McKayla Maroney & Kyla Ross Announce Retirement From Elite Gymnastics

McKayla Maroney is getting off the elite gymnast circuit, and so is Kyla Ross.

Both members of the Fierce Five from the 2012 London Summer Olympics, McKayla, 20, and Kyla, 19, announced their retirements just a day apart.

Kyla wrote on Instagram: “Today I am officially announcing my retirement from elite gymnastics. This has been one of the most difficult decisions I have made in my life but I feel that my time as an elite gymnast has come to an end. I truly love the sport of gymnastics and I am so fortunate to have been able to accomplish my dreams with the help of my coaches, family, friends, and of course my amazing fans. Having the opportunity to represent the U.S. through gymnastics has been a great honor and experience I will cherish. I would like to thank everyone for all the amazing support I have received over my entire elite career. As I make this transition to collegiate gymnastics and this next chapter in my life, I hope to still inspire people to reach for their dreams!”

McKayla announced her retirement in a new interview: “The reason why I wanted to go to this next Olympics � I finally figured it out. I wanted to show people that when everyone else is up against them, they can get through the struggle and the pain and do it because they love something. One day I was sitting outside and I was like ‘Why am I doing this? Yeah it’s cool that I want to do it and help inspire people but I didn’t know how to be okay with not being a gymnast. I go to a Starbucks or Jamba Juice or anything and they’re like ‘Are you going to the next one?’ Until the other day, I was not OK with saying no and I had no choice in my mind with being something else. I’m just ready to put my worth and value into something else. I’m just ready to be excited about something else. I just got so bored with being unhealthy.”

2016 Rio Summer Olympics hopeful and fellow gymnast Simone Biles shared a sweet message after Kyla‘s announcement.