How Nyla Morabito excels despite the odds

After an open-heart surgery at 8 months old, doctors warned Nyla Morabito’s parents to prepare for a lifetime of limitations full of hospital visits. Talk about pacemakers, transplants and two more open heart surgeries plagued the family’s mind. Despite such hardship at a young age, once Morabito began to recover, she was full of energy.  

In order to keep her heart healthy, her parents looked for something for her to channel her vitality into. Doctor’s orders stated any sport needed to be individual, no contact, no blows to the chest and no pushing. This is how Asia Morabito, Nyla’s mother, settled on gymnastics.  

Asia started taking her daughter to a Wednesday night open gym in Welland, their hometown in Ontario, Canada. What began as a weekly activity for Morabito’s health gradually blossomed into something more, beginning when the owner of the club recommended putting her in classes for the winter season.  

Morabito recalled her earliest memory surrounding gymnastics being in that gym.  

“We had this competition for the younger girls called ‘Mini Olympics,’” Morabito said. “We got a gold sticker for each event, and I got a gold sticker for all of them. I think that was my first gold sticker. I was really excited.”  

Nyla Morabito flips high into the air during her floor routine at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Jan. 10.

One night during practice, Asia was approached by her daughter’s coach, who recommended putting Morabito into their pre-competitive group.  

“They were like, ‘Listen, she is, in her body and her mind, a gymnast,’” Asia said. “I don’t know how you could see that. She was only 4 at the time.”  

For one session, they decided to give the group a try. Morabito was with older girls, but they were the youngest age group that could compete. She ended up excelling and surpassing expectations year after year. Because she got along with her coach so well, she followed her to a new studio in Niagara Falls, a big change from their small town.  

Morabito required annual checkups for her heart, and at each appointment, doctors raved about how healthy she was. They told her parents to keep up with exactly what they were doing, especially with her diet and exercise. Her echoes and ultrasounds looked better at each appointment.  

“She just kept excelling as time went on. But every year, it’s kind of scary because you never know when you go back to the doctor’s if that’s the time she’ll need the second open heart surgery,” Asia said. “It was difficult at times.”  

At a competition when she was in level eight, the director for Gymnastics Canada approached her parents, questioning why she wasn’t in the national program. After trying out for the national team, she was invited to compete at Elite Canada.  

Morabito jumped from level eight to the national program and was immediately successful there.  

Starting around 8 years old, she found herself visiting other countries without her parents and getting to train with American Olympic gymnasts such as McKayla Maroney and Ragan Smith. At 10 years old, she competed for Canada’s national team in France and Belgium.  

“I’m used to traveling and not having my parents or traveling alone with my coaches. I’ve always been more independent in that way,” Morabito said. “Coming from Canada and being on my own for the first time wasn’t a dramatic change for me, but it’s been really fun.”  

Nyla Morabito is seen on the balance beam during the USU Gymnastics Blue and White meet in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Dec. 15, 2025. (Dane Johnson/The Utah Statesman)

Her mother shared her sentiments, noting Morabito being far away now doesn’t feel any different than it did when she was younger. Asia mentioned many people were eager to figure out where her daughter would go to school and asked if her parents would try to push her toward a specific college.  

“She’s the one that’s gotten herself this far, and we don’t want to be the ones to force her to go somewhere that she doesn’t want to be,” Asia said. “This is her opportunity. This is her choice. Nyla always wanted to come and make a difference by accelerating the program and bringing it to a different level.” 

According to Asia, Morabito remains an inspiration not only in gymnastics but also for families who are dealing with similar medical issues. Because her parents were told not to expect a very good quality of life for her, having a healthy and extremely athletically talented daughter was more than they could have hoped for. 

During Morabito’s sophomore year from 2024-25, her 9.807 vault average ranked the No. 11 highest in the program’s history. Despite the records Morabito has broken and her continued improvement, Asia said her daughter remains incredibly humble.  

Highway 89 entering Logan hosts a billboard for USU spring sports, and Morabito is featured on it, another proud moment for her family.  

“Our city is similar to Logan and has a small-town feel. When Nyla does anything down there, there’s a whole village behind her because they’ve all supported her over the years,” Asia said.  

When thinking about her biggest supporters, Morabito said her parents were the first to come to mind. Not only were they the ones who put her in gymnastics as a child, but they’ve continued to be by her side every step of the way.  

“Through all of the hard times, whether it was not wanting to continue the sport or having a bad day at gymnastics, they’re always reminding me how talented I am and why I’m doing what I do,” Morabito said. “I’m so grateful to them because now I’m living my dream of being a Division I gymnast and being at an amazing university with the best team and coaches.”

Morabito finds inspiration in her parents, and they are inspired by her in turn. If not found within a year, there is a 90% mortality rate for her condition. It was discovered at 7 months old. Her parents were told that she would need to stay in the ICU for months, but it ended up only being two weeks.  

JACK LEWIS BURTON

Nyla Morabito finishes her floor routine at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Jan. 10.

“I always felt that since the day she was born, she was special,” Asia said. “There’s just something about her that she was meant to do something great. Because of her heart surgery, all the odds were against her. Because of that, I think she can do anything that she puts her mind to.” 

Even at 10 years old, Morabito was training almost 40 hours a week all on her own accord. Asia recalled a family trip to Marineland of Canada, a zoo and amusement park in Niagara Falls.  Having recently learned how to do a cartwheel, Morabito cartwheeled from the exit of the park all the way to the parking lot. That’s when Asia said she realized that gymnastics was truly her daughter’s passion in life. 

Near the end of Morabito’s sophomore year, she ruptured her Achilles tendon. That was her first season-ending injury, which she cites as one of the moments that changed her the most as a gymnast. She was able to gain a greater appreciation for the body and gymnastics as a whole.  

Kristin White has been USU’s head gymnastics coach since May of 2022. She was there with Morabito through the injury and the difficulties it caused.  

“There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes for Nyla, she’s been through a lot more than a lot of people know,” White said. “She’s persevered her entire life. I’m really looking forward to her having another comeback year, especially with the way that her season ended last year.”  

Every year on Nov. 23, Morabito’s family celebrates the day she had her open-heart surgery. Her family continues to push her to wear her scar with pride and use it as a reminder of how far she’s come.  

At her first competition at 8 years old, while competing with girls five years her senior, Morabito’s parents recalled how small she looked comparatively. Instead of being intimidated, she put her hands on her hips in a Superman-like pose. Aggies who make it to a meet may notice she still stands this way. 

“If you put your mind to what you want to achieve, you can do it. Despite my heart surgery, and being eight months post-operation from my Achilles, I’m back 100%,” Morabito said. “Don’t let someone tell you what you can or can’t do. Always push yourself. If you want to do it, you can.”