Simone Biles’ Gold Over America tour is well underway. The gymnasts are displaying their ability at the 30-city tour, with the audience heavily heaping praise on them. The squad has now traveled to Oceanside, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Denver, and a few other cities. However, they seem to have lost one member of the squad along the way.
Donnell Whitenburg’s inclusion at the Simone Biles-led Gold Over America Tour earned a lot of praise from the fans. They wanted the 30-year-old to get his dues, as he has been around for quite a long time. He was also praised for his attitude and hard work at the Olympics trials, despite not making it into the final team. Thus, everyone was excited for him to perform at the GOAT. However, fate had other plans.
The gymnast had to leave the Gold Over America tour midway as he suffered an injury. On September 23rd, he talked about it in an Instagram post, saying, “It’s tough to step away, especially all the work I put in. But health comes first.” The step taken by Donnell Whitenburg was understandable considering his age, which is much older than the average gymnast.
Now it seems that Donnell is making substantial progress in his recovery. He shared a picture on his Instagram story on 28th September. There, he confirmed, completing his surgery and starting his healing process. He said, “Made it through yesterday’s surgery; time to heal up.”
However, Donnell Whitenburg’s surgery could lead to a major setback in this gymnastics season. Despite performing well in the trials and earning accolades, he was unable to make it to the Paris Olympics team. Thus, his eyes were set on an appearance at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
But this may now not come to fruition anymore as the recovery will take months. There have been rumors swirling around that Donnell has suffered an Achilles injury, which is very painful and tough to recover from. Nevertheless, the gymnastics community, which includes the Gold Over America Tour squad, has backed his recovery and has showered praise on him.
The Gold Over America Tour Squad backs Donnell Whitenburg
Replying to Donnell Whitenburg’s Instagram statement on September 23rd, Jade Carey posted a message of support saying, “you’re the best, don don!!” She was not the only gymnast to express her support. Peng Peng Lee, who is also a part of the Gold Over America tour, said, “UR THE BEST WE MISS U ALREADY.” This comment really shows that despite only performing in five shows of the Gold Over America tour, Donnell has left a huge impact on his fellow gymnasts. The fact that the camp already misses him is proof of this.
Simone Biles also left a reaction in the comments, saying, “🤍🤍”. This showed how much love the gymnast has for Donnell Whitenburg. Simone was the one who wanted to add male gymnasts this time around at the Gold Over America tour and thus may have played a crucial role in the three-time Pan American Champion’s inclusion, too. Thus, she was one of the first ones to react.
Another gymnast who responded was Katelyn Ohashi, who seems to have formed a very close bond with Donnell in these few days. She said, “you are such a bright light don! thinking of you every time we step on the floor!” Thus, most gymnasts involved with the tour showed their adoration and wished the 30-year-old gymnast. Hopefully, this could spur him on to recover well and comeback as an even better version of himself.