Jade Carey comes out — Check out her interview with the Beaver Sports Podcast too!

On Wednesday, Jade Carey was announced as a finalist for the 2025 AAI Award. 

On Thursday, Carey came out publicly. 

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In its very simplicity and quietude, Carey’s post made a huge impact — much like Carey herself, a gymnast who gained a reputation as a power vaulter and tumbler, yet leads the NCAA standings on balance beam this season as well as in the AA. 

Dozens of her fellow gymnasts congratulated her and wished her well in the comments on her post. This is a celebration that would have been almost unheard of even a decade ago, but seems de rigueur now — still, what is noteworthy beyond Carey’s own message is the representation across teams, across both college and elite gymnastics. Carey is clearly loved and admired by her peers. 

This season, Carey seems to have fully come into her own as a gymnast, embracing her ability to stay cool and calm amidst the flash and sass that comes with NCAA and radiating a new confidence. Just last weekend, she scored two perfect 10s in a single meet, on beam and floor — events reflective of both her conventional strengths and the composure she has built as a collegiate gymnast. She is coming off her second Olympics, this time with a team gold medal and the vault medal that eluded her in Tokyo — all earned while recovering from illness that struck her right before qualifications.

I made a trip to New Brunswick last winter to watch Rutgers compete against Oregon State at home. I had not had an opportunity to see Carey compete live before, and she was magnificent. I’m always impressed by gymnasts’ ability to tune out the world when competing on beam, but Carey’s composure up there was almost otherworldly. One of my least favorite tropes of gymnastics commentary is when someone observes that a gymnast looks like she’s on floor when she’s on the beam, because I feel it shorts the ability of the best beam workers to do their skills so perfectly straight and so evenly. Still, it’s rare to see someone look completely comfortable up there, and Carey did. Her face was completely composed while she performed, her moves contained yet loose enough that the routine stayed fluid. It was a very cool thing to witness and something I’ll always be glad I made the time for. Carey was also, of course, stupendous on her signature power events, but it was the beam where she really stood out and where I hope she takes home an NCAA title this year (and if she can throw in the AA, too, all the better). 

Congratulations to Carey on her coming out, and best wishes to her as she steps into the world after college gymnastics with all the composure she carried into it. We’re all better for it. 

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Other gym news

The Balance Beam Situation has your links and schedule for this weekend’s NCAA conference championships, and, of course, the GIFs. 

College Gym News has, of course, the leo rankings. 

Arkansas was eliminated from the SEC conference championship, and additionally denied the opportunity to compete in a separate meet this weekend to bolster its NQS before regionals begin. Razorbacks head coach Jordyn Wieber released a statement on the matter. 

Four-star recruit Jayla Booker switched her commitment from Rutgers to Florida. 

Alice Kinsella is pregnant. 

Five at The IX: Jade Carey on Beaver Sports Podcast

Carey gave an interview about her college gymnastics career that begins at 23:45 here. In it, Carey talks about feeling “a little bit lighter this year” because the stress of making the Paris Olympic team is behind her, and discusses how important Oregon State has been to the evolution of her personal brand of gymnastics.