Why did Aly Raisman quit gymnastics? Real reason explored

Aly Raisman is a former American gymnast. She competed in the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics and won a total of three gold medals, two silver, and one bronze medal.

Raisman was also the captain of the two famous USA gymnastics teams, 'Fierce Five' and 'Final Five'. Both those teams won gold medals in the team event of the 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio Olympics. The artistic gymnast retired from competitive gymnastics on January 14, 2020.

She is currently working as a program designer at Camp Woodward in Pennsylvania. Raisman attended the Woodward Camp as a child.

But why did Aly Raisman quit gymnastics?

In her post on Instagram, which she posted on January 14, 2020, Raisman said she needs time to reflect on her incredible career and on the tough times she faced in her career. This is the reason for her retirement, as mentioned by Aly.

The tough times she mentioned can be about her hard work to succeed in her gymnastics career. She might have also meant the abuse she suffered from disgraced doctor Larry Nassar, which was very traumatic for her and other gymnasts.

It's been four years since Raisman revealed that she too was a victim of abuse by Larry Nassar.

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Aly Raisman opened up about her retirement in her Instagram post

In the retirement statement she posted on Instagram, Aly Raisman wrote that her mother called her after news of her retirement was telecast on TV. The news might have been reported at the time because Raisman wasn't seen making any preparations for the Olympics.

However, the gold medal-winning gymnast confirmed the retirement news only after it was reported on television. She further wrote about how time has passed so quickly and how the London and Rio Olympics felt just like yesterday.

The Olympic gold medalist claimed that she couldn't wrap her head around the fact that she had competed in two Olympics and termed the past 10 years (2020 to 2010) a whirlwind that she couldn't process.

"I've lived a pretty fast-paced life and sometimes I have to remind myself to slow down, unplug from technology and take time to appreciate what I've experienced and learned".

Aly Raisman during the Rio Olympics

Aly Raisman said she was able to recall several of her memories (from her career) during the holidays and realized she needed to provide herself with the space to sit and reflect on her feelings.

The decorated gymnast also spoke about her childhood memories and how she would watch the VHS tape recordings of the 1996 Olympics gymnastics competition.

Raisman said she would tell her younger self that she would be able to meet a lot of amazing people on her journey. Also, the American gymnast would tell herself from a younger age how incredibly successful she would be.

"The power of dreams is too big to put into words, but I'd try anyway since it is what makes magic happen. It's also what will get her through the tough times."

The Needham-born gymnast said the power of dreams was too huge to put into words, but she will try to do it because that's what makes the magic happen. She also said that the power of dreams would help her younger self to get through her tough times.

In 2021, in an interview with The New Yorker, Aly Raisman spoke about the current state of gymnastics. She said that she doesn't enjoy doing gymnastics anymore like she used to do and she honestly feels there are several more bad people in the sport.