Less than two weeks until Finding Our Balance is available to own! To celebrate, I have a little contest for y’all.
Below, you’ll find a quote from the book where my main character, Amalia, competes her bar routine at the American Open (my version of the U.S. Classic). Some of my character’s routines are routines I made up…like Amalia’s beam routine. With others, like this bar routine, I had real-life gymnasts’ routines in mind because they were perfect fits for my fake athletes.
Reading the description of Amalia’s bars below, if you can name the actual living breathing human gymnast from whom I stole borrowed this routine, you will win a copy of the print book! I have 5 copies available and if more than 5 of you get it right, I’ll draw the winners at random.
Ready? Here’s the routine! Hint – the currently-competing gymnast performed this routine in the past, not in 2015.
Big, deep breath, and I jump into my glide kip mount. Maloney to pak, no problem, I can do this in my sleep. But now for the test. I kip cast out of the pak, and then pike down through my next swing, gritting my teeth before letting go. I rebound up to the high bar, squeezing my legs together as hard as I possibly can while pointing the crap out of my toes. When it’s time, I twist to my left and spot the chalky white fiberglass bar, hands outstretched and ready to catch. Bam, right in the sweet spot, not too close, not too far. My skill anxiety subsides and I am focused and fluid for the rest of the routine: toe full to Gienger, giant half to front giant to Markelov, toe-on to handstand, and then finally the giant half to front giant right into my dismount, a double front tuck.
I take a tiny step forward to steady myself, feel my body absorb into the mat, and then hop my feet together before saluting to the judges, a big smile on my face.
Which real life senior international elite gymnast competes this routine? Enter your name, email, and answer in the box below! Good luck!
Thanks everyone! You have until Monday December 7 at noon EST to answer.
Lauren Hopkins 