Don't let the sequins and glitter fool you. OU gymnast Jordan Bowers knows how to fight

Jordan Bowers was warming up in the Lloyd Noble Center tunnel when she heard the groans.

She doesn’t like to be in the arena when her OU women's gymnastics teammates perform on the balance beam. Leaving the competition floor helps her avoid letting what her teammates do affect her emotions in an event that requires tons of concentration and confidence.

But during the NCAA regional in Norman two Saturdays ago, the groans from the crowd left little doubt.

“I kind of knew that something went on,” Bowers said.

Thing is, she heard groans twice.

Bowers wouldn’t find out exactly what happened until later ― the first two gymnasts for the top-ranked Sooners fell off the beam and put OU’s chances of making NCAA nationals in peril ― but when she left the tunnel and returned to the arena, she sensed her team was standing at the edge of the abyss.

If she had a big bobble or, perish the thought, fell, too, OU might not make nationals. Might not have a chance at back-to-back national championships. Might not be able to go after a sixth title in nine tries.

Instead, Bowers turned the tide, sticking her routine and saving the Sooners. OU needed more big numbers to rally and win regionals, but it all started with the sophomore from Lincoln, Nebraska.

“She really thrives in pressure situations where she almost likes it,” Bowers’ dad, John, said. “It is weird.”

Bowers doesn’t dispute that.

“Ever since I was little, I’ve liked all the pressure situations,” she said. “I like that feeling.”

As the Sooners open nationals ― their semifinal is Thursday night ― they do so knowing they are tenacious and resilient. They proved as much with their regional comeback. But if they need a reminder of their grittiness, they don’t have to look any further than Bowers.

She’s a fighter.

She had to be just to get to this point.

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'I thought my career was over'

Jordan Bowers was on a path to the Olympics.

Oh, it was a long path, but in 2018, she won the all-around in the junior division at the Pacific Rim Championships. She finished ahead of every other American, including Sunisa Lee.

Two years later, Lee won Olympic gold in the all-around.

It wasn’t crazy to think Bowers was on a similar trajectory.

But four months after her Pacific Rim triumph during a practice day at the U.S. national championships, Bowers suffered a back injury. A bad one. She withdrew not only from nationals but also from all competition for months.

Almost a year into her rehab, Bowers injured her back again.

“I thought my career was over,” she said.

Her mom, Tracy, remembers sitting with Jordan as their doctor explained the severity of the situation. The Bowers had hoped for the best but prepared for the worst, and still, the doctor’s prognosis hit like a ton of bricks.

No gymnastics for at least six months. No running either.

“Trying to prepare ourselves really didn’t prepare us for that,” Tracy said. “You can say it and say it, but I think when all the conversations had been had and the cards were kind of laid out, it was a lot.”

The doctor said Bowers would be able to do gymnastics again and would probably have a chance to return to training for the Olympics. But if she chose elite-level training with an eye on the Games, the risk of more injury, maybe even something from which she wouldn’t be able to return, was high.

Bowers had a choice to make.

“An executive decision,” she called it.

Bowers, who had been committed to OU since she was 14, decided she was done with elite-level gymnastics. She wanted to return to the sport, but she was done chasing the Olympics.

More than anything, she wanted to be a Sooner.

“Honestly, if I wouldn’t have gone through that," she said, "then I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

But she wasn’t done battling.

More: OU women's gymnastics: Sooners battle back from falls to win NCAA Regional

'It's just made me more grateful to do this sport'

Bowers’ first season at OU had lots of highs on uneven bars, floor and vault, even scoring a perfect 10 on vault.

But beam?

Bowers was inconsistent. She had as many scores in the 9.3s as the 9.8s, and by late February, she was dropped from the beam lineup. Even though she was the alternate, she didn’t compete the event again.

She decided that had to change.

“I worked really hard on that this summer and preseason and everything,” she said, “really just gaining my confidence on beam and just thinking about those little things that make me better, rather than the bigger picture.”

Bowers fought for a spot in the beam rotation, and she earned one again this season.

She hasn’t relinquished it.

“She has one of our highest averages on the event after not competing it for almost two thirds of the year last year,” Sooner coach K.J. Kindler marveled.

Despite that, Kindler knows doing an event in the regular season is different than doing it in the postseason. The pressure is higher. The emotion is bigger. That means the focus has to be better. And Bowers got no postseason experience on beam last season.

But she has delivered this season.

At the Big 12 Championship, she scored a 9.950 on beam.

In the regional semifinals, a 9.8.

Then came that big moment in the regional finals.

“We were holding our breath,” her mom admitted.

Tracy and John Bowers said everyone in the Sooners’ family section remained positive after the two falls on beam. But at the same time, all of them knew the dire situation the team was in. The Sooners needed some big scores and fast.

“And the fact that Jordan was up next … ” her mom said, “we trust her ability so much, but that doesn’t mean your heart and your stomach don’t just drop.”

Bowers was rock solid throughout her routine, scoring a 9.925 and igniting a Sooner rally. After battling to overcome her back injury, then doing the same to earn back a spot in the beam lineup, Bowers was steeled for the moment.

She might wear sequins and glitter, but she’s a fighter.

“Everything that I’ve gone through, it’s just made me stronger,” she said, “and it’s just made me more grateful to do this sport every single day.”

Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at 405-475-4125 or jcarlson@oklahoman.com. Like her at facebook.com/JenniCarlsonOK, follow her at twitter.com/jennicarlson_ok, and support her work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.

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NCAA championships

When: Semifinals, 2 p.m. Thursday (Florida, LSU, Cal, Denver) and 8 p.m. Thursday (OU, UCLA, Utah, Kentucky). Finals, 3 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas

TV: Semifinals, ESPN2. Finals, ABC.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU gymnastics: Back injury toughened Jordan Bowers for NCAA nationals