Olympic gold medalist and Oregon State standout Jade Carey is trying to change the narrative that high-level gymnasts must choose between an elite-level career and college athletics.
From her vantage point, her story proves the exact opposite. She thinks that competing at Oregon State has benefited her ability to perform in a Team USA uniform.
"I feel like I'm a lot more confident in my gymnastics. I've learned to deal with the pressure a lot. I've been the anchor on every single event almost every meet since I've been at Oregon State, and that comes with a lot of pressure, especially if there's a fall or a mistake before you," she said. "I really learned how to calm myself, be confident in my training and let that show throughout my competition."
In her first two seasons at Oregon State, Carey accumulated two NCAA championship runner-up finishes and several other All-America honors, became the 13th college athlete in women's gymnastics ever to complete the gym slam (perfect 10s in all four events), and won back-to-back Pac-12 all-around championships.
In a Team USA uniform during that time, she captured three medals (two gold, one bronze) at the 2022 World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool, England, and won two others at the 2022 Paris World Cup Challenge.
"I definitely hope to be an example to other gymnasts out there that you can do both," she said. "You can do anything that you put your mind to. There doesn't have to be one way or the other anymore. Just do what you want to do and what makes you happy."
Carey will try to continue proving that point this season as she prepares for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. She's one of two current NCAA athletes — Florida's Leanne Wong is the other — to qualify in the senior women's side of the 2023 U.S. Gymnastics Championships set to take place Thursday-Sunday in San Jose, California. After that, Carey hopes to make the Team USA roster for the world championships in Belgium Sept. 30-Oct. 8, which will lead into a brief break before her preparation for the spring NCAA season that begins in January.
Carey competes for the United States during the women's floor final of the 2022 Gymnastics World Championships in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images)
"I'm really looking forward to just another year of being able to do both," she said. "We know what to expect and know what areas to change from last time, so I'm excited to be able to do it again and try to see how much better that we can do it this year."
One lesson Carey said she's learned from her student-athlete experience is that competing on a college team offers her balance in a sport that demands perfection. While elite training and competition leans more toward an individual focus, which can be isolating, the college environment is more team-centered and naturally supportive. Competing in front of thousands of fans on a regular basis is another bonus to the college environment, she said.
"I feel like being at school the last two years has made me really love gymnastics even more than I ever have before. The atmosphere and the environment is just a lot more fun, and I feel like that's helped me become even better, just having fun with gymnastics and not putting too much pressure on myself. So it's really great to be able to go to the gym every day with 20 other girls and just have fun with each other," Carey said. "In elite, you're more individualized, and so I hadn't been used to a team, but it's been really fun to be able to be with each other all the time and then be able to lean on each other. We're all going through the same exact thing, so it's nice to be able to have 20 other people to help you out."
While Carey thinks competing in both worlds has been mutually beneficial, that doesn't mean it's been easy. She said she frequently "wishes there were more time in a day," and there have been several overwhelming moments. One of them she noted was going into the world championships last year when her class schedule became too much to juggle. She credited her support system of athletics support staff, teammates and coaches for helping her manage it all.
"Everyone at Oregon State is doing a really great job at helping me get through it and getting me whatever I need," said Carey, a digital communications major who's currently in all online classes. "It's definitely challenging to fit it all in. But I just keep telling myself I only have this opportunity once … so I really just want to put everything I have into it and make the most of it because it won't be here forever."
Carey celebrates with her Oregon State teammates during a meet in 2022. (Photo courtesy of Oregon State)
