The Liukins are well-known in the sport. Its not uncommon for elite gymnasts to have a Triple A personality and take any setback as a catastrophe, Liukin said. I wasnt really having a good time anymore, so by the time I got to Classics, I was so over it and I felt so done. I just know that., Shilese Jones Star Turn Puts Her In Pole Position Going Into Day 2 At Gymnastics Nationals, When School Let Out, These Three Star Gymnasts Resumed Their Quest To Be The Best, Juniors Dulcy Caylor, Tiana Sumanasekera Represent A Talented Next Generation Of U.S. Gymnasts. McClains journey still has a long way to go. why did konnor mcclain switch gyms. Konnors dad said he asked Konnor what she would do if Valeri said she had to lose five pounds, and she said shed do it. That seemed to be the theme for many of the gymnasts at that meet. Shes also talked about college gymnastics in the future, but hasnt decided on any schools. Konnor McClains Olympic year was not supposed to go this way. Konnor says until the pandemic started, things were good with her coach, Susan, and in the gym. "I still think we're going to be able to pull through and have an amazing outcome,'' Chiles said. The thought of uprooting her family also weighed on her mind. Im not sure Ive seen MyKayla in the gym with just her coaches and no family members once this entire series. She starts crying, hates everything, and at the end of the meet, even thinks of quitting gymnastics for good. McClain had no idea, and even an hour later was still struggling to comprehend it. Honestly for a really good two or three months it was kind of like a seesaw, ups and downs, Liukin recalled. The first time when we were invited to National Team Camp, they asked me if I thought she was ready. On Sunday night, in front of an enthusiastic crowd in Tampa, Florida, the rebirth came to fruition. Konnor McClain competes during the women's floor exercise at the 2022 U.S. The world of Olympic gold medalists is small. Morgans training for championships but is still sore. Well, I'm not going to say no to that, Susan shared, laughing. Then, step-by-step she marched toward that goal. That made McClain the highest-ranked, first-year U.S. senior woman in 2021. College Gym News is your place for everything you need to know about collegiate gymnastics. Susan says she did talk about politics, but only sometimes. Many people were intrigued by the video because at four years old, Konnor was practicing incredibly advanced skills for her age. I felt forced going into the gym. Her dad passed away the day before they left for Italy. @simone_biles@usagym@gymnastics pic.twitter.com/BwLgNiOLXd, It's just something that we weren't expecting, Lorinda explained. Favorite us! 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McClain says she didnt have expectations to win the Winter Cup, just getting back into the gym and then competition had been hard enough. Sensing Beamons nerves, Boston told his younger teammate to move it back three feet with a cautious jump to avoid fouling, Beamon later said. 2022 United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Its not a coachs place to say what someones weight should be. When she was little, she was very, very driven, very detail oriented, and anything that she put her mind to, she was going to basically work until she met that goal. Elite-level gymnastics. I'm getting better at driving, she shares. McClain and Jones were followed in the U.S. Championships all-around standings by Tokyo Olympic team silver medalist Jordan Chiles, University of Florida freshman Kayla DiCello(who said at nationals that she did not plan to go for the world team) and Tokyo Olympic floor exercise championJade Carey. She began walking the balance beam and doing backbend kickovers before age 2, mimicking her 4-year-old sister. Madison Kocian and Kyla Ross have come to visit Laurie in training. A Look Back in Photos - 2019 U.S. Championships. Though everyone is excited about her Olympic eligibility, Konnor is focused on one thing at a time. Long considered a star-to-be for the 2024 Olympic quad, McClain positioned herself as just that, all while competing at what she described as 70 to 75 percent of her true ability. Why did konnor McClain leave her gym? Join us as we recap each episode. And on top of that, she's super smart, very intelligent, makes corrections quickly, just really has the whole package.. With less than two years to go until the Olympic team is named . Required fields are marked *. We were working for 2024, so this kind of threw a wrench in our spokes.. Boston leaped 8.21 meters, eight centimeters better than Owens. For Susan, the meet was memorable for an entirely different reason. Now, MyKaylas on beam and falls on her back handspring into a back full. Full Name Konnor McClain Nation United States Birthdate February 1, 2005 Status Active Click here for all coverage related to Konnor McClain on The Gymternet. A week later, her grandmother also passed. A couple of weeks after I switched [gyms] I really started doing it for me and not doing it for other people, because I just enjoyed it again, she said. Shes working hard on upgrades despite a recent setback of not being named to the most recent National Team, which Konnor says at first it was really hard, just dealing with that feeling and that disappointment in myself and humiliation. They pulled her out of Revolution immediately and moved all the way to Texas in a matter of days to ensure Konnor could train with Valeri, the coach of Konnor's choice. Muramoto and Takahashi made their competitive debut as a dance couple in November 2020 and missed the 2022 Olympic team by one spot. Your email address will not be published. At the 1968 Games, Boston broke his own Olympic record in qualifying by jumping 8.27 meters. She just switched gyms too so that may be a factor as well. Konnor McClain, a U.S. gymnast who would not have been old enough for an Olympics in 