful angel. She is the Tokyo Olympic silver medalist in vault. Recalling her mastery in the sport, a fan asserted, “I believe MyKayla Skinner could have made another run.”

With this, the third comment reads, “I would’ve loved to see Laurie’s comeback continue.“ Laurie competed as a part of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team dubbed the “Final Five” at the 2016 Summer Olympics and brought gold. Apart from that she also picked a silver in the balance beam that year.

Lastly, one fan also remembered the retired Zeeland gymnast, who became the first gymnast from New Zealand to win a medal at the Pacific Rim championships by claiming silver in vault in 2014. But calling it a “difficult decision”, in 2020 she announced her retirement from the sport for an injury to her Achilles tendon. The user also brought up some more names, writing, “If Moors, Malabuyo, Finnegan and Ruivivar had switched to Philippines at the beginning of the quad, they might have given team PHI a fighting chance for team qualification to Paris. Or at least team qualification to 2023 Worlds.”

Who are your picks from the gymnastics realm who can come back from their retirement to take the reign again?