6 Months After ‘Freak Accident’, Gymnast Makes Second Attempt to Chase Paris Olympics Dream

Born in Dublin with Azerbaijani roots, Jessica Gadirova, started practicing gymnastics at age six. She joined her twin sister Jennifer in the gym when they first started and went on to become the top gymnasts in the nation. Later, Jessica became a senior in 2020 and contributed to Great Britain winning their first Olympic medal as a team in more than nine decades, a feat she could repeat at the Paris Olympics.

For the 19-year-old gymnast, everything was going great as she continued to add more medals to her repertoire; however, her career abruptly paused six months ago due to a “freak accident” that occurred during Worlds training. The gymnast took her first significant stride as the emotional roller coaster came to an end in the most recent social media post.

Jessica Gadirova proves that she’s an unstoppable phoenix rising from the ashes

On the eve of the individual all-around competition at the 2023 World Gymnastics Championship, British Gymnastics confirmed that Gadirova had pulled out of all the competitions. Later, Gadirova revealed on her Instagram account on October 15 that she had sustained a full tear of her anterior cruciate ligament. In a recently posted Instagram story with the caption, “6 months later!! ( two crying emojis) Finally running!!” she hinted at returning for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

A footnote accompanying the video of her exercising under supervision on a treadmill stated, “Once the video stopped I did get a bit emotional because it has been so long since I did this and I have been waiting for the day to come! I’m very grateful for all the support today! @uksportsinst.”

Gadirova joined Alice Kinsella, Ondine Achampong, Georgia Mae-Fenton, and Ruby Evans to represent Team GB in the 2023 World Championships in September. On D-day, she qualified for the vault, balancing beam, all-around, and floor exercise finals, and helped the British team place second in the qualifying round. However, the team did not perform at the same level as they did in qualifications and ended sixth in the team final. She didn’t give up on her aspirations despite the sad injury that stopped her from winning more medals; in fact, she had overcome a similar setback in the previous Worlds.

The debut World Gymnastics Championship recap that set the precedence

Jessica Gadirova got off her debut 2022 Worlds mats with three medals, one of each color, after playing a pivotal role in Great Britain’s silver medal-winning team, bronze in the all-around final, and lastly an impressive gold in the floor routine. Gadirova became the youngest British gymnast to win a Worlds title at the age of 18 years and thirty-four days.

READ MORE Olympian Overcomes Devastating Injury to Make Triumphant Comeback in Gymnastics Ahead of Paris Olympics 2024

She was the last contender to enter the floor final despite opting out of the vault due to ankle pain. She won her first world championship title in floor exercise and became the second British woman to win the title after Beth Tweddle in 2009. Now, making what seems like a slow yet steady recovery, Jessica Gadirova could be aiming to improve to add more medals in the upcoming Paris Olympics!

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