Gabby Douglas reacts to Shilese Jones' statement on competing alongside her at the U.S. Core Hydration Classic 2024

Gabby Douglas recently reacted to Shilese Jones’ statement about competing alongside her at the 2024 U.S. Core Hydration Classic at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut. The event is scheduled for May 17 and May 18, with the senior women’s session 1 and 2 competition scheduled for the latter day.

The 2024 U.S. Core Hydration Classic will be Jones’ first event since her participation at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, where she collected three medals, including a gold in the team event and two bronze medals in the all-around and uneven bars.

Meanwhile, Gabby Douglas too will be competing in her second event after making a comeback after eight years at the 2024 American Classic. The field also consists of elite gymnasts like Simone Biles and Suni Lee, among others.

On being asked about her goals for the U.S. Core Hydration Classic, Jones expressed her excitement about the athletes returning and her competition with Douglas in an interview with Inside Gymnastics, stating:

“It's the first competition with all the athletes coming back and I'm super excited to be competing with Gabby, especially, and just having fun, just getting my feet wet and boosting my confidence going into the next competition.”

Douglas responded to this statement by Jones with a slurry of emotional emojis and heart emojis.

Gabby Douglas' instagram

Jones also mentioned that her primary goal would be to have a healthy competition and successfully execute her routines in all four apparatus - vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise, stating:

“Just to have a clean, healthy competition and hit four for four. [I'm] showcasing an upgrade - a whole new bar routine actually, and you know, just having fun with it.”

Gabby Douglas returned to elite competitions after 8 years at the 2024 American Classic

Gabby Douglas at the London Olympics 2012.. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Gabby Douglas made a comeback to the elite gymnastics competitions after eight years since competing at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She had taken a long break from sports owing to mental health reasons.

In her comeback tournament, she came 11th overall in the all-around as she posted a total of 50.650. Her performance in the vault was impressive where she placed second with a score of 14.000 only behind Jade Carey who secured 14.200 points. Carey also won the all-around with a score of 55.000.

Douglas aims to secure a place in the five-member USA women’s gymnastics squad that will be heading to the 2024 Paris Olympics.