Amelie Morgan’s quest to compete in another Olympics will continue this May in Rimini, Italy, albeit not completely in the way she may have hoped.
A junior with the University of Utah’s women’s gymnastics team, Morgan was named a reserve for Great Britain for the upcoming European championships, held this year on the coast of the Adriatic Sea.
Morgan is one of two reserves announced for Great Britain, along with Abigail Martin.
The five-woman team selected to represent Great Britain, barring injury and/or illness, are Ondine Achampong (a Cal gymnastics signee), Alice Kinsella (a Tokyo Olympian), Becky Downie, Ruby Evans and Georgia-Mae Fenton.
“Congratulations to all the gymnasts who have been selected! Aside from representing your country on the international stage, we hope you enjoy every moment of the trip, and return feeling uplifted and inspired. We’d like to also take a moment to recognize that unwavering dedication of the gymnast’s personal coaches, who have been vital to the gymnast’s preparation running up to the competition,” British Gymnastics said in a statement.
Competition for the European championships will be held May 2-5, with the senior women’s team competing on the first and third days.
For Morgan, selection to the team, even as a reserve, is notable.
The Red Rock has competed in NCAA gymnastics for the last three years, only returning to Elite-level competition this past March. The English championships in early March marked her first Elite competition since representing Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Morgan competed in both the English and British championships last month, finishing third in the all-around competition at the former, fourth in the all-around at the latter.
She came away pleased with her showings.
“It went really well,” she told the Deseret News last month. “I was honestly really pleased with how it went, considering I’ve had to prepare for both NCAA and Elite gymnastics.”
Morgan is in Gainesville, Florida, with the rest of Utah’s gymnastics team this week, preparing for the NCAA regional semifinals. No. 5 Utah will compete against No. 10 Michigan State, No. 21 Towson and Maryland on Friday, with the top two teams advancing to the regional final on Sunday.
Morgan will remain with the Red Rocks through the rest of the NCAA gymnastics season, which could stretch as far as April 20 if Utah advances to the national championship meet.
Then the European championships await, with Olympic team selection for Great Britain expected in late May.
Whether Morgan will make a second Olympic team remains a question — “We will just have to wait and see,” she said — but she is already more than satisfied with her efforts.
“I think the results I ended up with were amazing, and at this point in time, I think that was the best I could’ve done,” she said when she returned to Utah ahead of the Pac-12 championships. “I still see a lot of room for improvements that I can make for hopefully the next few upcoming months, but for now I think that was a great starting point and I was proud of my performances.”
And as Utah coach Carly Dockendorf said, Morgan has nothing to prove. Already an Olympic bronze medalist, Morgan has done what few can even dream of.
“I mean that would be incredible for her (to make the Olympic team again),” Dockendorf said. “But she already has a bronze medal and very few people in the world are ever able to say that. I think for her, just the challenge of going for it was exciting enough, and whether it works out or it doesn’t, she still went and gave herself an opportunity to go for it and I think that is what she wanted to do.”