OU men’s gymnastics was stranded at the Detroit Metro Airport after beating reigning-champions Michigan due to multiple delays from the winter storm.
The team’s return flight to Oklahoma was originally scheduled for 7 a.m. Sunday before first being delayed to 4:30 p.m. Head coach Mark Williams said there was snow covering the roadways when the team headed to the airport.
“There was probably four inches of snow, new snow,” head coach Mark Williams said. “As we were heading down the highway from Ann Arbor to Detroit, the opposite lane had a big pileup, and there were four lines that were closed off with emergency vehicles.”
The plane they were set to board never arrived, however. They had to spend the evening at the airport before staying the night at a hotel and deciding to take a flight to Dallas in the morning and a bus to Norman.
After arriving at the airport at 7 a.m. the next morning, the flight was cancelled, and the gymnasts were rebooked onto two planes set for Monday afternoon. They decided to not take those flights, though, as they would have arrived six hours apart, and chose a flight to Atlanta with a connection to Oklahoma City.
On Monday evening, the team ultimately made its flight to Atlanta, but the connection was tight.
“Unfortunately, we spent about 45 minutes at the gate on the plane de-icing, getting bags on, and it got harder and harder to think we were (going to) make it,” Williams said.
The team missed its connection to Oklahoma City after a conversation with a gate agent and had to spend Monday night at an Atlanta hotel.
“We had a moment there (and thought) the gate agent would help us hold the plane because there’s 18 of us,” Williams said. “As we gathered around to get that information, they said, ‘No, it already left.’”
While spending Sunday evening and all of Monday at the airport, the team came up with ways to stay busy. Williams moved around, while members of the team rode the tram, played cards on the floor of the terminal and did virtual classwork.
“I started on the A concourse and walked the entire A concourse, B concourse, C concourse,” Williams said. “I walked the entire Detroit airport.”
Who knew winning Saturday's meet would be the easy part? Like many others forced to travel during Snowmageddon 26, we live at the Detroit airport now. Day 2 of trying to get from Michigan back home to Oklahoma.On our 3rd or 4th (5th?) round of potential flights. Wish us luck! pic.twitter.com/60ecNSLInR
— Mark Williams (@wellsgymn) January 26, 2026
The team’s difficulties continued in Atlanta. Its flight to Oklahoma City Tuesday morning was delayed by two and a half hours before it made it to Oklahoma in the afternoon.
Williams said the practice schedule was adjusted following the troubles, with the team preparing to face Greenville at 2 p.m. Sunday at McCasland Field House.
“We’re not (going to) do anything really gymnastics-oriented today. We’ll just do some physical conditioning and stretching.” Williams said on Tuesday. “It’ll probably be a relatively light day tomorrow and try to get back on schedule Thursday and Friday.”
Despite the conditions and changes, Williams saw the ordeal as a bonding experience for the team.
“We met a lot of people that were trying to help us get home. In the end, we made the best of an adverse situation,” Mark Williams said, “and I told the guys before we started today, ‘This is probably something you’ll remember for the rest of your life.’”
This story was edited by Joshua McDaniel.
