Collegiate gymnasts are nothing short of amazing. The sheer amount of strength, skill, and total body control it takes to pull off their routines can’t help but inspire the people who watch them.
They have trained themselves to contort their bodies in ways not thought possible.
Their moves and abilities are so varied that collegiate gymnastics are separated into four different events to showcase their skill.
These include vault, uneven bars, balance beams, and floor exercises.
When gymnasts vault, they will speed down the runway and often perform a double handspring, pushing off the springboard to get momentum. The gymnast, now airborne, will often perform a tuck, pike, or other move before sticking the landing.
Uneven bar exercises are a great opportunity for some amazing moves.
There’s a flight element when the gymnast moves from the high bar to the low bar and back again.
There are also different grips, such as a close bar element and a non-flight turn on the bar, like turning handstands. The gymnast needs to work a precise move into the dismount as well.
As their name suggests, balance beams require perfect balance.
Balance bar routines that are performed on the balance bar equipment will incorporate spectacular leaps and turns that always leave onlookers amazed.
The floor exercise is a dynamic mixture of character dance moves and mind-blowing gymnastic maneuvers.
More complex routines have a higher possibility of achieving a high score.
A gymnast can really wrack up the points with their floor routines.
The UCLA gymnastics team is known for choreographing high-score gymnastic tricks and dizzying routines. But, in 2020, one particular floor routine by 21-year-old Gracie Kramer left the entire auditorium astonished.
When Gracie began her routine, the commentator was immediately taken aback by the “dark” and “foreboding” character she was playing.
With a change in music came a huge smile as she set herself to showcase her skill.
Gracie begins by moving on the floor, her body twisting up from a crawling position into a lunge that sends her thundering down the stage, executing a flawless handspring and twist.
Then, she performs a high front twist and hits the floor. The audience is spellbound.
She continues her enchanting performance, spinning, kicking, and leaping into the air with a grin.
Onlookers move closer to the edge of their seats, anticipating what she’ll do next.
Their anticipation was worth it.
All eyes are on her.
After hitting the final pose, Gracie leaps into a standing position with a huge smile on her face. The audience erupts with applause and screams.
Her teammates run to Gracie and hug her tight – they are all so elated that they jump up and down about what she’s just done.
Everyone in the room is chanting “Gracie, Gracie…” But what do the judges think of her routine? Gracie can hardly believe it.
For the first time in her career as a gymnast, she scores a perfect 10.
“It really just felt like a normal routine and it was just like the icing on the cake. I feel like I’ve done 10 on routines before and whether or not the judge thought so, I knew in my heart that it was. So, I’ve felt that feeling before but it was just like almost 10 times more just because everyone else felt it and it was just a really cool accomplishment for me.”
See Gracie work her skills on the mat in the video below!
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