At 21, Skye Blakely’s career was already becoming defined by near misses. A freak elbow injury forced her out of the 2021 Olympic trials, and then a torn Achilles just before the 2024 Olympic trials. Then came 2026, and it seems as if luck is finally on her side as she soared to a stunning win, claiming the women’s all-around title at the World Championships. Her story is far from over, though, because next comes a first the NCAA has never seen.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Still competing at the collegiate level, the 21-year-old will become the first reigning world all-around champion to compete in an NCAA season. It’s the first time this has happened, although she won’t be the first world champion to compete at this level. That title goes to Bridget Sloan, who won the 2009 world all-around title before she began her collegiate career in the 2012-13 season.
Like Sloan was, Blakely is part of the Florida Gators gymnastics team and has already shone for them. In her first season (2025), the now 21-year-old and the Gators finished third in the SEC Championships before falling short in the NCAA. They settled for a seventh-place finish with Skye Blakely not quite at her best.
That was largely because the American was still recovering from her torn Achilles injury, and her lengthy recovery period proved to be the right move. 2026 changed the course of everything, as this time the Gators and Blakely won the SEC Championships.
Not only that, the 21-year-old was a key performer. She earned silver medals on the vault and uneven bars while finishing fourth in the all-around. That trend continued as the Gators (197.6875) ended up third in a tightly fought final, just 0.3875 points behind second-place LSU (198.0750). Blakely didn’t compete on the vault and missed the all-around, but still placed second on the uneven bars again.
However, for Skye Blakely, that elusive all-around title was still missing. Then she walked into Rotterdam, won four medals including the all-around gold and made history. It meant that only Simone Biles had won more medals at a single world championship. The four put Blakely in the same company as former Olympic champion Nastia Liukin and six-time world championships medalist Rebecca Bross.
She also became the first gymnast to compete in an NCAA competition and then win a world title in the same year. Now, though, Blakely will become the first reigning world all-around champion to compete in the NCAA, and her approach will likely remain the same.
“Collegiate gymnastics is a lot different,” Blakely said in a 2025 interview with Olympics.com. “Competing every weekend is something I haven’t done in a really, really long time. I’m learning to enjoy the process again, to relax, and not make every meet feel like such a big deal.”
But while Blakely prepares to make history with the Florida Gators, her ambitions extend beyond collegiate gymnastics. The American still has her sights set on the Olympic stage, despite the setbacks that have disrupted her journey so far.
Blakely refuses to give up on her dreams of being an Olympian
Not once, but twice, Skye Blakely watched her dreams of becoming an Olympian get heartlessly crushed by the winds of fate. She was 16 when it happened the first time. A freak injury after her elbow gave way during vault warm-ups at the 2021 Olympic Trials. It required surgery and ended any chance the teenager had of making the Olympic team.
For any athlete, that would be heartbreak. For a teenager whose sole focus and dream was making the Olympic team, it was indescribable pain.
“I didn’t want to talk to anybody,” Blakely said, according to AP in 2024. “Honestly, I kind of shut down after that meet.”
But she persevered and continued competing. Then it happened again.
Three years later, now 19, Blakely was once again amongst the favourites to make the 2024 Paris Olympic team. She was, after all, coming off a US National Championships where she won three silver medals (vault, uneven bars and balance beam). However, during the practice session at the 2024 US Olympic Trials, Blakely tore her Achilles tendon.
Once again, it required surgery, and once again, it ruled her out of the Olympics. However, even with the setback, Blakely had simply refused to give up on her dreams.
“It was definitely devastating in the moment, knowing just how hard I had worked to get there and how ready I felt,” Blakely told Olympics.com in 2025. “But knowing I was so close made me realise I don’t want to give up on the dream I already had for myself. I just want to get back healthy and work toward it again.”
Now, after a sensational comeback and a world all-around title, beating the world’s best gymnasts, her dreams are back on track. If anything, Blakely is now more than ever a strong contender for the team. But before she can focus on the Olympics, the 2027 NCAA season will see her face the best yet again.
It’ll test the 21-year-old and give Blakely another opportunity to compete at the highest level while continuing to build towards her Olympic goal. After two injuries cost her a place at the Games, the world champion will be determined to make sure her next Olympic trials have a different outcome.