Aly Raisman confirms she won't compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in an emotional letter on Instagram

• Gymnast Aly Raisman shared an emotional Instagram post that confirmed she will not compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
• The six-time Olympic medalist, 25, reflected on growing up in gymnastics and spoke of how she plans to make gymnastics "safer" in the future.
• Raisman said she wondered if she would tell her younger self about "people in the sport who will fail to protect" her - referencing that she was one of the dozens of gymnasts who accused Larry Nassar of sexual abuse.
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Gymnast Aly Raisman confirmed she will not compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in an emotional letter to her younger self that she posted on Instagram on Wednesday.

In a typed-out, multiple page letter, the six-time Olympic medalist reflected on her last decade as a gymnast and the rumors that she was not heading to Tokyo.

"The past 10 years have been such a whirlwind that I haven't really processed all that has happened, and sometimes I wonder whether I ever will," she wrote. "I've lived a pretty fast-paced life and sometimes I have to remind myself to slow down, unplug from technology and take the time to appreciate what I've experienced and learned. So many memories bubbled up over the holidays that I realized I needed to give myself the space to really sit with these feelings and reflect."

Raisman was one of the dozens of gymnasts who accused former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar of sexual abuse. Nassar pleaded guilty to charges that he abused seven of them, and is now serving a prison sentence of 40 to 175 years after being convicted of criminal sexual conduct.

Raisman wrote about thinking about what she would tell her younger self about the abuse her team experienced.

"I wonder if I would tell her that life will be filled with ups and downs, and that there are people in the sport who will fail to protect her and her teammates," she said. "It would be so hard to tell her that, but I would make sure she knows she will get through it and she will be OK."

Raisman also shared a video of herself as a young gymnast in a second Instagram post.

"One of the best things about being a kid is the belief that anything is possible, and that no dream is too big," Raisman said. "I suspect I keep going back to that time because I now know the power of that little girl's dream. I think about what I'd say to her now."

Raisman has become an advocate for sexual abuse survivors in recent years, and she closed out her letter by saying she wants to make gymnastics "safer."

"It is this love that fueled my Olympic dreams, and it is this love that now inspires me to do everything I can to make it safer for the many wonderful people in the sport and all the little 8-year-olds out there who will be watching the gymnasts in Tokyo, dreaming of one day making it to the Olympics themselves," she wrote.

• Read more:
• Aly Raisman and 140 victims of Larry Nassar stood on stage together to receive the ESPYs Arthur Ashe Courage Award
• Olympic star Aly Raisman files suit against USOC, USA Gymnastics claiming they 'knew or should have known' about abusive doctor
• Aly Raisman says she might skip the 2020 Olympics to keep fighting sexual abuse: 'This is more important than any gold medal'
• Aly Raisman delivered a blistering speech about Larry Nassar's abuse and USA Gymnastics at the disgraced doctor's sentencing