Florida Gymnastics’ Taylor Clark Ruptures Achilles to End Season

After making her first career appearance on vault last week, Florida gymnast Taylor Clark will have to cut her sophomore season short. 

She announced on Instagram that she ruptured her Achilles on Tuesday. A source close to the program confirmed to WRUF that Clark suffered the injury while training on the floor exercise. 

“This is something I did not see coming, but it did happen,” she said.

Florida coach Jenny Rowland said that the injury is “tough” news, as Clark has been instrumental in the Gators’ floor lineup the last two years, proving to be a constant contributor with her electrifying routines. 

“The good news is Taylor’s already focused on her comeback,” Rowland said. “We’ll be right there to support and encourage her every step of the way.”

All of her scores on the apparatus this season have been between 9.8 and 9.9, scoring a 9.85 in Florida’s quad meet at Texas Woman’s University with Arizona State and Fisk last week. She recorded her career-high 9.95 twice last season and hit above 9.9 eight times in her freshman campaign. 

In the quad meet, she made her collegiate debut on vault, notching Florida’s highest score in the rotation, contributing a 9.825 to a still-struggling Gators lineup that put up a 48.875 event score.

With two meets left in the regular season, Clark will have to cheer her team on from the side. She makes her intentions clear with her sights set on recovery.

“I have the most supportive team behind me, and even though I will be out of commission for a bit, I will be working my hardest to get back to competing in the O’Dome,” Clark said. “This isn’t the end of my season. It’s just the beginning of my comeback. I’ll be back stronger than ever.”

Category: Feature Sports News, Gators Gymnastics, Gymnastics