Yahoo Finance Jade Carey Wins Gold! Team USA Gymnast Earns First Olympic Medal in Floor Final at Tokyo Olympics
Jade Carey is a gold medalist!
On Monday, Carey, 21, earned her first Olympic medal in the women's floor final at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre in Tokyo. The Arizona native, who was the second to compete on the floor, showed off her fantastic tumbling and earned a score of 14.366.
Behind Carey was Italy's Vanessa Ferrari, who won silver with a score of 14.200. Japan's Mai Murakami and Angelina Melnikova of the Russian Olympic Committee shared third place with a score of 14.166.
Carey's gold is the third straight for Team USA after Aly Raisman won at the 2012 London Games and Simone Biles won at the 2016 Rio Games. (It is the 10th medal overall for the U.S. in the event.)
Carey, who had failed to medal in the individual all-around final and vault finals, was cheered on by fellow Team USA gymnasts Biles, MyKayla Skinner and Grace McCallum, who were all heard screaming: "Come on Jade!"
Teammates Sunisa Lee and Jordan Chiles were also seen cheering and clapping.
Carey's performance on Monday comes a day after she finished in eighth place in the vault final when she stumbled on her run and had to save herself from injury on her first attempt, a Cheng which turned into a Yurchenko. Carey, who was visibly emotional, scored a 11.933.
After successfully completing an Amanar for her second vault and earning a 12.900, Carey finished in eighth place. In the same event, Skinner, who stepped in for Biles after the 24-year-old veteran captain withdrew, won silver — her first Olympic medal.
"Honestly it was just a fluke thing," Skinner told reporters about Carey's stumble on Monday. "I think, you know, the nerves were definitely there. I think as she was running, I saw her trip like right before the roundoff. ... And then of course she couldn't continue the vault because she could've gotten hurt. So honestly it was just a fluky thing and talking to her, she was so disappointed, you know? I mean, we should have both been on the podium stand and so I can't even imagine what she's going through."
After the event, Carey was seen crying into her father and coach Brian's arms.
"I was just trying to help her stay positive. And like, you have to forget about this. You have four finals, you're going to go out there and give it your all and place, because she totally can. So she just has to kind of regroup. But she made me cry," Skinner recalled. "That's so horrible to have to go through something like that when you've made it this far and you're at the Olympic games and we're hoping to medal. I know she's very devastated right now and [I'm] just trying to give her that space."
(L-R) Simone Biles, MyKayla Skinner and Grace McCallum
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Yul Moldauer, Simone Biles and MyKayla Skinner
Carey previously competed during last Thursday's individual all-around final after she was promoted to compete in the event following the news that Biles withdrew citing mental health concerns.
The gymnast finished eighth overall but fellow U.S. gymnast Sunisa Lee took the gold and became the fifth consecutive female American to be crowned all-around champion.
RELATED: How Jade Carey Earned Spot on Team USA Gymnastics as She Moves in to Replace Simone Biles
Speaking with PEOPLE ahead of the all-around final, Jade's mom, Danielle, expressed her joy after the news of her daughter's second chance in the event.
"I am grateful for this opportunity for Jade to show the world just how strong she is! I have no doubt she will make us all proud!" Danielle said.
On the message she would send to her daughter, Danielle said at the time, "Have fun out there, and enjoy the experience of a lifetime!"
Every American female gymnast at the Tokyo Games has now earned at least one medal in an event.
To learn more about Team USA, visit TeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.
