MyKala Skinner performs her floor routine as Utah and Michigan battle it out in Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, March 2, 2019.
MyKala Skinner performs her floor routine as Utah and Michigan battle it out in Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, March 2, 2019. Scott G Winterton
Ryan McDonald
By Ryan McDonald

SALT LAKE CITY — In April after the University of Utah's 2019 gymnastics season concluded, the program announced that star MyKayla Skinner would be exploring the possibility of a berth on the 2020 United States Olympic gymnastics team, but left the door open for the chance she'd return to school for next season.

Since then, Skinner has been training in her native Arizona and competed in the U.S. Classic earlier this month, and on Wednesday, the university announced that Skinner will officially defer her senior year of collegiate eligibility. The school said Skinner "has the intent" of returning in time for the 2021 season.

Through three collegiate seasons, Skinner has won NCAA titles on vault and floor, eight NCAA regional titles and seven Pac-12 titles. She is the school's all-time leader with 26 All-America awards.

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In 2016, Skinner was an alternate on United States Olympic team that won gold in Rio de Janeiro.

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