TCG Rookie Watch: Katelyn Ohashi
Gymnast: Katelyn Ohashi
Country: USA
Recommended by: Megan Pomeroy
Who is she?
Katelyn is a 15-year-old who was born on April 12, 1997, in Seattle, Washington, who flipped onto the junior stage with enormous difficulty and lovely, clean execution. At 4’6”, this little firecracker is one we all should watch for!
Where does she train and with whom?
Katelyn currently trains at WOGA Gymnastics, home of former world and Olympic champions and medalists such as Nastia Liukin, Carly Patterson, Rebecca Bross, and Ivana Hong (Ivana moved to WOGA after the Beijing Games) Her head coach is Valeri Liukin, a former Soviet Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast.
Does she have much competitive experience?
Katelyn has lots of competitive experience. Katelyn’s first elite meet was the 2010 CoverGirl Classic, and since then has performed exceptionally well. Perhaps her most notable competition was the 2011 Visa Championships, where she racked up all-around, beam, bars, and floor titles.
What makes her an exciting prospect?
As Valeri Liukin says, there is no limit for this girl. She has a lot of potential and already has massive difficulty. On beam, her start value with the 2009-2012 code is was a 6.9- that’s higher than most gymnasts in the world. She has a lot of potential on this event and already has some impressive skills, including an Arabian, and a very exciting handspring handspring full twist. McKayla should be impressed with this gal!
When do you think we will get to see her in competition next?
We will definitely see her soon- she most likely will be competing at the WOGA classic, and again at the US Classic and at the National Championships. Katelyn will be a senior very soon, and I am VERY excited to see how she will fare on the senior stage with her other junior-coming-senior friends. I wonder if she’ll have any new, daring upgrades?
What are you hoping she will develop in the coming years?
I hope that with time, she will become one of the best all-around gymnasts we have ever seen. She has so much potential, she could’ve become 2012 Olympic beam champion. She did have some falls this season and trouble on vault, but as she adds more experience and training, she can shine.
What routine of hers should we watch?
Balance beam is Katelyn’s standout- watch those outrageous skills! This video is from the 2012 WOGA Classic- look at that dismount!
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTdxBwuCp6A]
What else do we need to know about her?
Katelyn has nice lines and a stunning toe point. She can be used on beam, floor, and bars for a team and bring in great scores, and assuming she gets her DTY back, on vault. Her only weaknesses are (as of 2012 Visas) vault and consistency. If she is able to avoid burnout, maybe even without any upgrades, this girl can sparkle.
Other Junior and Rookie Watch Gymnast Profiles;
Gabrielle Jupp (GBR) READ
Louise Vanhille (FRA) READ
Tea Ugrin (ITA) READ
Malena Ferrerya (ARG) READ
Roxana Popa (ESP) READ
Tabea Alt (GER) READ
Stefania Stanila (ROM) READ
Eythora Thorsdottir (NED) READ
Bailie Key (USA) READ
Noemi Makra (HUN) READ
Darcy Norman (AUS) READ
Pilar Rubagotti (ITA) READ
Lou Nina (CHI) READ
Charlotte Sullivan (NZL) READ
Chantysha Netteb (NED) READ
Maelys Plessis (FRA) READ
Raisa Batyrova (RUS) READ
Kim Janas (GER) READ
Maria Kharenkova (RUS) READ
Angel Romaeo (GBR/WALES) READ
Lara Mori (ITA) READ
Polina Schennikova (USA) READ
Shallon Olsen (CAN) READ
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11 Comments
Robbie
Finally!!! Thanks for posting this one–I’ve been waiting. Some of the other “up-and-coming” junior posts are less than stellar, such as “Watch out for this girl from [insert country here]. She has a double tuck on floor, a back handspring layout stepout on beam, and a D-score on bars of 4.8. She’s one to watch!” (I don’t mock the gymnasts–simply the people who get excited about them.) Anyway, Katelyn is the real deal.
15 Jan 2013 03:01 pm (@Twitter)
Jg
Ponor came out of nowhere at 15.
At 24 - after a big layoff- she was still learning huge skills.
Sandra Izbasa was a good junior but With her height , few would have expected her to get gold at 22. Who canremember the American girl at Tokyo Junior meet with Sandra ?
On the other hand , the majority of super juniors do not get to such heights .
17 Jan 2013 03:01 am (@Twitter)
Christian
What gymnastics is 'about' really depends on the fan. Personally some of my favourite gymnasts, like Elisabeth Seitz or Rebecca Tunney, probably aren't going to be the next Khorkina but I love their gymnastics and am excited to hear about their achievements. Sure I'm interested in who's going to be the next Cheng Fei or the next Nastia, but I'll get just as much joy from the next Vasiliki Millousi (please, gym gods, make another!). If you only want to read about the 'best of the best' then that's fine, but you're limiting your experience of gymnastics.
16 Jan 2013 08:01 pm (@Twitter)
Robbie
My apologies for anything that came across as "snobbish." And for what it's worth, I too enjoy reading about these gymnasts not from "the Big 4." My point was simply that these are not gymnasts "to watch" in terms of being big names in the next quad. Gymnastics, for good or bad, is currently a sport that rewards big tricks, and those without them will eventually fade into gymnastics obscurity. Katelyn has the potential (knock on wood) to write her name all over gymnastics history.
16 Jan 2013 07:01 am (@Twitter)
Sarah
I can see what you both are saying. I agree that lots of gymnasts deserve recognition for their achievements and I actually enjoy knowing about gymnasts in less talked about countries, but if the purpose of the profiles is to highlight the best of the best for the next quad then gymnasts who can do a double back are one half dozen another. Maybe they will get really good in 4 years and turn that double back into a double double, but for now it is hard to think of them as gymnasts who will be able to compete on the same level as Katelyn Ohashi.
16 Jan 2013 03:01 am (@Twitter)
admin
Yes, Katelyn Ohashi is exceptional. But those girls with double tucks on floor may end up being the most successful gymnast their country ever produced. This may be because they win a World medal, or simply because they once qualified to an AA final. I can't speak for the rest of you, but for me, gymnastics is not all about the best in the world- the biggest skills, the highest D scores, it is about other, equally meaningful achievements, moments and deeds. I honestly think it is snobbish to write off everyone else just because they aren't some insane wunderkind- that is not what Junior Watch is all about. And it does sound like you are mocking these young, incredibly hard working athletes who achieve double tucks on floor without the coaching, the resources and reputation behind them. They deserve our attention too.
15 Jan 2013 10:01 pm
Simone
Katelyn Ohashi is an exceptional talent. Kind of reminds me of a young Shannon Miller with the big tricks in her repertoire at such a young age. I remember at a 1990 meet, one of the commentators said about Shannon – all she really needs to do from here is work on her consistency – implying that she already had the big tricks to be competitive internationally. Katelyn is similar. She may well follow the same path, but I also think that she also needs to be wary of a growth spurt, which will change her centre of gravity and make it hard for her to pull some of those tricks around. That full in dismount was a bit low BTW – love the way Valeri was right onto that.
15 Jan 2013 11:01 pm (@Twitter)
Sarah
That beam dismount actually looked a little scary, very low landing. I hope to see Katelyn on the Olympic team but I hope she is not peaking too soon. I think it is all about peaking at the right time. Hard to sustain being top dog over a number of years.
16 Jan 2013 03:01 am (@Twitter)
Zoe
I hope she doesn’t burn out. She lands quite scarily on her vaults and beam dismounts sometimes. She was definitely better in 2011 than last year. Hopefully she won’t peak too soon…for some reason I see another Rebecca Bross here.
16 Jan 2013 06:01 pm (@Twitter)