Hannah Salgado springs out of her senior year!

Hannah Salgado is one of the shining athletes here at Aurora. In the world of gymnastics,where agility, strength, and precision reign supreme, she showcases her amazing skills and abilities. 

Hannah’s determination for the sport started when she was young.  “My mom initially sparked my interest because she also had a passion for gymnastics when she was younger. My passion evolved from thinking of it as an activity to get energy out as well as something fun to do, to investing emotional and physical energy that produced lifelong friends, valuable lessons, and shaped me as a person,” she explains.

Being first place in the state for beam doesn't come naturally; Salgado explains her training regimen throughout the week and how she balances it with school. “I would usually train sixteen  hours a week, four days with four hours a day. I don’t really have any ‘specialized’ routines or exercises, but I try to have consistency with my routines on each event through repetition.” 

She says that balance, not just when she's on the floor, is a key component to being such a good student athlete. “The balance comes from prioritizing school over gymnastics, and then when academics take precedents, I try to move around practices to still fit in gymnastics. I think that because gymnastics takes up a lot of my week, and obviously so does school, sacrificing other things besides gymnastics and school sometimes comes into play.”

Gymnastics isn’t just all about the physical exertion; Salgado explains her struggles with the mental aspects throughout her years in the sport. “ I think that the most challenging part of my gymnastics journey has been the mental aspect. Gymnastics, as much as it is a physical sport, can also be very mental with mental blocks or not being able to trust yourself to complete skills. I still haven’t mastered how to completely overcome the mental part, but during competitions or even in practice I try to focus on what I am telling myself and what I am thinking during skills to prevent mental blocks.” 

Even through the mental gymnastics involved, she explains how it helped her mature. “I think that gymnastics has positively impacted my emotional maturity due to the relationships I made with my teammates as well as the learned ability to coach myself through the mental part of gymnastics will be beneficial in the future.”

Salgado’s advice to the younger members of her team reminds us of the importance of a team family. “Advice I would give to younger gymnasts is to lean on your teammates and form relationships with them because the sport is hard enough, so to have people that you can rely on for support will be extremely helpful.” 

As Hannah’s high school journey comes to a close, her legacy of states for beam and her outstanding attitude is one that will be remembered within Aurora High School. Salgado uses her expertise and strength to strive in the world of gymnastics.