Guam gymnastics aims to compete in Olympics within 10 years

Is there any sport more Olympic than gymnastics? Mere names conjure memories of otherworldly heroics: The Magnificent Seven. The Furious 5. Mary Lou. Nastia. Nadia. Simone.

Coach Ric Heath told KUAM Sports, "It's a full-time sport, it's 3-5 days a week for our advanced girls. Our beginners go one day a week, but they start off at the beginning level."

Guam has a heritage of producing champion gymnasts, but we've yet to send a squad to the summer games. So, how close are we to qualifying? According to those leading the charge for a sport only available on island for two decades...we're almost there.

"The possibility is there," noted president of the Guam Gymnastics Federation, herself a former collegiate gymnast. "It's is going to take us another one or two Olympic cycles to do that - we need some more equipment, we need a 40'-x-40' floor, we need a pit, and so we have some growing to do. But the Oceania Gymnastics Union is behind us and we are in with the FIG now, so we're on our way."

These athletes possess Herculean strength and the heart of a lion - on the bars, on the beam, out on the floor and at the vault. Just look in the eyes of any gymnast, and you'll witness a level of focus and fearlessness unmatched in any other sport. Theirs is an elite community.

"It's really cool!" summarized Lael Acfalle, who competes for the Island Twisters academy. "Because as gymnasts we we do a lot of things that not many people get to do, like flip six feet in the air, and swing on a bar, so it's definitely very, very fun."

Our top gymnasts typically start aerobics and tumbling and developing core skills before they start elementary school. It's a commitment and passion that never stops rewarding. Island Twisters teammate Daria Alimova, one of the organization's top performers, shared, "I like to come here with my friends who support me."

And Hanna Cepeda added, "It's really fun meeting all the new gymnasts and getting to train with them."

And this is a team overall event, so while you may take to an apparatus individually, you always compete as a unit. And the dream of standing toe-to-toe with the world's best would be the ultimate achievement for our gymnasts and coaches.

"It would be so extremely exciting for us to represent Guam, of course, in the Olympics," said Coach Ric, whose wife Melinda co-owns and co-coaches the girls to great success.

So we've got the talent, the ambition, the leadership and the work ethic. So get the mat ready and have a healthy supply of chalk, because Guam will be flying high. Today's youngsters picking up the sport could be tomorrow's Olympians.

Flores concluded as she beamed with pride on the prospects for the sport locally, "I like to say if your child has any propensity for gymnastics, get him in the gym. Because gymnastics is the basis for all sports – it teaches strength, flexibility, discipline, and all kinds of things that you need for every other sport."

Don't miss a moment of the Games of the 33rd Olympiad this summer from Paris on KUAM-TV8 and streaming on Peacock.