Daily News Sports Editor
HARTFORD — Brinna Barlow, a fifth-grader at Lincoln Elementary School, was already a fan of Olympic gymnast Chellsie Memmel. The 11-year-old got even more of a reason to adore the former world champion Friday afternoon.
“I read a lot,” Memmel said, adding she reads every day and often finishes books in less than a week.
“Reading is my favorite activity,” Barlow said. “I read as much as I can.”
Barlow guessed she reads about 10 books per month. She’s read the Harry Potter series and the Twilight series.
Barlow and more than 50 of her fourth- and fifth-grade classmates got the opportunity to meet Memmel, a native of West Allis and a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team that won the silver medal in Beijing. Memmel talked to the kids about her decorated career and all things related to reading.
The 24-year-old, who retired after her third shoulder surgery while trying to make the 2012 Olympics, talked about how much she loves to read.
“It’s really cool she spends all that time reading, but she’s a gymnast, too,” Barlow said. “(Reading) is something I’m really passionate about.”
Memmel shares that passion.
“I like to get lost in the stories,” she said, adding it’s a good way to cure boredom on the treadmill.
For a question-and-answer session, the kids asked all kinds of questions: What is your favorite event? What is your favorite movie? What is your favorite book? What was it like to be in the Olympics?
Barlow was all ears on what Memmel had to say. She had a connection.
“I really, really love gymnastics,” Barlow said with a big smile. “It’s so much fun. When I do it, I feel so energized.”
Barlow has been competing in gymnastics for a couple years. Her favorite event is floor exercise.
“I was very excited,” Barlow said when asked if she was excited to meet Memmel. Barlow dreams of being an Olympian.
“It makes me feel so happy,” Barlow added about why she competes in gymnastics.
Lincoln has a monthly reading program called Battle of the Books where students can earn points based on the number of books they read in a month. The point scale is 1, 2 or 3, with one being the lowest and three being the highest. Of the more than 50 students who came to the meet-and-greet, 10 received a special gift and autographed picture of Memmel and took a picture with the 2005 world champion.
“This is a no-brainer,” said Memmel why she chose to speak to the kids Friday, adding her love for reading made it more important and worthwhile for her.
The points ranged from as low as seven points to as many as 24. The most was by Riley Resheski. Allie Sutheimer had 23 points, Bobby Klockow had 21 points and Avery Arndt had 20. Also recognized were R.J. Poulzer, Maddi Kutz, Logan Jossart, Leah Lisowski, Megan Klink and Tyler Wink.
“It was just figuring out a day that was going to work with my schedule,” Memmel said. “This one was fun because I’m so passionate about reading. It’s fun to tell the kids that, too.”
These days Memmel is still active in the gymnastics community. She recently became certified to be an elite gymnastics judge. She also coaches, runs camps and helps at her parents’ gymnastics school, M&M Gymnastics, where Memmel got her start in the sport when she was 2 years old.
She tries to go to speaking engagements a few times each year, talking about topics such as sports, training, staying active and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Also, Memmel will get married Aug. 31 to her boyfriend of almost four years, Kory Maier.
“It was hard, but I knew it was time,” said Memmel about her retirement from competitive gymnastics. “I can look back on my career and be very proud of everything I accomplished and how I represented my country.”
In 2005, Memmel ended an 11-year drought for U.S. women gymnasts in the all-around at the world championship when she won gold. In all, she won six world medals. She also has two gymnastics moves named after her, “The Memmel,” on the floor and balance beam. She was on 10 national teams, a record she shares with Dominique Dawes, Nastia Liukin and Alicia Sacramone.
Barlow said she thinks it’d be really cool if she can be just like Memmel 10 years from now, a world champion and an Olympian, then come back home and tell the stories to kids just like Memmel did.
“When you do well in a sport or do well in something else in life, you fall into being a role model,” Memmel said. “I try to take that role very seriously, try to inspire kids to follow their dreams, whatever it might be, and knowing education will help them get there.”
No comments:
Post a Comment