Trinity Thomas and Gymnastics World Unite to Celebrate Olympian’s 4 Decade Contribution to the Sport

Trinity Thomas, one of the well-known NCAA gymnastics figures, initiated her comeback to elite gymnastics around seven months ago. She is now aiming to chase her Olympic glory in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics Games. The 22-year-old gymnast never shies away from applauding other gymnasts’ remarkable feats in the sport.

Once again, Trinity Thomas has stepped forward to celebrate the remarkable achievements of Kathy Johnson, the first American gymnast to win a major international medal. Alongside Pan-American medalist Thomas, other prominent figures in gymnastics came together to congratulate the American sports commentator and former artistic gymnast Kathy Johnson on her decades-long contributions to the field of gymnastics following her retirement from broadcasting.

Trinity Thomas honors Kathy Johnson’s legacy upon retirement news

Hendrix College & Vanderbilt alum Amanda Brooks took to her official Twitter handle to commemorate Kathy Johnson’s achievements on her retirement. Along with posting a video, she paid tribute to Kathy Johnson captioning the post as “A beautiful tribute to  @kathyjohnsongym 👑 Thank you for everything you’ve given to gymnastics, KJC. The sport is better for it 💗”

The video features Trinity Thomas along with public figures such as Jordyn Wieber, an American former artistic gymnast turned coach; Janelle McDonald, UCLA gymnastics coach; Danna Durante, head coach of the University of North Carolina; the LSU and Oklahoma women’s gymnastics teams; sports journalist Holly Rowe; Olympic medalist and NCAA champion Samantha Peszek; and ESPN reporter Taylor Davis. All of them have expressed their appreciation for Kathy’s contributions to the sport as an athlete, advocate, and announcer.

Trinity Thomas expressed her regards to Kathy Johnson, stating, “You called my first 10.0 and about half of my friends as well, and you just bring such a light to commentary.”  Kathy Johnson is likely to retire this year.

From elite gymnastics to sports commentary

Kathy Johnson-Clarke was the first American woman to achieve podium finishes at the Olympics and World Championships. Her competitive gymnastics career spanned from 1978 to 1984. After this, she transitioned to television color commentator covering the gymnastics events with effective articulation. Her career spans four decades, from clinching her first Olympic medal to her illustrious career as a commentator.

Read More: Shortly After Comeback, Trinity Thomas Left Stunned by the Gesture of a Young Gymnast on Meet Day

Kathy also took to her X handle to reshare Amanda Brooks’ post, expressing her gratitude, “No words. Just feelings. Thank you, gymnastics. For everything. What a gift.” Earlier this month, the longtime college gymnastics analyst for ESPN upset the sporting world with her retirement announcement. She penned, “To be clear, I’m not quitting broadcasting because of judging or nonsensical scores that don’t align with or reflect the Code of Points, making it obsolete. I am retiring because I am being retired as irrelevant, a relic from the past.” However, she claimed that she was happy with her retirement decision.

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