2020 but became age-eligible when the Tokyo Games were postponed to 2021, will not compete in the national championships or the Olympic Trials this month. Luckily for her, this National Team is only for a few months, and will be renamed at U.S. Championships, where she will get another shot to make it back on. She feels like Tom and the Olympic Committee always see her injured, so she may not seem reliable. Konnors dad says the reason people dont like Valeri is because he pushes girls so hard, but why else would they be there. To see Konnor McClain compete today, many people would happily pay a good amount of money. It was easy to end my career, in 1968, Boston said. As for her drivers license, she has her permit, but plans to wait a bit to get her license as she has quite a few things going onlike preparing for the Olympics. I feel like in 2024, when the season comes, I feel like it'll be a lot better that year just because I've been preparing for this for my whole life, McClain said. I was like, I don't want to be in the house any longer. He would be so proud of me, she said. It's definitely really weird because they always call me the baby and they always call me Baby Konnor, and, so, when we went to Winter Cup, everybody was younger than me and I was like, Oh my gosh, they're so tiny and cute, she said. Like what you see? Ukraine boycotts judo worlds after Russians, Belarusians allowed as neutrals. But I think one time she had a headache and missed a practice, and that's really the only time I can think of her missing a practice. Boston broke the mens long jump world record six times between 1960-65 and shared the record going into the 1968 Mexico City Games. Besides school and driving, Konnor loves to draw and paint, and is writing two books right now, one about foster kids and the other an autobiography. The news left McClain overwhelmed. As a child I idolized him and he was a major influence in my life. So as an example informed Australian, this seems like a big deal. McClain had trained at the same gym, with the same coach, her whole career. She wanted to go and see her friends that she hadn't seen since third grade. McClain by then had a reputation. And then the Olympics is definitely there in the back of my mind, but I don't want to think about it too much right now, calling the 2024 Olympics her final goal, something shes been saying since she was at least 11. Growing up in a family of athletes, Lorinda played soccer and cheered in college, Konnors dad played college football at Southern Utah, and her uncle was in the Olympic Trials for boxing. 2022 Results Date Competition VT UB BB FX AA Aug 18-21 U.S. Championships AA 14.350 14.050 14.100 13.850 56.350 QF 14.400 13.300 14.800 13.900 56.400 Apr 9-10 City of Jesolo Unlike most of the NBC gymnastics pieces from over the years, these episodes take a more . Konnor also has cousins playing DI college baseball, college football, soccer, and basketball. But for a local. Her gymnastics, she said, was garbage. Her confidence shattered. The process has been arduous, both inside and outside the gym. She was like, Yes, you can. She was like, I felt the same way, too, at one point, McClain told Olympics.com of her conversations with the Olympic champion. Boston died Sunday morning after recently suffering a stroke, according to the Tennessean. Konnor is no outlier to the family trade - shes been athletically gifted since birth; sitting, crawling, and walking before her peers. Switching gyms with less than a month to go before Olympic Trials is not something you see often (ever?). I think she's missed one practice in 16 years besides an injury or something. Gymnastics Championships on Aug. 21, 2022 in Tampa, Fla. Twelve hours later, she had packed up her room at the familys West Virginia home, hopped in the car with her dad Marc and hit the road, headed toward Texas. Your email address will not be published. Slowly the coaches began building her back up. I was ready to quit gymnastics, McClain said. "So I'm excited for the future.''. Gymnasts cant compete in major senior international meets until the year they turn 16, so she would have been too young for the Tokyo Games had they been held in 2020. She did far more than that, taking the lead through one rotation on Sunday night and never letting go. Its a hard task for a 17-year-old. Outwardly, McClain was progressing nicely as a gymnast in early 2022, winning the all-around at the Winter Cup in Frisco, Texas, and the City of Jesolo Trophy, an international team event held in Italy. Im still in shock a little right now. Its easier to take it inif Im not OK, its OK now. She was very hard on herself, Anna Liukin said. Konnor McClain (born February 1, 2005) is an American artistic gymnast and a convicted criminal for a hit and run case involving teammate Hezly Rivera in a woga parkinglot, she is also a member of the United States women's national gymnastics team. In August 1960, Boston broke Owens world record in the long jump that stood since 1935. Today were talking about the recently dropped episode five. It was kind of crazy.. Did the inspiration for Payson Keelers plot line come from the Skinner family? You certainly wouldnt know it from watching her compete. Susan and Lorinda have been friends since grade school, working at the local pool, doing gymnastics together, and going to college and cheerleading together. Many elite gymnasts move to well-established legacy gyms once their training picks up, but Konnor has always attended the small program at Revolution gymnastics right in her hometown of Cross Lanes, West Virginia. Consider donating to support our efforts throughout the year! Her and her sister are super closeother than a good gymnast, she's just a good person. OnlyCarl Lewis, who won four golds, has more Olympic long jump medals. Join us as we recap each episode. The top all-around scorer on the first day of the two-day camp is guaranteed to be