The way Minnesota gymnastics was represented at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics was both illustrative and utterly unlikely: St. Paul's Suni Lee, Isanti's Grace McCollum and Spring Park's Shane Wiskas were three of eight gymnasts on the U.S. men's and women's national teams.
“We all noticed that about 40 percent of the last Olympic team came from three different clubs in this area,” said Mike Hanger, founder of Twin City Twisters (TCT), where McCallum trained. “That was pretty surprising and pretty odd. … But this isn't something that's just happening recently. We've always been good at developing top-level athletes.”
The nation's top gymnasts are now gathering in Minneapolis.
Over the next nine days, the Target Center and Convention Center will host a series of major events leading up to the Paris Olympics, including the U.S. Olympic Women's and Men's Gymnastics Trials, national championships in rhythmic, trampoline, tumbling and acrobatic gymnastics, the USA Gymnastics National Conference and Trade Show and USA Gymnastics' GymFest.
This will be the first time all of these events have been held in one city, and because of the scale of the event, organizers have dubbed Minneapolis “USA Gymnastics City.”
This undeniable marketing speaks to a deeper truth.
Minnesota is one of the premier gymnastics development centers in the United States, a reputation built over the past few decades by the clubs, coaches and gymnasts it has produced.
John Roethlisberger, a three-time Olympian who won three NCAA overall championships with the University of Minnesota Gophers in the 1990s and now works as a television announcer, covering preliminaries and championships, said Minnesota has found its place in the national conversation.
“I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that Minnesota is one of the leading gymnastics states in the country,” he said. “Texas is well known for its club programs and, obviously, producing top-tier gymnasts, but I think Minnesota is pretty special when it comes to the sport.”
He made a statement echoed by coaches and club owners across the state. There's something about Minnesota's physique that pairs perfectly with what it takes to be a top gymnast.
“It has to be tough for a kid to get up and stand at the bus stop in 10-degree weather every day, and it has to be tough to get in the car to go to work, and it's cold and your spine hurts, and you do it anyway,” Roethlisberger says. “In Minnesota, you just have to work hard. You get up and you put in the effort. That's what it takes to be a gymnast.”
Developing excellent human resources
In gymnastics, there are certain designations that determine what routines an athlete can attempt: levels 1 through 10, then elite. If you want to be an Olympian, you need to train at the elite level.
Level 10 gymnasts are incredible, some of them college All-Americans, but elite training is different. It can require 30 hours of gymnastics per week, starting at a very young age, and there is no off-season. Gymnastics is a sport that never lets you slow down, mentally or physically.
While Minnesota has produced some of the best gymnasts over the years (Roethlisberger's sister Marie was an alternate at the 1984 Olympics, and Coon Rapids native Rhonda Fehn was an alternate in 1988), many point to the addition of Little Canada native Maggie Nichols as the dividing line that put the state in a unique position.
Nichols was a star athlete on the U.S. national team in 2014 and 2015, but finished sixth in the all-around at the Olympic Trials and was not selected for the national team for the 2016 Olympics. She retired from elite competition and went on to become one of the most decorated collegiate gymnasts of all time at the University of Oklahoma.
Nichols, like McCollum and Roethlisberger, trained with the Twin City Twisters.
Lori Roskoski, co-owner of Flips Gymnastics in White Bear Lake and a former University of Minnesota gymnast, said Twin City Twisters has become a model for training elite gymnasts in Minnesota, and others are joining the effort.
“There are about 55 to 60 private gymnastics clubs in Minnesota, including Flips, TCT and Midwest. [Gymnastics]”These are three teams that are developing elite-level gymnasts,” Roskoski said. “And that's very difficult — finding these kids at a young age, seeing their natural flexibility and strength, and starting to develop them.”
Suddenly, development was exploding in Minnesota, with former Gopher Whiskus training with Mini Hops in Plymouth and Lee coached by Jess and Jeff Grubba at Midwest Gymnastics in Little Canada.
Roskoski said the competition between the clubs is healthy and supportive. The rivalry is intense, but there are hugs at games. “The competition is intense, and I learned that it's really hard to be one of the best kids in the state,” said Jeff Grubba, now head coach at Auburn University.
All of these clubs serve a huge number of Minnesotans: Flips and Midwest currently instruct about 1,200 students, and Twin City Twisters instructs about 2,000 students.
Champlin's TCT gym is highly organized and visually dazzling. Toddlers do their first somersaults in a side room. In the main gym, elite and college-level athletes bounce on mats and twist bars in acrobatic experiments. Trampolinists float 30 feet in the air before spinning back down to the ground.
Club co-owner Steve Hafeman said Minnesota gymnastics' growing reputation is spreading throughout the region.
“Some of our elite athletes aren't from this area,” he said. “They come here and see the culture of the gym, and they fit in because that's the way they do things. But at other gyms, that's not the norm. That seems to be a real draw for kids coming here from other states.”
“Ordinary” people become extraordinary
Culture and work ethic are crucial to Minnesota gymnastics' identity, but it's impossible to quantify the impact of individual gymnasts like Olympic gold medalists Lee, McCollum, Nichols and Wiskas, whose drive is instilled in every kid who trains in Minnesota.
“Maggie Nichols is a great example. She's very approachable and really good with the kids,” Jess Grubba said. “Suni does a great job in our gym too. She's just normal. Walking through the lobby. … Not doing anything fancy, falling over, messing around. That's what I want to show the other kids.”
“You're just an ordinary person, but you've done extraordinary things,” Graba continued, “because you've tried so hard.”
The next nine days will provide Minnesotans with ample opportunity to see an incredible level of gymnastics, with Lee and Wiskas getting the chance to compete on home soil for a spot in the Paris Olympics.
“I think it's the best sporting event you can watch outside of the Olympics,” Roethlisberger said.
But gymnastics officials here don't see this as a coronation, but rather as a timely recognition: The club is full, and more top talent is on the way.
“It's an honor to be here and be recognized as a coach and have the players here,” Roskoski said, “It shows they understand Minnesota is on the same level as any of the elite gyms in the country. They know we can still produce great things.”
Star Tribune reporter Rachel Brandt contributed to this report.
