Women Successful comeback (L10 after 5+ years off)

[Gym_momma]

Are there examples of gymnasts who quit in their teens and then made a successful comeback in their 20s? Looking for some inspiration!

 

[RTT2]

What do you mean by a successful comeback? Returning in their 20s and competing at what level?

 

[Dahlialover]

I stopped doing gymnastics in 8th grade and then started doing rec tumbling in college. That was fun. If I had attended a college with a club gymnastics program, I probably would have done that snd enjoyed it too.

 

[Gymgirl84]

Probably you need to define success. There are gymnasts that have had children and then returned to the sport, which is probably even harder, but they might have never stopped training.
I think there's Chile's Barbara Achondo who went to do dance, had children, and is now at around 40 competing for Chile at a decent level. Again not sure how much did she stop doing gymnastics.

 

[JBS]

Are there examples of gymnasts who quit in their teens and then made a successful comeback in their 20s? Looking for some inspiration!

Probably not many... I'm sure you can find one or two if you search hard enough. Even if you don't define success at all... there are not many people who quit gymnastics in their teens and ever even try again.

 

[Gym_momma]

What do you mean by a successful comeback? Returning in their 20s and competing at what level?

Retired as a level 10 and was able to regain skills to compete as a level 10 again. I find it really admirable and courageous to attempt regardless of how it works out.

 

[JBS]

Retired as a level 10 and was able to regain skills to compete as a level 10 again. I find it really admirable and courageous to attempt regardless of how it works out.

Ok... so... I really don't think the skills are the issue... it's getting the body in shape enough to get to that level again. Many skills are like "riding a bike"... it's just that your bike goes slower 10 years later.

The double will still flip... it will just flip lower.

The kip cast will still go up... just not all the way to handstand.

 

[JBS]

This whole discussion may have a different perspective if answered by @Aussie_coach or @JessSyd or anyone from Australia or any place that has a bigger adult gymnastics population. Really in the US there is very little adult gymnastics.

 

[fuzi]

Not level 10, but I’m thinking of a former gymnast I worked with who finished her club career as a mediocre level 9. She stayed active with gymnastics througout college, competing college club in the level 8 division. Then she moved into adulthood, got a real job, got married, etc. She must be about 30 now and just placed very well at NAIGC nationals, competing level 9 and doing skills independently that she couldn’t do as a teenager or could only do with a spot. I’d argue that she is a better gymnast now at 30-ish than she was at 17.

Point being, there are a lot of possibilities.

 

[Gymgirl84]

I've seen a lot of things, not so much at a level 10, but I've seen some returns in liga/interclubs competitions, where gymnasts that retired compete a couple of events for their clubs, they usually do pretty well.
If she has gotten the skills back and everything, let's go girl! I've also found some women in ig that are competing as adults, and wasn't there an older adult (like 30s I think) that was competing in L10 not so long ago? I think I read an article some years ago.
I'm in Europe so I don't know as much about the US in that regard.
I even competed 2 events recently 20 years after my retirement in a kind of interclub league (the level is Xcel Gold-like, which is anyway around what I used to compete back in the day)