Campus News

'Behind the Blue': Previewing the Olympics with Raena Worley

Kentucky Gymnastics Assistant Coach Raena Worley. Photo courtesy of UK Athletics.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 29, 2024) — This year marked Kentucky Gymnastics 50th season. Fans were able to watch some incredible talent during the historic season, including the incredibly decorated Raena Worley.

The 2024 SEC Floor Co-Champion graduated in May with a dual degree in communication and kinesiology-exercise science. She is now an assistant coach for Kentucky Gymnastics.

Worley is the second-most decorated gymnast in the history of UK’s program with a long list of accolades. Some highlights include earning five perfect 10s this past season of competition — four on floor exercise and one on the uneven bars.

Worley also qualified as a national championship individual competitor this year and finished as runner-up on the floor exercise.

Now, the world turns its attention to the Paris Olympics and once again gymnastics will be a must-watch event.

On this episode of “Behind the Blue” we pick Worley’s brain about competing at such a high level and see who she’s eyeing in the competition.

“Behind the Blue” is available on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. Become a subscriber to receive new episodes of “Behind the Blue” each week. UK’s latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists and writers will be featured, along with the most important news impacting the university.

For questions or comments about this or any other episode of “Behind the Blue,” email BehindTheBlue@uky.edu or tweet your question with #BehindTheBlue. Transcripts for this or other episodes of “Behind the Blue” can be downloaded from the show’s blog page.

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