on the six-woman traveling team, with one of those six being designated an alternate. Always has been, she just has a great personality and she's a good kid, Lorinda shared. Konnor McClain won her first U.S. gymnastics national championship Sunday night, rallying past Shilese Jones in the finals to complete a stunning turnaround since switching training gyms last year. So it was totally up to her. [Coach] Anna [Liukin] gave me the patch three days before the competition. Konnor McClain, who recently moved to Texas to train at WOGA under Valeri Liukin, competes at the 2019 U.S. Championships. The other five later won Olympic and/or world all-around titles, the most recent Simone Biles. Just looking back at last year and being where I was last year, this is so crazy to me. This article is not a criticism of Shawn. At the U.S. Championships in August, McClain edged Shilese Jonesby .75 of a point after Jones fell on the last skill of her last routine of the competition. Continued Lee, I was like, There's going to be a part of you that's missing, but you're just going to have to rebuild. McClain learned the Olympics were postponed in March 2020, this making her age-eligible for Tokyo, while watching The Hunger Games: Catching Fire., Just to make it to the Olympic Trials would be such an accomplishment, especially for her being young, her mom said in April 2020. Remember your why, remember why you started, remember how proud you made your dad. Muramoto was a singles skater through her teens, then competed in the 2018 Olympics in dance with Chris Reed. Lorinda never imagined anyone else would be interested in watching her daughter do gymnastics, especially for ten minutes straight. If youd like to watch along, the episodes are available here with a free Peacock account. In 2018, he returned to singles skating after a four-year retirement. my #1 supporter, i love and miss you more than words can describe https://t.co/zC4owvGqzd. As a teenager, Konnor makes me feel SEEN. Following in the footsteps of two of her cousins, Konnor is considering becoming a firefighter in the future. The pair tell us how their friendship helped McClain get back on the mat. After the first rotation, Sunis in second and MyKaylas in fourth. Lauries eyes are watering as the episode ends. "Anything can happen,'' McClain said. Takahashi was trying to become the first figure skater to compete in the Olympics in their career in both singles and ice dance as medal events, according to Olympedia.org. Konnor McClain moves to WOGA. The 17-year-old took to Instagram Wednesday, announcing that a back injury would hold her out of this . She's just really driven to go to the Olympicsat a very, very young age she's always wanted thisa great combination of work ethic, strength, flexibility, drive. I didnt really have the love for gymnastics, McClain said. "I'm just super excited to be back out here,'' Jones said. Daisuke Takahashi, who after an Olympic medal-winning singles figure skating career came back to ice dance, has retired along with partnerKana Muramoto, according to Japanese media citing a video on their Instagram. At one point, MyKaylas fathers pay was cut and they didnt think they were going to be able to afford gymnastics, but her coach created a position in the gyms office for her mom. Carl Lewis (@Carl_Lewis) April 30, 2023, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Flipboard (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Daisuke Takahashi, pioneering Japanese figure skater, retires again, Ralph Boston, Olympic long jump champion, dies at 83, Ukraine boycotts judo worlds after Russians, Belarusians allowed as neutrals, Joel Embiid unlikely to play at FIBA World Cup, France coach says, who called Owens a mentor and dear friend, reportedly became Beamons unofficial coach. TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Konnor McClain arrived in Texas last spring adrift, her confidence shattered. "If Suni says it, then I can do it." McClain took Lee's words to heart. Very interesting switch a week before Nationals! Ralph Boston, Olympic long jump champion, dies at 83 She gets a 12.400. Besides gymnastics, Konnor is just your average teenager, getting her drivers permit and attending public schoolwell, as of two weeks ago at least. She then performed a balance beam routine in front of a studio audience. Like, if Suni says it, then I can do it.. If youd like to watch along, the episodes are available. By submitting my information, I agree to the, DiCello, Wong Headline 2021 Women's Artistic World Championships Team, Konnor McClain - Floor, WOGA Gymnastics - 2021 Women's World Championships Selection Event, Konnor McClain - Beam, WOGA Gymnastics - 2021 Women's World Championships Selection Event, Konnor McClain - Bars, WOGA Gymnastics - 2021 Women's World Championships Selection Event, Konnor McClain - Vault, WOGA Gymnastics - 2021 Women's World Championships Selection Event, U.S. The two have had a long friendship, dating back to their days attending U.S. developmental program camps together. I always tell people if it wasn't gymnastics, Konnor would strive to go to the Olympics in another sport. TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Konnor McClain arrived in Texas last spring adrift, her confidence shattered. Until then, I saw myself as just another local yokel, Boston, who called Owens a mentor and dear friend, said last year. It doesn't matter where are you're going to end up,' she said. Boston leaped 8.21 meters, eight centimeters better than Owens. Then the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 were postponed a year, and a subsequent adjustment to the minimum-age requirement suddenly made her eligible. Yet a year removed from a second-place finish to the Russian in Japan, the Americans appear to be a threat to return to the top of the sport even with reigning Olympic champion Lee and Biles both on sabbaticals from elite competition.