Source: Mike Ehrmann / Getty
Black women are putting the sport of gymnastics on their backs.
They’ve been dominating gymnastics for a while and showed their talents once again at the 2022 U.S. Gymnastics Championship.
Three Black women, 17-year-old Konnor McClain, 20-year-old Shilese Jones, and 21-year-old Jordan Chiles, took home some hardware after winning the senior all-around competition and becoming the first three Black women to sweep their opponents.
Atop the podium was McClain, who won the Gold medal on the balance beam and the all-around with a score of 112.750. It was an outstanding performance, especially with it being her first senior national competition. Jones was right on her heels, by winning second place with a 112 score, and Chiles rounded out the top 3 with 111.000.
McClain coming in first place is a big deal after a tough summer that saw her suffering from stress fractures in both shins, a concussion, and the flu just two weeks ago.
“It’s so unreal,” she said after the huge accomplishment. “I’m still in shock a little bit.”
She wasn’t the only one who didn’t let an injury stop her from performing well; Chiles was dealing with micro-tears in her shoulder labrum and bicep.
“There wasn’t really any stress level,” said Chiles. “But the ramp up for this was definitely I think the hardest thing I could have ever done because I did have an injury and that injury kind of held me back.”
The three woman look to medal again come October 29 when the 2022 World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool, England, begin.
