After Maggie Nichols was left of the Rio team, she announced that her elite career was over and that she was looking forward to competing NCAA with Oklahoma come the fall. I'm happy that Maggie is happy to move forward to college but I'm also sad because, well, I love Maggie's determination and work ethic, even in the face of adversity or favoritism. I'll miss her powerful floor passes and steady beam and bars. So I want to take a moment to appreciate all that she has done at the elite level.
When I first saw Maggie at the 2013 nationals, I was fairly unimpressed. I was unimpressed by most people that day so it wasn't necessarily her fault but no newcomers really stood out in a good way except Biles and even she was overshadowed by Maroney and Ross's comebacks. Fast forward to the next year when I got to see her in person at Classics and I was impressed by the altitude of her tumbling and strong dance, but still, I didn't think too much of her (sorry Maggie). At nationals however, she really proved herself as someone worthy of a spot on the worlds team, coming in third place all around. Everyone thought she should be in Nanning. Sadly, she was sent to Pac Rims for some unknown reason (cough, stupid reason, cough) and she injured her knee there. Some may have quit then, knowing they were clearly not a "favorite" but not Maggie, when she resurfaced in 2015, fully healthy, she was better than ever! She had an Amanar ready to compete and upgrades galore, she quickly proved herself as a reliable and steady competitor, being even more consistent than veterans like Aly Raisman who was just coming back.
At 2015 nationals, Maggie came in second place! She earned that spot rightfully as being among a select few who didn't falter over the two day competition. She, of course, was named to the Worlds team that headed to Glasgow. Thus, the second time Maggie was screwed over. She SHOULD have competed in the all-around during qualifications, because hello, she placed 2nd all around at Nationals. But, favoritism won over and she was left off. Obviously, her AA score was valued above others because they put her up on all four events during team finals. How curious.
Happily, Maggie made floor finals where she won a bronze! In early 2016, many people had her on their list of "likely to make the Rio team, myself included. So when she injured her knee again in April, I was super upset. Most people wrote her off but once more the comeback queen, Maggie was back in action at Nationals where she competed only bars and beam but let the world know she wasn't going to go down without a fight.
I was at the Olympic Trials, and let me tell you, despite the one fall on beam, Maggie looked loads better than a certain someone who was named to the team. I'm still super pissed off that she was left at home. Despite being hurt just three short months ago, Maggie came in 6th and beat a certain someone who was taken on the team! She had almost all of her skills back and looked rock solid but unlike a certain someone, she was not given the benefit of "more time". It's still an open wound folks.
If Maggie had been in Rio I have no doubt that she would have competed admirably. Honestly, I think she could have challenged Raisman for the second AA spot and possibly made beam finals. Que cera, cera.
I'll miss Maggie but I know she will CRUSH in NCAA. I can't wait to see her being appreciate as she should have been all along.
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