Gymnast Katelyn Ohashibecame a star aftera video of her joyous floor routine— which earned her a perfect 10 — went viral in January. But that it happened at all is a feat of physical and mental strength, after painful injuries and severe body shaming almost led the UCLA senior to quit the sport altogether.
Ohashi endured difficult back and shoulder injuriesin 2013 that required surgery, andended her Olympic dreams.
“I was trying to work through the pain and crying literally every turn I took,”she told BBC Sport. “A coach was upset I had put on weight — he said it was why it was hurting.”
Ricky Lee/UCLA
Ohashi said she felt judged about her size.
“As gymnasts, our bodies are constantly being seen in these minimal clothing leotards. I felt so uncomfortable looking in the mirror. I felt uncomfortable walking back into the gym, like there were eyes just targeted at me,” she said. “I hated taking pictures. I hated everything about myself.”
Katelyn Ohashi.Kyle Okita/CSM/Shutterstock
As Ohashi prepared to join the gymnastics team at UCLA, she talked to her new coach about how she was afraid of finding success in the sport again and opening herself up to criticism, because she “correlated greatness with misery.” But the coaching staff encouraged her to go to therapy.
Richard Quinton/UCLA
At UCLA, she was able to findher love of gymnastics again— and nail that much-loved floor routine.Ohashi will graduate next monthwith a degree in gender studies, and said that she’s accepted her body.
“Everybody’s bodies are different and there’s not a single body that is the perfect body because there are constant trends,” she said. “Being comfortable with the only person that matters, yourself, is something that you can forever work towards. You’re the only person that has your back and you’re the only person that has your skin 100% of the time.”
source: people.com
