Once, she stood on podiums, gold medals glinting under arena lights, the weight of titles like 2017 World Gymnastics All-Around Champion and 2019 Tokyo World Cup Champion resting lightly on her slender shoulders. She was known for her quiet intensity, her signature glasses, and the grace with which she moved through the air—an artist in motion, a poet on balance beams.

Morgan Hurd was more than a gymnast. She was a five-time U.S. Senior National Team member, a beacon of resilience, and a fan favorite whose journey mirrored both the joy and heartbreak of elite sport. But in the end, her body whispered “enough” long before her heart did. The Tokyo Olympics, once within reach, slipped away after the pandemic’s pause and a cascade of injuries. The momentum she built in early 2020 unraveled by the summer of 2021, and her Olympic dream faded not in a moment of finality, but in slow, painful silence. College gymnastics was meant to be a second act, a softer landing, a new stage. And while her time with the Florida Gators brought academic honors and a deep sense of team, injuries continued to haunt her performances. She never quite got the farewell she’d envisioned.

Now, in May 2025, at 23 years old, Morgan Hurd has officially closed the door on her competitive career. But rather than stepping away from the sport entirely, she’s found a new angle—literally. “just another normal human being that carries around camera gear equivalent to their weight…and can do the splits.” She writes in her bio, half-joking but fully herself. It’s a quiet, humble nod to her past—yes, she’s a world champion, but now she’s a storyteller behind the lens.

Hurd has joined the Florida Gators media team, crafting content and capturing moments from the other side of the camera. Her new role, she says with a laugh and a bit of shyness, suits her better. “I switched over to the other side of the camera, which I honestly do like a lot better because I don’t really like being in front of the camera,” she told Olympics.com. “You’re kind of killing me right now,” she added with a smile on her face. However, she already has a plan regarding her role in crafting content. 

For most of her life, the beam was four inches wide and demanded perfection. Now, in this unexpected yet fitting turn, the beam is something entirely different—a ray of light, a frame of composition, a tool in storytelling. And Morgan Hurd, once balancing above it, now chases it through the lens. Well, this summer, Hurd will step into a new kind of spotlight—not as a competitor, but as a creative force behind the scenes. She’s joining USA Gymnastics as part of their creative internship program at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships. It’s a full-circle moment, one that will also see the Delaware native inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame—honoring not just the routines she performed, but the resilience and grace she embodied through every twist and setback.

But what’s most striking about Hurd’s next move is how naturally she seems to belong in this new space. Photography isn’t just a post-retirement hobby for her; it’s a passion that she’s been quietly building, a craft she approaches with the same intentionality that made her a world champion. In fact, her insight is what makes her vision so powerful. Now, she’s putting that same thoughtfulness into capturing others. Her understanding of movement, timing, and emotion allows her to shoot gymnastics with an insider’s eye, anticipating the moments that matter most, not just reacting to them. However, she might not forget her farewell to the sport. 

The gymnastics star bids goodbye to the sport silently 

On May 8, Morgan Hurd kept it simple: “We outta here,” she wrote on Instagram, the words echoing a sense of freedom, of finality. The post featured a carousel of joyful photos—her grinning in graduation regalia, arms thrown around friends, basking in the Florida sun, and the sense of something finally, truly complete. But just days earlier, the scene was starkly different.

Another post, this one far more raw: Hurd in a hospital bed, eyes closed, draped in a medical gown. The caption? Bitten with her signature blend of grit and wit: “Okay, but do you have a grad pic at your tenth surgery? didn’t think so.” It was vintage Morgan—unflinching, darkly funny, and deeply human. A painful reminder that even in celebration, her journey was never easy. Because Gainesville wasn’t just the place where she went to college. It was the place where her body finally gave in, where her Olympic dream quietly dissolved, where she battled through injury after injury, and where—despite it all—she found new passions and earned her place, not just on a team, but in a wider world that needed her resilience and voice.

On graduation day, Morgan Hurd didn’t just walk across a stage. She limped through heartache, pushed past hospital walls, and emerged from yet another recovery with a degree, a new direction, and a camera in her hand instead of grips. Her gymnastics journey—decorated with world titles and national team honors—might have ended sooner than anyone hoped. But the next chapter? It’s already unfolding.