Before her perfect 10, UCLA gymnast had to regain joy
LOS ANGELES - Katelyn Ohashi's smile filled her face as she danced across the blue floor; her bob cut bounced with each movement in her now-famous floor routine.
UCLA's gymnasts gravitated toward their 21-year-old senior captain, moving closer as the music blared. They began cheering and dancing behind her. Eyes were glued to her from all directions. Ohashi playfully stuck out her tongue, moving into position for a line of gravity-defying flips.
After she jogged across the mat, the music suddenly cut, bringing the routine to a halt.
It was a month ago, during practice, and coach Valorie Kondos Field was studying Ohashi's movements. The timing was off. Ohashi, Kondos Field said, needed to give herself time to pause before her stunts.
"Katelyn doesn't stop to think," one teammate interjected.
"Yes. She. Does," Kondos Field replied sternly.
The routine wasn't finalized until a few days before Ohashi performed it at the Bruins' season-opening meet Jan. 4. A week later, Ohashi mastered it, earning a perfect 10 at the Collegiate Challenge at the Anaheim Convention Center on Saturday in a display that went
