Gymnast Jade Carey brought home the gold for her floor performance while representing the United States on Monday.
Carey, a 21-year-old from Arizona, overcame immense pressure to take home the gold for the U.S. after favorite Simone Biles pulled out of the individual competition citing her mental health.
Carey scored a 14.366 for her impressive tumbling routine, edging out Italy’s Vanessa Ferrari.
The athlete earlier competed on the vault, where she took eighth place.
“Coming back from a day like yesterday, I’m really proud of myself for being able to put that behind me and finish with probably the best floor routine I’ve ever done in my life,” Carey said following her gold-winning performance.
“Simone especially was helping me let it go and move on [from the vault performance],” the gymnast said. “She said: ‘It happened, and you can’t do anything about it. She was like, ‘Let’s go out and kill floor,’ and that’s what I did.”
Last week, Biles notably pulled out the women’s team finals citing her mental health.
“Whenever you get in a high-stress situation, you kind of freak out. I have to focus on my mental health and not jeopardize my health and well-being,” the gymnast told reporters.
“We have to protect our body and our mind. It just sucks when you’re fighting with your own head.”
“I feel like I’m also not having as much fun — and this Olympic Games I wanted it to be for myself and it felt like I was still doing for other people — and that hurts my heart that doing what I love has been taken away from me.”
“There’s more to life than just gymnastics,” Biles added.
The 24-year-old later made the decision to skip further individual competitions.
“After further medical evaluation, Simone Biles has withdrawn from the final individual all-around competition, in order to focus on her mental health,” a statement from USA Gymnastics said. “Simone will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether or not to participate in next week’s individual event finals. Jade Carey, who had the ninth highest score in the qualifications, will participate in her place in the all-around.”
“We wholeheartedly support Simone’s decision and applaud her bravery in prioritizing her well-being. Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many.”
Biles announced Monday that she will be back to compete on the balance beam on Tuesday.
With Biles withdrawing from numerous competitions she was favorited to win, the other gymnasts on Team USA have certainly stepped up.
Aside from Carey’s floor gold, 18-year-old American Sunisa Lee took gold in the women’s individual all-around gymnasts competition last week.
Lee becomes the fifth-straight American woman to take home the gold in the all-around competition.
Related: Suni Lee Wins Gold For America After Simone Biles Pulls Out Of Competition
Related: Simone Biles’ Endorsements To Only Grow Following Olympic Withdrawal: Report