"Olympics are important but that's not all of our goals" - Jackson Harrison on lack of a men's division at US Classic

Gymnast and member of the Arizona State University team Jackson Harrison has opened up about the lack of a men's division in the 2024 Core Hydration US Classic.

The athlete, who identifies as non-binary, helped the Arizona State Gymnastics team to a victory in the GymACT team event in May. In August, Harrison qualified for the 2023 U.S. Gymnastics Championships after a successful outing at the 2023 US Classics.

In an announcement yesterday, USA Gymnastics stated that there would be no men's program at the 2024 US Classic which will be held in May in Connecticut. With the Classics being the last qualifying event for the 2024 USA Gymnastics Championships, athletes like Jackson Harrison will be left in a tricky spot regarding qualification for the national event.

In response to this, Harrison took to X (formerly Twitter) to pen a detailed note on their feelings surrounding this new development.

“I’ve known that there wasn't a way for me to qualify back to champs for a while now. Coming out of the 2023 season, I was ready to finish my senior year in 2024 and never compete (in) gymnastics again. When I made champs, it changed my mindset. It was the best thing to ever happen to me in my gymnastics career."

Harrison went on to add that while they understood that the Olympics are important, they wouldn't be every gymnast's target.

“I thought (because I'd been told) that I would be pre-qualified to Winter Cup. But then the qualifications procedure came out and I wasn't pre-qualified and there is no way for me to realistically qualify for Winter Cup. I get that it's the Olympic year and the Olympics are important, but that's not all of our goals.”

Jackson Harrison ended their statement by saying that having to wait an entire year before they could try and qualify for the US Nationals was unfair.

“All I want is to go back to champs because that's where I'm at right now in my career. and with classics (national qualifiers) not existing in Olympic years, I'm just forced to wait another year until I have the opportunity to achieve my goals. it just sucks that when I thought I was finally in, I wasn't actually in, as if making champs did nothing for me.”

Jackson Harrison’s journey as a queer, non-binary athlete

Harrison opened up about his journey as a queer athlete in a written piece for Outsports in 2021. In the essay, the gymnast described their struggles in coming to terms with their identity.

Harrison stated that they came to terms with being gay when they were 12. While they told some close friends and their family, they were reluctant to showcase that part of their identity in the gym for fear of being treated differently.

Jackson says that while they never made an announcement to their fellow gymnasts, the team caught on soon enough. The gymnast added that they 'could not be more thankful for how casual and accepting my teammates were'.

Harrison wrote that it was only after coming to Arizona State University that they felt comfortable enough to be themselves, writing,

“I must have won the gay lottery because the amount of support and acceptance I have been gifted with throughout my life is unreal. The ASU men’s gymnastics team is a family and when I moved here, I became part of that family, full queerness and all.”

Jackson Harrison continues to be an important voice as a queer personality in gymnastics and hopes to one day become a coach in the sport.