Never Give Up

• Jade Sheldon, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2018

You Can Do It! My coach kept cheering before my uneven bar event. My hands were shaking like an earthquake, my mind was blurry and my head felt heavy. What if I missed the bar? I subconsciously thought in my head.
My whole body was aching but I kept pushing through my routine so I would finish. This was my final practice before I competed in the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

I was the second gymnast to perform. The first was a girl called Nellie Kim. She had astonishing brown hair that was as long as a skyscraper, her leotard was an amazing ruby colour and it was covered in shiny, dazzling jewels. I was wearing a white leotard that had red, yellow and blue striped on the sleeve. I was representing my country, Romania. I was extremely nervous. She had aced her beam routine and seemed really good at bars. What if she beat me?

When I was younger, bars was my worst apparatus. I would always miss the bar or not be able to do a skill because I was too scared. Now I was the best and there was nothing stopping me. I was going to earn that gold medal and make myself, my coach and my country proud.

I was now called to perform uneven bars. Butterflies started to fill my stomach, my hands became really tense and sweat was running down forehead. Everyone in the stadiums were cheering for me. My fans, my coach and most importantly my parents. They were the most supportive through this journey. I had nearly quit dozens of times but they kept motivating me to keep on pushing through. Without them, I wouldn't be here today.

My coach and I nervously walked up to the bars. I was the most excited I've ever been, I had never done anything like this. I reached for the bar, I did a cast, back hip circle .... toe-shoot, dismount. I had perfectly landed. SUCCESS! I had finished my routine flawlessly. I stopped breathing for so long, I was waiting to read my results.

All of a sudden my coach started jumping up and down, he had the biggest smile on his face. I read my results, I got a perfect 10. I was the first artistic women's gymnast to get a perfect 10 at the olympics. My coach ran up to me and cheered "Never Give Up!".