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Hey
Everyone!
Wow!
So much has happened since I last wrote. In this
journal I will tell you all about the Olympics and
what I’ve been up to since then. But first I
will begin when I hurt my back.
In
January while training for the Olympic Test Event,
I over rotated a dismount on beam and fractured my
T12 vertebra. It was a wedge compression fracture,
and took 6 weeks to heal. During that time I spent
a lot of time in the pool swimming laps (I made a
personal record of 64 lengths!), doing pilates,
and doing whatever gymnastics I could do. I was
devastated about the whole thing but I tried to
remain positive and motivated. I missed several
important meets during the healing and recovery
phase. And Nationals were only 2 months away when
I was finally allowed to start up my training
again. I knew my Olympics depended on my
performance at Nationals and Olympic Trials. My
Orthopedic Surgeon and therapist were very
supportive, but I was told that this injury would
normally take about 6 months to return to normal.
Before Nationals I had an opportunity to go to an
international camp and competition at the USA
National Training Center. Most of my skills and
routines were back by then, due to an accelerated
program. But the rapid return to my skills caused
some overuse problems in my legs. During
preparation for nationals, I developed pain below
my knee - later diagnosed as Osgood-Schlatter’s
condition or growth plate apophysitis. On my
tumbling, vaulting and leaps, I could take-off OK,
but my landings were unstable due to the pain. My
coach and doctors felt it would be dangerous to
compete, and I had to petition. It took a few
weeks to allow the inflamation to settle before I
could tumble and vault again.
Before
Olympic Trials I was feeling great and my routines
were solid and consistent. I was excited to compete
and show everyone I was back to normal. I wanted
more than anything to be on that team!
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The
first day of the competition was fairly good,
although my beam was wobbly. While I was competing
on floor, landing my triple twist , I felt my
lower leg sort of twist, but I continued my
routine and the rest of the meet. After the first
day, I was in 6th place. The next day,
the twisted area in my leg felt much worse, and it
was painful to walk, and jump. My coach and I
decided to see how it felt during warm-up on day 2
of competition. It was no better, and again the
decision was made that I would not compete (except
on bars). I was so worried that this would ruin my
Olympic dreams. But I am also very thankful that
my coaches have always put my well-being and
safety ahead of everything else. I performed my
one and only event on day 2 - and it was a good
routine, with a stuck dismount too.
Well,
to make a long story short- five gymnasts were
named to the team. I was tentatively named to the
team, but had to verify the other events in one
week. Once again, I had to recover really fast (!)
and when I performed my routines for a panel of
judges and the National Team staff, I hit my
routines and showed I was strong and ready. I was
so happy that I made it!! I had accomplished what
was nearly impossible, and now I was really
focused on staying healthy and performing my
routines well. |
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Before leaving for Athens we
had a camp and dual meet with France, in St. Etienne, which was good
preparation for Athens.
We were all so excited when we
finally left for Greece! The Village was amazing, like a city! It was
so neat to see all the other athletes, trade pins and just meet new
people! The gyms were also very nice.
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We
trained for about a week prior to team
preliminaries. Podium training was amazing- it was
like a real competition. I just remember walking
into it and the arena was so blue and so neat!
In team
prelims, I ended up competing on bars, although I
needed to be prepared on any event as some of the
team members were injured. The competition was so
exciting! Bars was the last event so I had to wait
for the whole competition till I could finally
compete! This was a bit nerve-wracking…. But
most of my energy went towards keeping physically
warmed up and mentally cooled down!
Finally it
was my turn to compete and I did a good bar
routine! I was so happy for the team as well
because we beat our score from last years worlds
and placed 10th.
I will
never forget that day, my whole entire life!!! |
After the
competition we just hung around the village, went to the
pool, watched other events, and worked out in the fitness
gym. We also sat in the sun, visited the Parthenon and
went shopping! It was nice to meet the other Canadians and
people from other countries. So many new friendships were
made!
More: Click
here to read Part II.
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