How Utah’s Grace McCallum found peace in her decision to forgo the 2024 Paris Olympics

Grace McCallum met the eyes of her best friend one day in 2023.

Jaedyn Rucker could tell something was off. McCallum was having an unusually erratic day in the gym. Her typical cheesy grin was missing in action.

The decision to commit to or forgo the 2024 Paris Olympics was weighing on the Isanti, Minnesota, native.

At this point she had started training again for elite-level gymnastics. All of her former Team USA teammates from Tokyo — Jordan Chiles, Simone Biles, Jade Carey and Sunisa Lee — were going back to compete in the Olympic Trials. Yet, there was no indication from McCallum, a 2020 silver medalist, on her Olympic future.

So, Rucker peppered her with reassurance.

“No matter what you do, I will support you,” Rucker recalls saying to McCallum.

Then came her response.

“I just want to do what I want to do,” she said.

McCallum knew then what she wanted: To stay with her teammates. To enjoy the adulation from Utah’s fans. To hoist a national championship, not bite into a medal.

She wanted to be a college student. A college gymnast.

Maybe most of all, she just wanted what was best for Grace McCallum.

“From then on, everybody just kind of knew,” Rucker said. “She wasn’t sad or anything. She was joyous and happy.”

McCallum’s decision on her Olympic future came with no grand announcement. She held no dramatic team meetings. There were no long, poetic social media posts.

But it didn’t mean the Olympics were hard to let go of.

“It was kind of weighing on me the first three years of college here,” McCallum, now a senior for the Red Rocks, told The Salt Lake Tribune. “I knew all the other girls were going back, which made it harder for me, because I never planned on going back. I was like, ‘I did it. I achieved my goal.’

“Then last year, I really started training for more and I was doing extra hours at the gym. I was doing one on one. I was like, putting my all into it and really focusing on that.”

It all came to a halt, however, when former Utah coach Tom Farden resigned after several former athletes accused the coach of abuse in late 2023.

Had she chosen to continue her Olympic training, McCallum would’ve pulled another coach from Utah’s staff to help guide her workouts, meaning the program would’ve been down two coaches.

“It almost made the decision for me,” McCallum said. “I just knew at that moment I was going to be there for the team, and I would be happy either way.”

Heading into the 2024 Big 12 Championships, McCallum and the Red Rocks are preparing for one last ride together, with hopes of capturing a 11th national championship. It’s easy to see the former 2020 Olympian is enjoying every last bit of her college career.

Every tumbling pass. Every high-five and hug from her teammates. Every 10 she gets after a routine.

It’s simply just Grace McCallum being Grace McCallum.

‘My unshakeable goal’

Grace McCallum was finally back home after two weeks of traveling in March 2020.

At this time, COVID-19 was just starting to ravage the country, and she was preparing to fly out for an international meet in Birmingham, England. Then her mom, Sandy, saw the notification about the International Olympic Committee’s decision to cancel the 2020 Olympic Games.

“She had a look of, ‘I can’t believe this is happening,’ on her face,” Sandy said.

Grace continued training, but things got worse.

In January of 2021, she was practicing on the balance beam before she slipped and hurt her hand. A diagnosis later revealed that she suffered a boxer’s fracture, which is a broken metacarpal bone connected to McCallum’s pinkie finger.

At that moment she thought her Olympic dreams were over. The injury required surgery, and she would have to have a plate inserted into her hand.

“I remember her voice and the quiver in it that she had when she first called,” Sandy recalled.

What would happen next would be defined by McCallum’s determination — a mentality she displayed her whole childhood.

Even as a kindergartener, McCallum dreamed of wearing the fancy red, white and blue leotards. Maybe along the way she thought of even winning a medal.

Trista Pleski, her former gymnastics coach, recalls the first time young Grace walked into Flyaways Gymnastics, a facility located in Forest Lake, Minnesota. It was obvious she was destined to compete at an elite level.

“From age 5 or 6, she always would say, ‘I’m going to be an Olympian,’” Pleski said. “She had something special. And, like, she was the bounciest kid ever. She had the most energy out of any human.”

Through the years, McCallum continued to hone in her craft. She ultimately left Flyaways — where she reached level 10 gymnastics — to train at Twin City Twisters, where she was paired with elite-level gymnasts. At the new gym she was coached by Steve Hafeman, Sarah Jantzi and Mike Hunger.

With years of time, McCallum slowly paved her way from junior elite to competing internationally with Team USA in 2018.

“Nothing was gonna stop me, no injury, no set back, nothing,” McCallum said of the Olympics. “I like to call that my unshakable goal. And I think it’s important to have those goals in sports that, no matter what happens, nothing’s going to stop you from achieving it.”

Months before the 2020 Olympic Trials, McCallum was rounding into form. She was in the best shape of her life. Her routines were crisp. She stuck almost every landing.

But, at no point was McCallum the most athletic or most talented gymnast at TCT. According to Hunger, she worked to earn where she was.

“That speaks to how bad she wanted it,” Hunger, now one of Utah’s assistant coaches, said. “It was not an easy road. I think probably physically, the best she looked was literally in January, which was about six months before the Olympics.”

That same mentality drove her to rehab her hand fracture in time for the Olympic Trials.

Days after her surgery, wearing a hard cast, McCallum could be seen running on the treadmill and doing one arm push ups against a wall. She was determined to get back.

