Gymnast Izzy Stacie is hoping this is just a minor obstacle in her path to representing the United States at the Summer Olympics.
Stassi, a sophomore at Olentangy University Berlin who has competed at three U.S. Junior Championships and one World Junior Championship, fractured the medial malleolus in her right ankle on Dec. 19 while training on the balance beam at Bucky Gymnastics Club in Westerville.
The medial malleolus is the small bone that protrudes on the inner side of the ankle at the end of the leg.
“I immediately knew something was wrong,” Stassi said. “It almost felt like a surprise. … And it’s very disappointing. I’ve worked hard my whole life to get where I am, and it stinks to get injured. I’m okay mentally with all of that, but it’s a little sad.”
She underwent surgery on December 26 and hopes to resume her conditioning process in the next few weeks, with a full recovery expected to take three to four months. She hopes to return to competition by late April or early May.
Stassi, 15, has struggled with injuries in 2023, including a back injury that forced her to take a break from competition and a separate ankle injury. She won the vault (27.3) and placed third in the all-around (103.55) at the USA Junior Gymnastics Championships in August in San Jose, California.
While her latest injury will likely dash her hopes of competing in the Summer Olympics in Paris this year, Stassi still has a goal of representing the United States at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
I have been training at Buckeyes Gymnastics since October 2022.
“It’s frustrating because this is a big year with the Olympic Trials (in June),” her mother, Kelly, said. “She had really big goals to at least try to qualify for the Olympic Trials. It’s not that it’s off the table, it’s where most everyone is working on promotions, and Izzy is going to have to work to get back to where she was instead of just worrying about promotions. That’s the hard part ”
fdirenna@dispatch.com