World-renowned Olympic rhythmic gymnasts Alisa Kano and Natalie McGiffert have both aimed for Olympic gold medals before, but it seems like their goal has already changed, and now they’re focused on getting degrees as full-time students at Loyola.
21-year-old Alisa and 19-year-old McGiffert were both part of the American Rhythmic Gymnastics National Team, which advanced to the Olympic competition in Rio de Janeiro after beating Brazil – the host country of the 2016 Games – at the 2015 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.
The win earned them a qualification spot for the Rio Olympic Games. It was a historic achievement for the U.S., as it served as the first earned Olympic spot in rhythmic gymnastics team competition. The national team was filled with joy after knowing about the qualification.
“We finished our ribbon routine and we were so happy with how we did that we were crying of happiness,” Alisa said excitedly. “We were so happy we finished a clean routine and everyone else thought we were crying because we qualified [for the 2016 Olympics], but we had no idea.”
Group rhythmic gymnastics is a gymnastics discipline which has a distinct resemblance to synchronized swimming. Alisa explained that it is a combination of gymnastics, dance and ballet with apparatus work. The athletes perform leaps and turns while maintaining full control of their apparatuses. The sport focuses on flexibility and elegance instead of flipping, which is a bigger factor in other disciplines of gymnastics.
After the 2016 Rio Olympics came to an end, Kano and McGiffert both realized it was time to retire.
“There was such a huge chapter of our life that was gymnastics,” said McGiffert. “There comes a time where you get to the highest point you can reach and you need to move on.”
With their days practicing in the gym long gone, Alisa and Natalie moved on to Loyola, refusing to grab the opportunity to perform with their teammates on the Kellogg’s Tour, which is a national tour that features various elements from both artistic and rhythmic gymnastics disciplines.
“You need to discipline yourself with the transition,” Alisa explained. “Being a gymnast, we never had any homework. Homework and studying is a lot different than training.”
Both athletes have gone through massive changes for the sake of the sport. They both recalled the adversity they’ve gone through when they decided to compete at a professional level.
“We’ve made a lot of sacrifices. I moved from New York and [Natalia] moved from California. We changed our whole lives to come to Chicago and train for the team,” told Kano. “It was a big change in my life.”
McGiffert expressed her excitement now she has a lot more free time to spend. She’s looking forward to making plans with her friends and not having to work them in around her hectic training schedule.
Kano, currently a psychology major, said she’s looking forward to having a professional career in physical therapy. McGiffert haven’t decided yet which course to take, but she plans to pursue a major in social work. Despite not having any plans to come back to their athletic careers, they still plan to return to visit their old gym.
Both gymnasts plan to make the same approach on their academics as what they did on their gymnastics training – with determination and focus.
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