Why do so many gymnasts tear their Achilles? — Joscelyn Roberson talks about transition from elite to Razorback

College Gym News lists 14 NCAA gymnasts who have injured their Achilles this season and are not currently competing. A 15th, Katelyn Jong of Auburn, confirmed this week that she, too, tore her Achilles. Skye Blakely of Florida and Konnor McClain of LSU tore their Achilles in the run-up to the Olympics last summer and are just returning to competition. And Blakely’s older sister, Sloane, is now out for the season at Florida with what may also be an Achilles tear. 

Elite gymnastics has not been spared. Charlotte Booth, an Auburn commit who competes as an elite with British Gymnastics, tore her Achilles at the Cottbus World Cup last week and announced her retirement from elite as a result. Tyler Turner, who was about to debut as a U.S. senior elite this season, and Russia’s Viktoria Listunova also tore their Achilles. 

What is it with women’s gymnastics and torn Achilles tendons?

Your business can reach over 3 million women’s sports fans every month!

Here at The Next and The IX, our audience is a collection of the smartest, most passionate women’s sports fans in the world. If your business has a mission to serve these fans, you should reach out to our team at editors@theixsports.com to discuss ways to work together as we make our 2025 plans.

In 2021, 17.2% of participants in a study of 581 NCAA gymnasts reported Achilles ruptures during training or competition during college. All-arounders were more likely than specialists to sustain an Achilles injury. Black gymnasts were more likely to injure their Achilles than gymnasts who identified as other races. Interestingly, gymnasts who used retinoid medications — often used to treat acne — were also more likely to rupture their Achilles. 

Women’s gymnastics had the highest rate of Achilles injuries in any NCAA sport by far, the study showed — four times as many as the next closest sport, men’s basketball. 

Floor exercise was where 91% of the Achilles injuries reported in the study occurred, with the rest occurring on vault. Of the injuries on floor, more than three-quarters occurred while the gymnast was doing the approach to a back tumbling skill. 

All of this is fascinating information, but the authors of the study said that more research was necessary to determine how much biomechanics (in particular, the biomechanics of a female body) and training in gymnastics play a role in Achilles injuries. They did say that the chronic pounding of the legs and feet in gymnastics, as well as jumping motions, likely contribute to the bounty of Achilles injuries. 

It will be unfortunate if Achilles injuries are simply considered part of making it to college gymnastics. I hope that more studies are conducted that enable college programs to provide the type of personalized analysis and treatment that could mitigate this type of injury for future gymnasts. 

The Next, a 24/7/365 women’s basketball newsroom

The Next: A basketball newsroom brought to you by The IX. 24/7/365 women’s basketball coverage, written, edited and photographed by our young, diverse staff and dedicated to breaking news, analysis, historical deep dives and projections about the game we love.

Readers of The IX now save 50% on their subscription to The Next.

Other gym news

Balance Beam Situation has the schedule and links for NCAA Week 10 and, of course, the GIFs. This week, there’s a GIF retrospective on gymnasts’ inability to high-five one another. 

If you love Spencer, support him by following his live blog commentary behind the GymCastic paywall. 

College Gym News has, of course, the leo rankings. There’s also a judge’s breakdown of February’s perfect 10s. For such a short month, there sure were a lot of them compared to January’s two! 

All Things Gymnastics interviews Oklahoma’s Addison Fatta. 

Clemson’s Brie Clark became the first person to compete a Biles I on floor in the NCAA. 

Biles herself congratulated Clark. 

Speaking of International Women’s Day, Barbie gave Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey their own dolls to celebrate. 

Gymnastics Canada posted footage of Kaylia Nemour training bars before Gymnix this weekend. 

Want women’s hockey content? Subscribe to The Ice Garden!

Here at The IX, we’re collaborating with The Ice Garden to bring you Hockey Friday. And if you want the women’s hockey goodness 24/7? Well, you should subscribe to The Ice Garden now!

Five at The IX: Joscelyn Roberson on Hog Pod

Joscelyn Roberson gave a great interview to Arkansas’ Hog Pod recently about her journey from Olympic alternate in Paris to Razorback freshman sensation.