“I’ve learned to handle a lot of pressure.”

Olympic champion in floor exercise Jade Careyn gymnastics marathon continues.

The 22-year-old has been playing almost non-stop for the better part of two years as he competes for his Tokyo 2020 Games gold medal in 2021, followed by Simone BilesA 35-city tour of the United States followed his freshman campaign at Oregon State.

He then returned to elite competition, helping Team USA to a historic sixth straight world title while capturing the individual vault crown.

Two months later, he began his sophomore varsity season.

“I feel like I’ve been through a pretty long time, but my coaches, my dad, my trainers, everyone is very good at keeping my schedule balanced and taking care of me and just listening to my body is really important,” Carey told Olympics.com on Wednesday (April 13) after completing her practice at the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships in Ft. Worth, Texas. “So take it easy when I can and just know when to push.”

Jade Carey: “I feel like this year I’m even more prepared for the elite.”

The secret to it all? His love for sports.

“I’m just having fun with it, so that makes it even better,” he said. “I don’t even think about it too much.”

Again, Carey won’t have much time to relax as he plans to attend the US National Team camp, which begins on April 28. It’s part of the schedule that the American now feels he understands and his team understands.

“I’m in camp,” Carey confirmed, “but I feel like this year I’m even more prepared for the elite than last year. Last year was the first year. [both], it was very new and we didn’t really know what to expect. But now we do. So I’ve been able to do a little bit more elite in my training than last year.”

As for his 2024 schedule, he has not yet decided whether he will compete in his junior season at Oregon State as he tries to make Team USA’s squad for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“I think after this Nationals we’ll sit down and talk about what sounds best,” Carey explained. “And then, if we need to tweak the plan a bit later, we will.”