Olympian 2016 Ellie Downie from the UK put down her competition outfit and retired, she told fans this week in a post on her social media channels.
“With a heavy heart and lots of emotions, today is the day I announce my retirement from sports!” Downie wrote. “To say it was a difficult decision is a huge understatement, but after a really difficult last few years, I’ve made the decision to prioritize my mental health and happiness.”
Downie concludes his illustrious career with four medals (one silver, three bronze) at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, two world bronze medals and 10 European medals, including Team GB’s first ever gold medal.
“Gymnastics has been my life for as long as I can remember and I’m proud of everything I’ve been lucky enough to achieve in this sport,” she wrote. “Competing and winning medals for Great Britain meant everything and more to me and I will miss it so much.”
Her contributions to gymnastics extend beyond the court as well. In 2020, she and older sister Becky Downie spoke out about abuse in the sport to push for changes in training methods for current and future gymnasts.
Oklahoma, Florida, Michigan continue to lead as the NCAA women’s action enters Week 4
With NCAA Women’s Gymnastics in North America set to take place in week four of competition, there has been little movement in the rankings as the University of Oklahoma, University of Florida and University of Michigan continue to occupy the top three national rankings.
Individually in Florida Trinity Thomas ranks top in all-around, closely followed by Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medalist in all-around Sunia Leethat competes for Auburn University. University of California, Los Angeles” Selena Harris he is third with the Olympic champion Jade Carey Oregon State University fourth. 2021 world all-around runner-up Leanna Wong from Florida completes the top five.
Here are some matchups to look forward to in week four:
January 27, 2023:
- Georgia, Florida, 6 p.m. EST
- Alabama, Kentucky, 7:30 p.m. ET
- Minnesota, Iowa, 7:30 p.m. ET
- LSU Arkansas, 9:00 p.m. EST
- Rutgers, Oregon, 9 p.m. EST
January 28, 2023:
- Washington, Utah, 3 p.m. EST
- Ohio, Michigan, 4 p.m. EST
- Stanford, California, 5 p.m. EST
January 29, 2023:
- Michigan, Maryland, 1:00 p.m. EST
- Oklahoma, Denver, 3 p.m. EST
- Oregon state at UCLA, 6 p.m. EST
From the vault…
This week we take a look at the Brazil team during practice on the court during the qualifiers for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. 2003 world champion in women’s parks Daiane dos Santos he led the team with a score of 15.275, fifth overall, while the team finished seventh and advanced to the team finals.
