After a hugely successful campaign at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championship, America has now set out for the Pan American Championship. While Team USA went to Santiago cheerfully, they met a huge setback before things even started. In a sad turn of events, one of its brightest stars is now forced to compete at a limited capacity in the tournament.

Katelyn Jong is a 17-year-old elite gymnast with a staunch talent for every apparatus. USA Gymnastics had her on the team as one of its most powerful trump cards. Sadly, a social media post revealed that Jong will not be able to compete on all of the apparatuses at Santiago. In fact, she will have to sit out on multiple events following an unexpected development.

Injury bug bites Katelyn Jong at major gymnastics tournament

Katelyn Jong holds a spectacular Pan American Championship record. The 17-year-old stunned everyone with her performances at the 2021 Junior Pan American Gymnastics Championship. Jong wowed all the judges at Guadalajara to secure the all-around gold medal. Gymnastics Now recently tweeted an update on X and broke the news of Jong?s inability to repeat her 2021 magic in Santiago.

The tweet carried the caption,??Team USA individual Katelyn Jong will only do bars in qualifying at the Pan Am Games. This comes after she suffered an ankle injury at World Team selection camp last month.??The injury she received back then is still haunting her and has severely impacted her chances at the Pan Am Games. The US will be forced into a big handicap because of this as they lose a valuable singles contender. In fact, the 17-year-old?s loss will also hamper America?s shot at the team gold.

Why will the loss of Jong hurt the US?

While Katelyn Jong won the all-around gold medal in the Junior Pan Am Games in 2021, she also won medals for individual apparatuses. The gymnast bagged the gold medal in the vault and uneven bars category, and also took silver in beam balance. Moreover, her valuable addition to Team USA also propelled America to take the Junior Pan Am team gold in Guadalajara. The elite gymnast had proven herself in the senior division as well.?

ALSO READ – After Moving Taylor Swift to Tears, Simone Biles Announces Reunion With the Queen of Pop

She went toe to toe with leading gymnasts of America at the US Classic event held on 5 August 2023. Jong bagged the fifth all-around position at the tournament. Interestingly, Simone Biles, Leanne Wong, and Joscelyn Roberson were three of the four people to outshine her. This showcases that Jong is almost at par with the World Team of the US. As America takes this unfortunate blow, fans will pray for Jong?s success at uneven bars, and the team?s success in other categories.

WATCH STORY – Simone Left Disheartened Missing Out on an Important Event Days After Her World Championship Victory