Jade Carey Is ‘Proud’ of Herself for Winning Bronze in Vault After Starting Her Week ‘Throwing Up’

"I've really been able to learn how strong of a person that I am," Carey said after medaling in the women's vault final

Jade Carey pushed through sickness to win bronze in the women's vault final at the 2024 Olympics.

Carey, 24, revealed that she had been feeling under the weather at the beginning of the week before the Aug. 3 final while speaking to reporters, including PEOPLE, at the Bercy Arena in Paris.

"I started my week throwing up, so that was kind of hard because, you know, it takes all your energy, you can't eat, you feel like you just want to lay in bed, but I didn't really have time to lay in bed," said Carey, who scored 14.466 to secure the bronze behind teammate Simone Biles and silver medalist Rebeca Andrade of Brazil.

The U.S. gymnast said that after she saw a doctor in her room, she insisted, "I'm competing still, I'm fine," and worked on "hydrating and slowly starting to eat more" in the days leading up to the final. "I've been feeling a little bit better each day," she said, adding that she woke up on Saturday and thought, "this is gonna be a good day."

Carey chalks up the illness in Paris to "just bad timing," and says ultimately, "I'm just proud of myself for pushing through and sticking with it."

"I've really been able to learn how strong of a person that I am and I've been able to push through some of my gymnastics in different hard situations," the bronze medalist continued. "So I've really learned a lot about myself."

Related: Simone Biles Shares Cute Photo of Sleepy Jade Carey in Her Olympic PJs with Gold Medal: 'IT'S REAL'

At one point, Carey considered that she was throwing because she was feeling "stressed out" about not having her dad (who is also her coach, and had been sick just before the Games started) by her side, she told reporters with her bronze medal around her neck.

"I think I probably started to not feel very well before podium training....And I know my dad wasn't there, so I was like, I don't know if I'm just really stressed out that my dad's not here or if something's going on with me," she explained.

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Saturday's women's vault final saw a third gold medal for Biles, who scored 15.300, while Andrane won silver with a score of 14.966.

Unfortunately, being under the weather took a toll on Carey during the final. "I was definitely upset because I definitely worked a lot harder than what I showed in qualifications," she said, noting that she didn't want to "get too stressed" about feeling unwell and make herself "feel worse" before Saturday's vault final.

"It's still kind of hard for me to eat and I feel like just that's kind of what happens, you know, when you get sick, but I've been like, oh my gosh, I know, I need to eat because I'm still doing gymnastics, but I don't want to eat."

During the final, Carey was focused on "prioritizing my energy when I was out on the competition floor" while feeling unwell. "I just haven't had a whole lot of energy, so my gymnastics has been taking a little bit more out of me than usual," she said.

Related: Simone Biles Earns Her Third Paris Gold in Vault Final While Teammate Jade Carey Is Bronze Medalist

Despite Saturday's "bad timing" in the final, Carey said her experience in Paris has been "so much fun" and she feels "honored to be a part of the team."

Beyond their hard work, Carey thinks Team USA's success is also thanks to the group's love of their sport. "We're just having fun out there and I think that's bringing out the best gymnastics from us," she said.

"It's just been really fun to be able to bond and be back here and have everyone be doing so well because we all wanted redemption in some way," she said, before adding, "there's still more to come."

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