Never Give Up…It has been an amazing journey for Olympic Silver medalist MyKayla Skinner and her journey continues when she visits Fort Wayne, Indiana for her NEVER GIVE UP competition January 27-29, 2023 to help raise funds for The Mykayla Skinner Foundation! 

Win amazing additional experiences with MyKayla! The TOP 30 overall fundraisers, with one parent, will enjoy a private dinner BANQUET with MyKayla the night before the competition begins at 7:30 pm! 

The TOP 3 overall fundraisers, with one parent, will sit WITH MyKayla at the banquet! In addition, EVERYONE raising $150 joins MyKayla on Saturday morning at 8 am for her exclusive Never Give Up VIP Meet & Greet for pictures, autographs, a color poster and Q&A. 

Additional incentives include, being in the official photo with MyKayla that she posts on her social media, a Never Give Up VIP autographed fundraising plaque and a MyKayla filled basket of autographs!

At the Tokyo Olympics MyKayla nearly boarded a plane back home to Arizona. Her experience at the Olympic Games had ended, and so had her gymnastics career. She hadn’t advanced to any finals, so she would forever be an Olympian, just not an Olympic medalist. At first, she was devastated. But after a couple of days, Skinner felt content and ready to dive into a life without gymnastics.

Then she received a text that her teammate and close friend Simone Biles knew needed to be sent quickly. DON'T LEAVE TOKYO! Biles had withdrawn from the team final and for the upcoming apparatus finals, Skinner realized her career wasn't over!  Skinner was back in a leotard, stepping in as the alternate. One final moment in her career awaited.

MyKayla had two more vaults to go with the chance to earn an Olympic medal. She had a solid performance, with just a hop on each of her landings. She waved as she walked off the podium — a goodbye to her career in a mostly empty arena — and then she waited. As the first gymnast to perform, Skinner had to watch seven competitors try to outscore her 14.916.  

Only one gymnast, Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, earned a higher mark, so Skinner clinched the silver medal. 

As she walked into the arena for the medal ceremony, Biles jumped up and down while pumping her fists in the stands.

“I’m just so honored that I never gave up and have kept pushing for my dreams to get here,” Skinner said. 

Those vaults marked the end of Skinner’s winding path that ventured through elite gymnastics into college and back again. Her desire to perform on the Olympic stage never wavered, even after she walked onto the floor at the U.S. Olympic trials five years ago sobbing because she had been named only an alternate for the 2016 team.

“MyKayla was a born fighter,” Utah Coach Tom Farden said, “and somebody who never gave up on the dream of being an Olympian.”

Skinner spent three years at Utah, setting an NCAA record by hitting 161 consecutive routines without a fall. She won NCAA titles on vault and floor, and she twice finished second in the all-around competition. She had one of the most impressive college careers in the sport’s history, but as the Olympic year approached, she headed back to her club gym in Arizona.

One year of training at the elite level turned into two because of the postponement of the Games. During that extra year, Skinner dealt with a bone spur in her foot, and just as she began to tumble again, Skinner contracted the coronavirus. After weeks away from training, she returned to the gym but then felt sick again. After a trip to the hospital, Skinner found out she had pneumonia, another major setback that left her questioning how she would regain her endurance.

MyKayla wants to pursue a job in sports broadcasting and start a family. Her career in gymnastics will slowly move further into the past, but this whirlwind of a week allowed her to capture a perfect ending — standing on the medal podium at the Olympic Games. Never Give Up