Shilese Jones injury update: U.S. gymnast suffers apparent knee injury during warmups at Olympic trials

Shilese Jones' Olympic dreams appeared to be in dire straits before the U.S. Gymnastics Olympic trials even began on Friday. The 21-year-old had already been battling ailments when she took to the mat for warmups.

For a brief moment, it seemed as if her misery had compounded. Jones fell to the mat in a heap, looking to have suffered an injury to her knee after attempting one of her patented Yurchenko doubles on vault.

The crowd at Minneapolis' Target Center groaned with frustration, uncertain whether Jones would be felled by the malady — and thereby left off of the U.S. Olympic roster entirely.

However, that didn't quite happen. Here's what you need to know about Jones' apparent knee injury, as well as her status for the remainder of Olympic team trials.

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Shilese Jones injury update

Jones was reported to have suffered some sort of knee injury during warmups on the vault. After performing a double-twisting Yurchenko, she landed awkwardly, clutching her knee immediately.

She had to be helped out of the arena by her coach and medical staff. However, Jones returned during introductions, sporting heavy bandaging across her left leg — the same one that she appeared to land on awkwardly.

US Gymnastics announced on X that Jones was cleared to compete shortly thereafter.

Jones, one of the nation's best all-around gymnasts, planned on competing in vault entering into the day. However, following her spill, she opted against doing so, instead scratching on the apparatus. After putting her warmups back on, it appeared as if Jones was attempting to shake off whatever was causing her trouble with her leg.

The apparent injury comes weeks after Jones pulled out of the U.S. Championships with a lingering shoulder injury. That decision was made out of caution and to rest the gymnast ahead of trials rather than out of necessity. Jones tore her labrum two years ago and had a flareup at the U.S. Classics, though it wasn't enough to knock her off course.

If healthy, Jones is widely tipped to earn selection on the Olympic team. Given the number of injuries that occurred during Olympic trials, Jones' chances only got healthier, too: Skye Blakely and Kayla DiCello, two of Jones' biggest threats for first place, each were ruled out of Friday's meet with injury.