Elizabeth Colonel is a second year student and first year journalist here with the Badin Banner. In addition to this, she has also had an extensive career as a gymnast.

Colonel’s start to gymnastics is probably relatable for most young gymnasts.

“I was constantly flipping around in the house so my mom put me in gymnastics and I fell in love with it. I started when I was six but then I had to stop. At the time I was really focused on dance and gymnastics wasn't as important to me. I went back when I was nine,” Colonel said.

Gymnastics can be very demanding both physically and mentally. It can take a major toll on someone and requires a lot of strength. Yet Colonel was able to push through.

“I was trying my hardest not giving up on something I really loved. There were so many times I wanted to quit but I stuck with it and that was really challenging for me,” Colonel said.

Despite the hardships of the sport, there are many positive aspects of it. For Colonel, it’s all about teamwork and community. Many people believe that gymnastics is about the individual, not the team. However, Colonel doesn’t see it this way.

“The coaches at CGA [Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy] made me feel really welcome. They really believed in me which made me push myself even harder. I like the feeling of going to the gym and forgetting about other stress I've been dealing with. It takes my mind off of whatever is bothering me. It's really easy to become close with the girls and build strong relationships with them. Even though I had to quit, I'm still really good friends with them,” Colonel said.

Many injuries can be sustained from gymnastics. Some of the different tricks can be dangerous, and sometimes end many gymnast’s careers. Unfortunately in this case, it was Colonel’s knee.

“I broke my finger in 6th grade and I've had a lot of ankle injuries and a knee injury I'm still trying to get over. It developed on its own and it’s still there but I'm going to therapy for it now and I'm hoping to go back to gymnastics for my sophomore year. My knee injury still gets in the way of my tumbling but I've learned to push through and keep going,“ Colonel said.

Having to quit the sport you love can be devastating for many athletes, especially when due to injury.

“It was really weird at first because I always felt like I had to go to practice whenever I didn't need to. It was also really sad because I couldn't do the thing that I loved to do,” Colonel said.

Hopefully after fully recovering we will be able to see Elizabeth Colonel flipping around on the gymnastics team here at Badin in the winter.