'Nobody's Perfect': Despite Not Making It To The Olympic Finals, Gymnast MyKayla Skinner Is Giving Herself A 'Pat On The Shoulder'
Though gymnast MyKayla Skinner didn't qualify for the finals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the athlete is proud of her performance.
Speaking to PEOPLE, the 24-year-old noted that the games went by in "the blink of an eye," and since this year marked her first and last, she would give anything to "relive" the special day.
Skinner competed in the individual qualifiers, but placed tenth all-around, meaning she wasn't able to proceed to the final round.
She acknowledged that she was super nervous when she first tried out for the Olympic team, but she thought she would be relatively calm during the qualifiers — but the opposite happened.
Skinner at the Senior Women's Olympic Team Trials on June 27.
"The second we got out there, I was like, 'I'm going to throw up. I'm so sick to my stomach right now. This is horrible,'" she revealed. "There's definitely a lot of pressure, but it was just so cool to be out there."
The stress can become overwhelming for some, which is why Simone Biles withdrew from the competition, stating that she needed to take time away to focus on her "mental health."
Skinner felt like she "handled the pressure pretty well" at the games, but she acknowledged that "there's a lot of pressure being an Olympic athlete."
Biles and Skinner on July 28.
"Even though I've gone to Worlds and have all the experience that I've done, it was seriously hard," Skinner insisted. "I'm like, 'I don't know if I can do my routine right now. Do I even know what I'm doing?'"
"I just felt like I just got to trust it. I got to be calm, but I mean, it's the Olympics," she added. "Nobody's perfect. I feel like I can handle the pressure pretty well, even though sometimes I feel like I'm psyching myself out a little bit. I got through it, and I feel like I did really good, so pat on the shoulder for that. That was good."
Since the star isn't returning for the next Olympics, she shared a few words of advice for the next generation of gymnasts.
"Just do what we've been doing in the gym and just always be happy," she suggested. "I feel like you've just got to enjoy this experience."
