TOKYO, Japan — Jade Carey has placed 8th in the individual all-around gymnastics competition in the Tokyo Olympics.
Carey was a last-minute addition to Team USA's individual competition squad. She replaced gymnast Simone Biles after Biles dropped out during the team competition on Tuesday due to mental health issues.
Carey had a strong start in her first-ever Olympic all-around competition, getting high scores in both the vault and uneven bars that placed her in the top three.
However, Carey met difficulty when it came to the beam event after she lost her balance and fell off while attempting a handspring layout step-out layout step-out combination series. A score of 11.533 took her out of overall medal consideration.
Carey's overall score was 54.199.
The other Team USA all-around competitor, Suni Lee, was crowned the all-around Olympic champion after she the gold medal with a score of 57.433.
Phoenix Olympian Jade Carey competes in the all-around competition in Tokyo
While all eyes were on her throughout the world, Carey had her own gathering in her hometown. Fans and friends of the gymnast gathered early Thursday morning in Phoenix at Jade Carey's family's gym, Arizona Sunrays, to hold a watch party for the athlete.
"It's so cool because I go to gym with her and I use the same exact equipment as her," gymnast Miley told Team 12's Jen Wahl. "It's every kids' dream to go to a big star's place where they practice. It's just awesome."
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