“Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.” – Newt Gingrich
Being in the sport of gymnastics takes a great deal of dedication, hard work, and perseverance. Recreation athletes are at the beginning of their gymnastics career, yet still experience perseverance in their development as a gymnast. Young gymnasts first experience perseverance through training their bodies and minds to do new things it’s never done before.
For gymnasts on the team level, perseverance is a more frequent occurrences. The hours in the gym become longer, the skills are harder to master and their bodies begin to experience pain. Their love for the sport has to outweigh their fear and discomfort.
I did a Q & A session with my good friend, 2004 Olympic all around Gold medalist Carly Patterson, and asked her about her gymnastic experience and how she had to persevere through the tough times. Here is our Q & A.
Q. I know from being a gymnast myself there are many days when you want to just give up and throw in the grips. How did you fight through those days?
A. “I always kept my goals in the back of my head especially on the hard days when I wanted to give up. There actually was a time I said I wanted to quit and I took a week off and couldn’t stand not getting to be in the gym by the end of that week, so to me that was a big help in realizing how badly I wanted to achieve my goals and how much I loved being in the sport.”
Q: Throughout your gymnastics career what do you think was the hardest hurdle to get over? Where did you have to really push yourself and why?
A. “The hardest challenge in my career was when I broke my elbow in 2003 right before World Championships. I had never had an injury that severe before and I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to handle it. I almost gave up my spot to compete in World Championships because I was in so much pain, I couldn’t even straighten my arm all the way and knew something was really wrong. I decided that I had come way too far and worked way too hard to give up my spot and decided to compete through the pain.
“When I got home I went to the doctor and found out it was broken and went into surgery right away and had ligaments reattached and screws to fix the fractures. Going through three months of rehab and getting my routines back was really hard, but I knew with the Olympics being less than a year away I had a lot of work to do. I was able to come back better than ever after, which I was so thankful for.”
Q: Was your goal always to be an Olympian? At what age did you realize you could make the Olympics?
A. “That wasn’t always my goal; because when I first started out I didn’t even know what the Olympics was. I remember my mom trying to get me to watch the 1996 Olympics and saying “Carly look that’s what you do”, but she couldn’t get me to stay inside for more than 5 minutes to watch because I was more interested in playing outside with my sister and friends at the time. I realized after watching the 2000 Olympics that I would be age eligible for the 2004 Games and that’s when I had a fire that started in me that I was going to work my tail off to get the next Olympics. I didn’t realize I was going to make the Olympics until my name was called to the team because you just never know!”
Q: I know your coach Yevgeny Marchenko used to tell you a quote that is near and dear to your heart. What was the quote and what significance did it play in your life?
A. “He always told me ‘Hard work never disappears.’ When I was having bad days and things weren’t clicking in the gym he would tell me this and it always helped me put things in perspective. It’s been a very important quote throughout my life and something that I still have to tell myself today. It’s my favorite quote.”
Carly Patterson is an amazing gymnast as well as a well-rounded individual. She is a great example of perseverance through her hard work, and dedication.
“Just remember, you can do anything you set your mind to, but it takes action, perseverance, and facing your fears.” – Gillian Anderson
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