On Sunday, July 28, Colombia’s Luisa Blanco will take the ground in Bercy Enviornment and fulfill a lifelong dream of competing within the Olympic Video games. Inside Gymnastics was thrilled to announce Luisa’s return to Elite on June 8, 2023 and have adopted her journey all through.
By Christy Sandmaier
In April 2023, then 16-time NCAA All-American and Alabama star Luisa Blanco introduced she’d be taking a fifth yr for the Crimson Tide. It was a call that collectively delighted each ‘Bama and NCAA followers across the nation. The 2021 NCAA champion on beam and 2023 runner-up on uneven bars (alongside Utah’s Grace McCallum and Maile O’Keefe, Florida’s Trinity Thomas and Michigan’s Abby Heiskell) devoted herself to taking that further step and concurrently elevated her gymnastics and life desires to yet one more new and thrilling degree. And, lower than two months later, she solely revealed to Inside Gymnastics her plans to compete for Colombia!
“I’m fulfilling that dream that I had once I was a bit woman and I’m going to attempt to give it my final shot on this final fifth yr that I wasn’t even imagined to have and do school, pursue a Grasp’s and go and compete for Colombia. That’s the final word objective,” Blanco informed us. Following the announcement, Blanco’s dream shortly took form and in July 2023, she received the Colombian Nationwide Championships.
It formally launched essentially the most thrilling and difficult yr of her life on and off the gymnastics ground as a result of simply as lovely because the competitors and the outcomes, was the chance for Blanco to embrace her tradition and her household in particular person. It meant greater than she ever even imagined.
“An expertise that I assumed was going to be as soon as in a lifetime ended up being what I now know shall be a relentless a part of my life eternally,” she mentioned following Colombian Championships. “I really feel even nearer to my Colombian heritage as I get the chance to proudly symbolize my nation within the Pan American Video games . These subsequent two and half months I wish to check my limits and provides it my absolute all in hopes to punch my ticket to Paris subsequent yr.
“In doing so, it’s going to permit me to attain a life lengthy objective of representing Colombia on the Olympics Video games whereas concurrently awarding me the liberty of an uninterrupted remaining collegiate season. I really need this fifth and remaining yr to be unforgettable.”
It was the most effective of each Worlds actually, and Blanco’s journey is one we’ve been so excited to comply with – due to her drive, her authenticity, her lovely gymnastics and her potential to see the large image on the subject of balancing her life and household together with her sport.
Along with her distinctive background, her story can also be sure to supply a spark to the subsequent era of Colombian gymnasts, or anybody who takes a novel path to meet their desires. With each of her mother and father native to Colombia, Blanco mentioned she at all times felt shut ties to her tradition however by no means fairly knew the right way to categorical it. Having the possibility to symbolize Colombia with satisfaction on the sport’s highest degree was a dream she has at all times had, however was discouraged from chasing whereas competing as an Elite for USA Gymnastics she mentioned.
As she launched into her new journey, she hopes to encourage younger ladies to understand it’s by no means too late to chase their desires.
“You don’t see a variety of ladies that appear to be me doing gymnastics,” Blanco mentioned. “And now that it’s rising and I see Brown Ladies Do Gymnastics, it truly is empowering! I wish to proceed that, finally … “It’s not one thing that’s so unreachable or unattainable to do. There’s any individual that’s doing it, so [I just want to] be there in any method I can. If that’s the Olympics, that may be superb … If it’s simply competing at a Pan American Video games or simply an enormous worldwide stage, both method, my coronary heart is simply so complete.”
With a purpose to pursue the Elite path along with her fifth and remaining season at Alabama, Blanco enlisted the assistance of Midwest Gymnastics Coach Jess Graba, who coached Suni Lee to Olympic All-Round gold on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. From the beginning Graba mentioned he was excited to get to know Blanco higher and see the place this new dream can take her.
“I’m actually blissful to see these ladies having fun with the game to the purpose the place they produce other choices,” Graba mentioned. “They wish to take the subsequent step and see what’s attainable. I feel that claims one thing in regards to the ladies, nevertheless it additionally says one thing, hopefully, in regards to the sport. I feel the game is evolving and being a bit bit extra forgiving on the athletes. Clearly, the foundations are exhausting, however the tools, the coaching strategies – every thing’s simply been extra forgiving and extra rewarding. I’m blissful to see that and hopefully we will capitalize and provides her a extremely good senior season, however then additionally give her an excellent probability at a dream.”
Along with her return to Elite and renewed resolve to compete past what the “conventional” time line had been for Elite gymnastics, Blanco turned a part of a trending checklist of of NCAA student-athletes who have been already competing on the world stage or returning to Elite competitors following the conclusion of their NCAA careers together with 2020 Olympic All-Round Champion Lee (USA/Auburn), 2020 Olympic ground champion Jade Carey (USA/Oregon State), 2020 Olympic crew silver medalist Jordan Chiles (USA/UCLA), 2021 World Championship All-Round silver medalist Leanne Wong (USA/Florida), 2021 World Championship All-Round bronze medalist Kayla DiCello (USA/Florida), 2019 Pan American Video games crew gold medalist Aleah Finnegan (USA/Philippines/LSU), 2020 Olympic alternate Emma Malabuyo (USA/Philippines/UCLA), Sandra Elsadek (EGY/Georgia), 2023 NCAA co-Nationwide Runner-Up on vault, Lynnzee Brown (USA/ Haiti/Denver), and Florida Gator star Trinity Thomas, the 2022 NCAA All-Round Champion who tied the NCAA All-Time Excellent 10 file in 2023. (Lee, Carey, Chiles, Wong (as an alternate), Finnegan, Malabuyo and Brown will all be in Paris competing.)
“When this complete concept got here up, I used to be shocked as a result of I used to be like, ‘There’s no method that Jess needs to coach me,’” Blanco mentioned. “Simply the truth that he was so supportive and keen, I might see via him how a lot USA Gymnastics has modified and is constant to evolve … From the primary telephone name, it simply felt proper. My apply is certainly completely different now, taking it little by little in order that I’m not, you realize, breaking myself downI. I’m clearly being method smarter about this than I used to be once I was youthful.”
Graba labored intently all through the summer season with Alabama head coach Ashley Priess Johnston and the Crimson Tide teaching employees to navigate the very best coaching plan for Blanco as she embraced her fifth yr as an NCAA student-athlete whereas concurrently coaching as an Elite.
