After a serious year-long back injury, junior Julia Blasinksi decided to return back to gymnastics this season. Blasinski had planned to get her skills back and rejoin the team once again, but what she didn’t plan for was how successful this season was going to be.
Prior to her injury, Blasinski had started to lose her love for the sport, just like many other high school athletes. She was unsure if she would return to the gym after recovering from her injury. When she healed and the time came to decide, she knew it wasn’t time to stop yet.
She came back to the gym and worked harder than ever. She quickly got her skills back and jumped successfully back into competing once again.
“She not only never gives up, but she refuses to accept anything worse than her best,” said head gymnastics Coach Christopher Patton.
By the end of the season, Blasinski broke two school records.
Blasinski received the highest score the D117 gymnastics team has ever seen one of their gymnasts receive. She scored a 9.6 out of 10 on the balance beam.
“I was so excited after I finished my routine… I didn’t really think about the school record. My mom, who’s also my coach, told me a day later, and I was like ‘Wow! I can’t believe I accomplished that,” said Blasinksi.
This was possible, not just because of her technique, but all of the upgraded skills she added to her routine.
“This year I upgraded my dismount. Last year I had an aerial on beam, but this year I added it into my dismount, so now I compete an aerial back tuck,” said Blasinski.
She has consistently hit her new dismount throughout the entire season. She has been very successful not just on beam, but in many other events as well.
On floor, she broke her second record. Blasinski was the D117 floor regional champion with a score of 9.25. So many people are proud of her for all of her accomplishments this season.
“Having a floor regional champion is so exciting for not just me as a coach, but for the team too. It really accentuates the fact that D117 is not just another team. We are here to take over, and we’re here to kick some butt,” said Patton.
This was not the only event she placed on. She was on the podium for vault and all-around, which meant she had qualified for sectionals on all three of these events.
“I think this year proved that not only does Julia have the ability to be the best and win these meets, but now she’s kind of proven to herself that she can do it and she knows how good she is, and that is a powerful weapon in gymnastics,” said Patton.
Blasinski has accomplished so much competitively, but her competitive accomplishments are not the only thing recognizable about her season.
“This year I found my love for gymnastics again. I used that to motivate me to keep going all throughout the season,” said Blasinski.
She plans to return to the gymnastics team one more time for her final season. She wants to work towards having another very successful season next year. Blasinski’s goals are to upgrade a few more skills and to make it to state next year; with her hard work and dedication, it is very likely these goals will be accomplished and more.
