After over two years of preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics – one that warranted a move to Houston to train – Mélanie de Jesus dos Santos set out to conquer the mats carrying the dreams of France vying for a podium finish in gymnastics. But the fall from the uneven bars and missing the podium was followed by a much harder blow, as the financial support that once buoyed her career began to disappear. 

Recently, the French star appeared in an interview with ‘On Refait Le Sport’. Therein, she openly detailed the financial and emotional vacuum that she fell into following the mishaps at the Paris Olympics. Her income went from steady brand contracts to surviving paycheck to paycheck.

“Today, I have nothing,” de Jesus dos Santos replied. “Well, I don’t want to say I have nothing, but it’s very different from before the Games.”

Before the Games, the gymnast had good financial backing through sponsorships by the LVMH group, Dior, Adidas, and Venus. However, the post-Olympic landscape shifted drastically. 

“Well, after the Games, there are some contracts where it was planned that it would stop. But it’s true that after the Games, well, you feel a little lonely because no one follows you anymore. You’re a little abandoned. And well, you have nothing, you go from nothing to nothing. Especially since you don’t live from the gym. You’re not a professional sport. So you have to earn to have money.”

After the mishap at the games, Melanie, fondly known as ‘Martinique Melanie’, could not reel in the shock of the loss. She had dedicated a chunk of her life to mastering gymnastics. For one loss on the world’s grandest stage to nullify every minute of that hard work and sacrifice made the endeavor feel thankless. For Melanie, this phase drove her away from the sport she once loved.

Talking to RTL France, Melanie de Jesus dos Santos has moved back to Martinique. She currently lives with her parents, since she can’t afford to pay for her own place. Currently, Melanie is employed at Crégym (Martinique Regional Gymnastics Committee) on contract.

“I said to myself, well, even if I don’t want to go back to the gym, what am I going to do? I don’t know. I don’t know the world of work. I’ve never worked. I’ve never felt like a normal person. When you’re an athlete, well, you’re not a normal person, well, for me. And so I said to myself, well, I don’t know what I like. I don’t know what job I want to do. So maybe I have to force myself to go back to the gym because that’s all I know how to do.”

Melanie de Jesus dos Santos’ situation highlights a deeper, systemic problem inside French gymnastics. It’s one that recently came under scrutiny. Earlier this year, several French gymnasts, including Mélanie de Jesus dos Santos, exposed issues of poor communication, lack of planning, and chaotic decision-making within the federation. Officials were forced to respond publicly after the controversy grew.

But amidst all the controversy, the fans kept wondering if de Jesus dos Santos would ever make a comeback. 

Mélanie de Jesus dos Santos opens up about her return to gymnastics

In a conversation with Olympics.com earlier in June, de Jesus dos Santos revealed that she doesn’t have any ties in France. Her close relatives are actually in Martinique. And that’s where she feels at peace. Martinique and one more place that she holds close – a tour bus that travelled across the U.S. as a part of the Simone Biles’ Gold over America tour.

“That tour really helped me continue doing gymnastics, and, more importantly, to enjoy it again because we don’t get many opportunities to do gymnastics with that much fun,” she said. “There’s no pressure, and that was amazing. It’s a really unique feeling. Doing gymnastics without pressure was something that really helped me.

Melanie is clear about her future. If she were to return to gymnastics, it would be to tell herself that she is capable of doing beautiful things without the expectations and the pressure. When asked if entering the NCAA was an option, she hesitated because of the pressure that surrounds competing at the NCAA level.

Talking about her career, de Jesus dos Santos claimed, “I don’t think I’m ready yet to say I’m ending my career, but I’m not ready either to say officially that I’m coming back for this or that competition, this or that date. I know I’m not going to end on what happened at the Games because I made way too many sacrifices to leave it like that. I’m not ending on what happened at the Games.” 

“But, I don’t have a specific competition goal. I know I want to come back – I miss gymnastics, yes. But will I return to high-level competition? I don’t know. But in any case, I’ll enjoy training at my club at home.”

Despite drawing her energy from the crowd that chanted her name during the Olympics, the French star still believes that deep down she knew she was just not mentally ready for that moment. In the aftermath, she still hurts when she looks back at the images of herself from that time. But now she is on a journey to rediscover herself and reclaim what she lost. She is on the path of realizing that life’s a lot bigger than the Games alone.

She isn’t alone. To all the athletes whose efforts weren’t validated with a medal, the journey to normalcy isn’t easy. But it’s seen. You’re seen.