"I kind of shut down after that meet"- Skye Blakely opens on the horrors that followed the Tokyo Olympics trials

Skye Blakely recently reflected on the challenging period she navigated after the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Trials. Blakely commenced her gymnastics career as a senior during the 2021 Winter Cup, securing the balance beam title.

As the 2020 Olympic Games faced delay, Blakely found herself meeting the required age criteria and began her Olympic pursuit. However, her pursuit was cut short when she suffered an injury during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic trials.

She tore her ulnar collateral ligament during vault warmups, abruptly halting her journey toward the world's most glorious sporting event. The then-16-year-old had to undergo left elbow surgery. During a recent interview with ABC News, Blakely reflected on the testing time she sailed through addressing it as 'traumatic.'

“I didn't want to talk to anybody,” Blakely said. “Honestly, I kind of shut down after that meet.”

“It was traumatic and I had to have surgery. So that was a big shift in my world, and for a while it was hard for me to understand, and it just really hurt my feelings in my heart,” she added.

Later, in September 2021, Blakely verbally committed to Florida Gators. She stepped back on the mat for an elite competition during the 2022 Winter Cup, clinching second place in the all-around event.

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A look at Skye Blakely's performance at the 2024 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships

Skye Blakely of Team United States competes on Balance Beam during Women's Qualifications at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships at the Antwerp Sportpaleis in Antwerp, Belgium.

Skye Blakely showed her stunning gymnastics skills at the 2024 U.S. Xfinity Gymnastics Championships held at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas from May 30 to June 2, 2024.

She secured second place in the women's all-around individual event only behind the legendary gymnast Simone Biles after posting a total score of 57.05. Biles gathered 60.45 points. Further, Blakely also settled in second after Biles in the balance beam event with a score of 14.45 points.

The 13-year-old displayed a great show in the uneven bars by settling in fourth place behind Biles, Jordan Chiles, and Kayla Di Cello. Further, the 19-year-old stunned the gymnastics world after executing an impeccable element on the vault. She again stood behind Biles after posting a score of 15.00 on the vault, performing a perfect Cheng on the vault.

Blakely earned a silver medal in the all-around event at the 2024 Winter Cup with 57.650 points.