The excitement of Olympian Jessica Gadillova returning to this weekend’s competition is harboring sadness as she knows that the twin sisters are about to start the same harsh rehabilitation that just ended.
Jennifer will undergo surgery on Wednesday to repair an anterior cruciate ligament injury just days after Jessica recovered from the same injury at the UK Championships in Liverpool.
“It’s going to be hit and hurt my heart to know that she’s been going through what I have for half of the last year,” Jessica told BBC Sports.
“I feel like I’m competing for her too. I’m giving her the opportunity to see you can come back from your injury, no matter how long the process is.”
European all-round champion Jessica, who suffered an ACL injury in a “freak accident” at the 2023 World Arts Gymnastics Championships, endured a “very long process” and reconstructed it with “no quick fix” over time.
“It’s been a while since I went to the arena, so I’m a little nervous about competing, but competition is something I want to do.
“We made it great and slowed down to make sure it was done right. It was difficult at the moment when something that was once so easy got really hard. For example, lifting my heel off the floor.
“It was a huge challenge, but over time I fought through the feeling that I would give up on the small details in rehabilitation or not.
However, Jessica is working to return to all four devices by the end of the year, so she only competes in bars and beams with basic drop off.
She now hopes that her sister can pay back for support and help her receive when her role was reversed after Jennifer’s surgery.
“I think fate is ‘whatever twins are staying as’,” Jessica joked about the mirror of her injuries.
“I felt a bit blinded, and so was my team, but Jen is now fully aware of what the journey looks like and can see you can come back and be stronger.”
Jennifer said:
“We both want to be in Los Angeles for the 2028 Olympics.
“We want to compete as many games as possible in this cycle, build our skills and bring us back as twins on the big stage.”
