Omann loves gymnastics and the challenge it brings

Sophomore gymnast Katie Omann said even after 16 years, she still loves coming to the gym and working hard.

Mostly, she said she loves it because the sport is constantly challenging. Once one skill has been mastered, there’s always another one out there that she can move up to.

“It’s not easy, but it’s worth it,” she said.

“I think the most challenging thing [about gymnastics] is being so multi-faceted,” Omann said. “Bars are so different from beam which is so different from floor. You have to be powerful, graceful. You have to be so many things to be a great gymnast.”

Omann started doing gymnastics when she was 4 years old after her dad put her in a gymnastics class.

At first, she said, it was just for fun, but around age 8 or 9, Omann said she started getting more serious about gymnastics.

After that, it was simply a matter of deciding if gymnastics was worth sacrificing a couple high school football games, dances or hanging out with her friends to spend time working in the gym.

“You do make a lot of sacrifices,” the Minnesota native said. “At the time, it was really hard, but now, looking back, I’m really glad that I did it.

“I get to do this. Now I’m the one that’s traveling and doing all this. It’s paid off 10-fold.”

During high school, Omann said she never really reached her full potential. She said Utah State really had to take a chance on her – something she said she was grateful for.

“They just saw my desire to better myself as a gymnast and a person,” she said. “I wasn’t a top recruit. I was surprised and happy when they asked me to come on the team … mostly surprised.”

Although she said she is 20, and a little old to be hitting her full potential, Omann said she’s glad she has made it.

One thing Omann said keeps her going in gymnastics is the fact that she doesn’t give the sport everything she has.

That isn’t to say she doesn’t try her hardest, but she said that she has to save something for herself.

“If you give everything to gymnastics, if that isn’t going well, then everything kind of falls apart,” she said. “You need to have other things you can fall back on. Your friends, your family – other things you enjoy. Your identity can’t be entirely with your sport.”

Outside gymnastics, Omann said she likes to do a lot of things.

From riding a bike and listening to music like Fleetwood Mac to golfing, Omann said she has a lot of things that help her keep going.

As for the future, Omann said she has never planned on going any further in gymnastics.

“I never really thought I was going to the Olympics,” she said. “I’m satisfied with where I am.”

-aedmunds@cc.usu.edu

Aggie Katie Omann runs onto the floor at the beginning of a meet earlier this season.

Utah State Katie Omann performs the floor routine in a match against BYU earlier this season.