MyKayla Skinner: Mormon Athlete
MyKayla Skinner is an American Olympic gymnast. At the 2020 Olympic trials held in June 2021, she landed fourth place as she headed into the final night of competition. At the end of day two, Skinner finished fifth all-around and was selected to compete in Team USA's final individual spot at the Olympics in Tokyo in July. After a teammate withdrew from the vault final, MyKayla won a silver medal for the vault during the artistic gymnastics women's apparatus final on August 1, 2021.
She served as an alternate on the 2016 US Olympic Team in Rio de Janeiro.
She signed with the University of Utah Lady Utes in November 2014 but deferred enrollment to train for the Olympics. During the 2016 Olympic Trials, she was fourth all-around, 2nd on vault, 5th on beam, and 4th on floor exercise. At the 2014 World Championships in China, she contributed to the US Team’s gold medal and won a bronze medal on the vault with a score of 15.366. She is known for high difficulty in her vaults.
At the University of Utah, she was part of multiple national championships (vault and floor) and won 26 All-America awards, a school record. She was also a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic selection. She is a two-time NCAA champion and two-time NCAA all-around runner up. She has a record of a streak of 161 individual events in college competition without taking a fall (including the balance beam, uneven bars, and the vault). She fell in her opening routine on the balance beam on the concluding day of the 2019 U.S. Gymnastics National Championships, but the fall did not stop her from finishing well. She earned a spot on the 2019 U.S. National Team.
MyKayla opted to step away from her senior season at Utah and return to international competition.
Skinner was born on December 9, 1996, in Mesa, Arizona, and is from Gilbert, Arizona. Her two older sisters are former gymnasts. She is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
On Instagram she reflected on the moment she took the silver. "I'll never forget taking the floor for the last time. I reflected on the journey to get there, the ups and downs. They had prepared me for this. Without the challenges of the past, I wouldn't have been able to get there. I needed that refinement. As incredible as it was to get the silver medal, I knew that wasn't the only goal. I felt an overwhelming impression that I went through all those trials to be a stronger and better example of Jesus Christ. The comfort, courage, and motivation to get up and try again was always from Him. Knowing that I am a daughter of heavenly parents continues to motivate me to never give up and always try my best, no matter the odds. You never know when you will be called upon."[1]
