Jordyn Wieber retires from gymnastics

Olympic gold medalist Jordyn Wieber has decided to retire from gymnastics at age 19.

It is time for United States gymnast Jordyn Wieber to work on a new routine. At age 19, the Olympic champion has decided to hang up her leotard and call it a career and retire from the sport.

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“It’s time to for me to retire from elite gymnastics. But I can honestly say that I don’t have any regrets looking back on the past 15 years. I was fortunate because my life wasn’t necessarily what you’d imagine of an elite gymnast,” Wieber wrote for the Player’s Tribune.

“There were restrictions, of course, like not being able to ski since the age of eight because of the risk of injury, or not being able to play school sports. But still, growing up, I had a sense of normalcy that may seem unexpected when imagining the life of an elite athlete.”

“Since the age of four, gymnastics was the center of my entire life,” Wieber wrote. “Deciding to end that part of my life was one of the most difficult, emotion-filled decisions I have ever made.”

The announcement confirms previous reports that Wieber would not try to become a member of the 2016 U.S. Olympic team.

With Wieber’s career now in the books, we can reflect back on a career that was one of th best in United States gymnastics history. Wieber is one of the only women in U.S. gymnastics history to win a team gold in the Olympics and a World Championships individual all-around gold medal.

Since winning her Olympic medal as part of the “Fab 5” in London — alongside McKayla Maroney, Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman and Kyla Ross — Wieber has not competed.

While the rest of the young women from the 2012 Olympic team plan to continue competing, there is no word on whether they will attempt to return for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.

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