"Ultimately, I decided I had to put myself first"- Kayla DiCello opens up on her decision to take a year off to prioritize the upcoming Paris Olympics

American artistic gymnast Kayla DiCello recently opened up after deciding to take a year off from her college to focus on the 2024 Paris Olympics. In 2023, DiCello announced her decision to take a break from the University of Florida to prepare for the Olympics in Paris and join the team back in the 2025 season.

DiCello was an alternate member of the USA women’s gymnastics team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held in 2021. However, she didn’t get an opportunity to compete at the Quadrennial Games which saw the USA women’s team clinch the silver medal posting a total of 166.096, only behind the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) which scored 169.528 points.

However, this time DiCello’s goal is to become a competing member of the USA’s five-member squad for the 2024 Paris Olympics. In an interview with “Team USA” that gives updates on the nation’s top athletes, Kayla DiCello revealed the mindset behind the decision to take a year-long break, stating:

“Ultimately, I decided I had to put myself first. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I want to be able to say at the end of this, no matter how it went, that I did everything I could. So going home, training, that was in my best interest.”

DiCello opened her 2024 season by participating at the 2024 Winter Cup in the women’s senior event where she claimed the individual all-around title, securing a total of 56.850.

She also achieved the top position on uneven bars and floor exercise events, with scores of 14.300 and 14.050. She finished third on the balance beam where she posted 14.300 points.

She will next be in action at the 2024 Core Hydration Classic alongside the likes of Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Gabby Douglas, and Shilese Jones.

A look into Kayla DiCello’s top achievements

Flavia Saraiva (L), Kayla DiCello (C) and Jordan Chiles (R) in the Gymnastics - Women's All-Around at Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Kayla DiCello has won two medals at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, including a gold medal as a member of the USA’s team in the 2023 edition and a bronze in the all-around event with a score of 54.566, behind Angelina Melnikova (56.632) and compatriot Leanne Wong (56.340) in 2021.

At the 2023 Pan American Games, she collected two gold and a silver medal to mark a successful campaign. She won the women’s all-around with scores of 14.133 on vault, 13.633 on uneven bars, 13.200 on balance beam, and 13.733 in the floor exercise. This performance of hers played a crucial role in the USA's gold medal win in the team event.

Besides this, Kayla DiCello won three medals at the Junior World Championships in 2019, including a gold in vault, and two bronze medals in team and balance beam.