Ben Bolch

The energy in the almost empty arena increases with every action. When Jade Carey twisted and backflips on the floor in the Ariake Gymnastics Center, a small group of American athletes and workers sitting in the corner roared.

When Kelly finished her floor procedure on Monday night, she won a standing ovation. She proudly stretched an arm into the air, waiting for what seemed to happen next.

A gold medal.

Carey’s score was 14.366, surpassing Italy’s Vanessa Ferrari (14.2), Japan’s Mai Murakami and Russian Olympic Committee’s Victoria Listunova, who both won 14.166. Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade won gold and silver vaulting medals in the all-around competition, but she ended her medal count with 14.033.

Carey’s exciting routine strongly refutes what happened before.

A day ago, the 21-year-old from Phoenix stumbled on the track of the vault finals and somehow completed a perfunctory procedure to avoid injury. After struggling and finishing eighth in her second vault, she didn’t talk to reporters.

This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.

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