Months later, through rehab, grit and determination, McCallum was healthy enough to make it back in time for the US Olympic Trials in June. Biles, Chiles, Carey and Lee were all considered the favorites to make the team, which mean’t one of the final spots were up for grabs.

And, after competing in all four rotations, her name was called. McCallum would be headed to Tokyo, where she would ultimately win a silver medal.

“None of us thought that that was possible,” Sandy said. “But she did everything in her power to give it a shot, and she made it happen.”

‘Gymnastics isn’t who she is’

After Utah’s women’s gymnastic practices, Abby Paulson and McCallum would often stick around for a few hours at the Dumke Gymnastics Center.

They’d laugh and do silly, unorthodox tricks while together in the gym. McCallum would smile and dance. Paulson would do the same.

“We very easily could have gotten hurt on stuff like that. I feel like I have so many fond memories of us going through our formative years,” Paulson said.

Moments like that have become usual for the senior all-around star. But McCallum wasn’t always that way.

In the beginning of her college gymnastics career, McCallum was quiet and focused on herself. She would rarely talk in between routines.

It was the same when she was at level seven gymnastics.

According to her mom, McCallum would shuffle her way into the gym and participate in different routines, while taking an extra rep or two on bars or beam. When she finally talked to one of her teammates one day, her coaches exclaimed: “Holy cow, she talked today.”

“She’s very quiet when you first meet her,” Sandy said “She’s definitely become more social doing interviews and all that stuff. She’s much better, but she’s definitely quiet when you first meet her.”

Things started drastically changing during her freshman season with the Red Rocks. Unlike elite gymnastics, the college version of the sport focuses on team successes rather than individual accolades. McCallum has also been with her Red Rock teammates for four years, which has led to more bonding opportunities.

“She was still pretty shy her freshman year,” Paulson said. “But slowly, over time, she just started to socialize more. You know, she was always very much ‘put my head down to do gymnastics,’ which is why she’s as amazing as she is, but I just love seeing her be the leader that she’s grown into.”

Rucker added: “I think she’s just a really good person, overall, and I think when she first got here, she was a little shy. But when she opened up, she’s somebody who I would consider, like, I’m closest to on the team. She’s just very, very kind.”

As the years went on, and Farden had to resign from the program, McCallum’s leadership shined the most. She was already training for the Olympics, and the thought of going back to try to get a gold medal was lingering in her mind.

But the Red Rocks needed her leadership. They also needed their remaining coaches.

McCallum also needed to figure out what would make her happy.

“I think it really brought us so much closer as a team,” McCallum said. “I feel like I’ve kind of come into my own as a leader, and I’ve kind of embraced that everybody’s a leader in their own way, and they all have different strengths and weaknesses. And you can kind of see, ‘Oh, this is a weakness to me, but that’s her strength.’”

Where there’s strength in McCallum’s selflessness, there was also liberation in choosing her own destiny.

She’s learned to enjoy the small things in the final year of her collegiate career. It’s evident when she talks about it, too.

“I like enjoying the little wins with the team,” McCallum said. “When a teammate sticks their landing ... or just having fun out on the floor, like those little things, those are the things I’m gonna remember, not the routines I did or the scores I got, but just all those little moments, all the in between, is what really sticks with you.”

Those closest to her can see McCallum’s joy now. Her passion is free. There’s no more weight on her shoulders; it’s what has made this year so special.

“Gymnastics isn’t who she is. It’s a part of what she does,” Sandy said. “When she finally made the decision that she wasn’t going to continue trying to train for the Olympics, I think it gave her some relief.”

The end of one journey, start of another

During Utah’s senior night, McCallum took a moment to stare up at the Huntsman Center’s video board, as her farewell video played in the arena.

In the clip, she thanked the Red Rocks’ program, her coaches and, most of all, her family for all the memories from Utah’s program. In the video, she cried, and it evoked enough emotion for some in-arena tears to start welling up, too.

She quickly rubbed her eyes, hoping to gather the pools before they ruined her makeup. McCallum then ran to Utah coach Carly Dockendorf to ensure she looked all right.

She later announced her return to the program as a student coach during her senior ceremony.

“I feel like coaching has always been something that’s been in the back of my mind. And who better to learn from than these amazing coaches here? I just feel like I’ll learn so much just wisdom,” McCallum said on senior night. “When I was offered the opportunity to come back a sixth year to coach — How could I say no?”

“She’s so humble with everything that she has achieved in her life,” Dockendorf said. “And she’s just so caring and compassionate, and to be able to have her come back and share her experiences.”

Before McCallum starts her next journey as a coach, her time as a Red Rock isn’t over just yet.

She is still one of the best all-arounders in the country. Utah is also still in search of a Big 12 Championship win this weekend, and — the bigger, more ultimate prize — an 11th national championship down the road.

McCallum isn’t focused on the outcome, though. She’s just wanting to embrace the journey.

“I just hope people remember me as a good teammate,” McCallum said. “I hope they remember me as a good leader, somebody that’s always going to be there for them and support them no matter what. Obviously, it’s great to be known for your gymnastics and being a good competitor, but at the end of the day, you want to be known as a good person.”

When McCallum looks back at all the memories — filled with accolades, a Olympic silver medal and even more triumphs — she remembers the grit it took to arrive at each point.

She’ll remember recovering from her broken hand before the Olympic trials.

She will cherish the smiles and laughter of all the gymnastics friends she’s made along the way.

At the end of the day, those experiences have made Grace McCallum who she is today.

For her, that’s bigger than gymnastics.

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