For Clara Giardini, of Riverside, the numerous gold medals won by Team USA’s artistic women’s gymnasts at the Paris Summer Olympics are of special interest. Giardini, 11, has been with the Riverside Brookfield Age Group Gymnastics program since she was 3 and on its competitive team since she was 8.
“I like watching Suni Lee’s [uneven parallel] bars routine and Simone Biles’ floor [exercise] routine,” she said.
As the Olympics began, Giardini earned a special medal herself. She finished third on the uneven bars (9.4) in the Level 4 finals at the Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympics, July 27-29 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
“It was my biggest achievement,” said Giardini, who is entering sixth grade at Hauser Junior High School. “It’s such an accomplishment for me because it’s something I had to qualify for and one of the harder things I’ve done.”
RB’s Irene Kaval, 12, of Brookfield and Matilda Yanz, 9, of Riverside also were Level 4 qualifiers for what was the first AAU Junior Olympics (Jos) for gymnastics, Levels 1-7. The trio advanced with top-three finishes in their sessions at AAU nationals, June 19-23 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
“We’re very pleased with the fact three girls made it. We weren’t expecting that,” Riverside Brookfield Age Group director Tammy Cavaliere said.
“It was just a great experience. We’re looking forward to the girls qualifying next year in Houston.”
At JOs, Giardini advanced to the uneven bars finals by being among the top six scores between the two sessions (9.45). She has a rack with numerous medals from previous finishes but is considering a special frame for this one.
“I was excited about doing one of my better routines,” Giardini said.
“My goal going into the JO was doing the best I could do. It is definitely one of the stronger events for me. It’s always been a cool event that I’ve wanted to try harder skills on.”
Giardini (35.90), Yanz (35.875) and Kaval (33.725) were eighth, ninth and 13th overall in Level 4 all-around. Yanz was seventh on uneven bars (9.075), .075 from sixth, and eighth on balance beam (9.2). Giardini and Kaval tied for seventh on floor (9.225), .025 from top-six.
They were accompanied at JOs by head coach Karyn Domzalski and still had time for pizza and pool parties. They also formally met Tatiana Gutsu, the 1992 Summer Olympics all-around champion representing the Unified Team, who now is a club coach. Gutsu signed Giardini’s leotard.
“It was definitely a very special experience. I think having teammates at the competition was fun and made it a really cool memory,” Giardini said.
Riverside Brookfield age group gymnastics feeds into the high school program and runs classes year-round. This includes recreational classes for ages 3 to high school and a competition team that competes locally and travels.
For information on summer drop-in classes or the fall schedule, contact Cavaliere at CavaliereT@rbhs208.net.