“2024 was, by far, hands down, the best year I’ve ever had in my gymnastics career,” she said, looking back on a year that kicked off with a bronze medal performance at Jesolo, where she helped Team USA clinch a team podium finish. The gymnast then dazzled at Nationals, earning a bronze on floor and placing in the top 10 all-around, results that secured her a coveted spot at her first Olympic Trials. There, she delivered an unforgettable floor routine that earned a standing ovation, took third on beam, and finished eighth all-around, ultimately being named a non-traveling alternate for Paris. As for her 2025 season, fans are hoping for the best, especially after a recent update stirred concern.

Before the 2025 Pan American Championships, a story went up on Tiana Sumanasekera’s Instagram that read,” Hi😊 Earlier this week I had a short landing on floor that caused a minor ankle injury…I will still be competing beam, and I am so grateful and excited to be doing so.” Providing a further update, Inside Gymnastics Magazine made a post on June 19, 2025. They wrote in their caption, “Tiana Sumanasekera tells Inside Gymnastics that she is recovering well from an injury sustained at the Pan American Championships. We are wishing Tiana the best in her recovery!” So, has she recovered ahead of the US Classics? Well…

The recovery has not been fast enough, so to speak. Tiana took to her Instagram story on July 15, 2025, posting an update on her injury. She wrote, “I have made the difficult decision to not compete at Classics, so I can focus on healing my ankle as best as possible for US Championships. My ankle is getting better and better by the day, and I have been getting back very well, but Classics was too soon for me to be in full shape, as my ankle set me back a bit.” The 2025 US Classic is scheduled to take place on July 18–19, 2025, at the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The injury had the fans saying, “Glad that it wasn’t a new injury! Hope the recovery continues to go well ❤“. The ankle injury is severe enough to take more than a month for her to heal, but she’s also looking at the bright side in this.

She continued, “As much as this breaks my heart, as I absolutely love competing and have been looking forward to Classics, I wanted to make the smartest and safest decision,” and then came the most important part, “Thank you and see you in New Orleans!!!❤️”. For context, the 2025 U.S. Gymnastics Championships will take place in New Orleans from August 7 to 10 at the Smoothie King Center.

The question you might wonder is how she could be making it to the nationals if she is missing the qualifiers, which is the US Classic. So, one of the key criteria allows members of the 2024 Olympic team and named alternates to automatically qualify. Sumanasekera was officially listed as a non-traveling alternate for the 2024 U.S. Olympic gymnastics team. Despite the good news, the gymnastics community remains concerned.

Gymnastics community worried for the young gymnast

Some fans are glad to know that the 17-year-old is not battling another injury, like this fan saying, “Thanks for sharing the update! Glad to hear it’s not a new injury and she plans to be at championships.” However, many are scared as well. One person, also commenting on her post, shared mixed feelings, “Same, though I’m concerned now that she competed on it at all. If it was bad enough she took so much time off that her endurance is off, maybe letting her do beam at Pan Am Champs wasn’t the right call.”

Tiana Sumanasekera helped Team USA secure team gold at the 2025 Pan American Championships in Panama City despite battling a minor ankle sprain, contributing a solid 13.367 on beam during finals. Was it the right decision to let her go on the beam with a sprained ankle? Her injury only got worse there. This has created a mistrust between the gymnastics community and USA Gymnastics, and questions have arisen over her future as well.

One fan commented, “I guess it also depends what her goals are…I don’t believe she’s said anything about staying at WCC through worlds, though I can imagine why she might wait, rather than announce that before nationals. She’s almost 18 and competed one event. I feel ok with letting her and the national team make that decision and take that risk.” Counting on her Pan American Championships, this fan wanted to leave the decision for her future in her hands. Though this was countered.

The counter read, “She has stated her intention this year was to try and attend World Championships. To be quite frank, I do not trust this program and a child to make the best decision for the child’s health. History, even recent history, has given me plenty of reason to think they may have made the wrong choice at Pan Am Champs.” According to College Gym News, this season, Sumanasekera’s focus is on making the U.S. National Team and earning a spot at the World Championships. Her parents might play a role here. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.