Wheat City whiz kid gunning for Rio

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This article was published 27/06/2016 (2858 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

GATINEAU, Quebec — It has been a big month in the life of Brandon’s Isabela Onyshko.

Last week, she wrote her final high school exams, celebrated her graduation and turned 18 years old.

This week, she is trying to become the first Manitoba gymnast to make an Olympic team in almost three decades.

“I did not know that,” Onyshko said Monday about the history of her attempt, her eyes wide and a big smile on her face, following the first of two days of competition that will determine Canada’s five-member women’s Olympic team.

Onyshko is one of 11 Canadian gymnasts competing at the Rio Selection Camp at the Centre de Sportif de Gatineau. The last time a gymnast from Manitoba got an Olympic nod was 1988, when Lynette Wittmeier was an alternate.

As the reigning national champion, Onyshko is considered by many to be a virtual lock for the team. A latecomer to the high performance stream, Onyshko has been a critical part of the national team since 2014, and has competed in two world championships, the Pan Am Games, the Commonwealth Games and numerous World Cup events.

Three weeks ago, she won the national all-around title, the first Manitoban to hit the top of the all-around podium since Monica Goermann in 1979. She added gold medals on balance beam and uneven bars for good measure.

Originally from Minnedosa, she moved to Brandon with her family two years ago to ease the stress of commuting every day for training at the Brandon Eagles Gymnastics Centre. She spends 30 to 35 hours a week in the gym.

After the first day of the Olympic trials, Onyshko is in a disappointing last place all-around because of a disaster on vault, where she crashed to her knees and earned a score of zero for not landing feet first. Any other gymnast might have despaired at this result, but Onyshko shook it off, even giggling a little when asked what had gone wrong.

“I don’t really know, to be honest,” she said. “It just wasn’t right.”

However, her results on the other three events almost certainly overcome the vault mishap. She was first on balance beam and second on uneven bars and floor exercise.

Lorie Henderson, Onyshko’s coach, said they weren’t happy about the vault but it wasn’t weighing heavily on them, either.

“We didn’t plan on this but it was better than breaking your ankle,” she said. “She did really well on three events. Beam is kind of the event we are hoping she can make a final in (at the Olympics), so we’re pleased to see it becoming more consistent.”

The team will be chosen based on a points system, where the trials are worth 50 per cent, and nationals and Elite Canada are each worth 15 per cent. Onyshko finished first at both of those meets. World championships and a few other international events will account for the rest.

The top three athletes by points after the final day of trials today will automatically be named to the team. The final two spots will be chosen by the national team staff based on the gaps that might need to be filled for the team to be well-rounded on all four events.

If Onyshko isn’t one of the automatic three, she will have to wait until Thursday to find out if she makes it to the Olympics.

She said she began dreaming about making the team almost as soon as she first walked into the gym.

“I just hope vault doesn’t mess it up,” she said.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca