Local Gymnasts Keep Olympics In Their Sights

Its the dream of many young athletes to compete in the Olympics, the younger they start the better chances they have.

Most of the gymnasts at Zanesville Gymnastics started training before they even started kindergarten. Their dedication to the sport exceeds those of athletes twice their age.

"I know a lot of it, they give up a lot. Gymnastics takes up a lot of time. Especially here, school’s starting in a few weeks and it’s back to they’ve got to get up early, go to school all day and they come straight from school, drive directly here and they’re here until eight o’clock at night," said Kaley Pischl, coach at Zanesville Gymnastics.

The trophies lining the walls can prove that all their hard work is paying off. Some girls spend as much as sixteen hours a week in the gym, learning and perfecting their skills. 

"These girls are very dedicated. They actually want to come more hours. Our Level 5’s are only required to come in nine hours and they want to come in twelve hours. All these girls always want to come in and these girls have free time in the gym so they can come in anytime and work out. A lot of these girls do, they’re very dedicated," said Mallory Gardner, Zanesville Gymnastics coach.