Marisa Dick of St. Albert made history as the first female gymnast to represent Trinidad and Tobago at the Olympics.
Dick, who has dual Canadian/Trinidad and Tobago citizenship, placed 55th in the individual all-around qualification with a score of 50.832 at the Rio 2016 Summer Games.
“I want to represent Trinidad and Tobago again in the next Olympics in four years and for now I am hoping to make it next to the world championships,” said Dick in a story published Monday in the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian.
Her results included 13.900 on vault, 13.066 on balance beam, 12.533 on floor and 11.333 on uneven bars.
“It went really well. It sucks to end on bars but I landed my mount on the beam so I am super excited and happy. I will take a lot from this experience,” said Dick of her performance at the Barra Olympic Park in Rio de Janerio. “I was nervous at the start, since this is the Olympics, but then the support of the crowd and atmosphere made me feel welcome.”
Dick, 19, also showed off her signature move on the beam that is in the sport’s Code of Points bearing her last name. The Ortona Gymnastics Club athlete uses a springboard to launch herself into the air and lands on the beam in a perfect split.
Dick unveiled the move at the 2015 world championships in Glasgow, Scotland and placed 74 on beam at 13.000 and 77th all-around at 51.499.
Thema Williams, the other Trinidad and Tobago gymnast at worlds, placed 59th overall at 52.466.
The Trinidad and Tobago Gymnastics Federation had one spot available in artistic gymnastics at the Olympics and Williams, 20, was the front-runner based on her performance at worlds.
However, at the Olympic test event in April in Rio, the federation withdrew Williams from the final Olympic qualifier on the eve of the competition because of an injured ankle. The federation described it as an emergency decision and Williams, who was in Rio training for the test event, was replaced by Dick.
The Paul Kane High School alumna was summoned from Fort McMurray, where she was slated to participate in the Alberta championships at the start of the weekend. The whirlwind journey to Rio ended with Dick landing in Brazil on Sunday morning and five hours later was at the test event.
Williams’ legal team disputed the allegations over the seriousness of the injury and launch an appeal for reinstatement but was unsuccessful.
Dick placed 55th, despite jet lag, in her qualifying round to secure an Olympic berth.
Controversy erupted in the Caribbean country through published reports and social media over Dick’s replacement of the homegrown Williams at the test event.
Four years ago, Dick made the decision to accept the invitation to represent Trinidad and Tobago in gymnastics.
After the test event at a press conference in Trinidad and Tobago, Dick was accompanied by five police officers. In attendance was her mom, Hannifer, who was born in Trinidad and Tobago. The police presence, according to Wired868, was in response to alleged death threats against Dick.
In early May, the Gazette reached out to the Dick camp for an interview request with the gymnast and information surrounding the test event, but was referred to Anita Pelletier, an Ortona coach.
“All interviews must be approved by the TTGF. In order to proceed I need to know your potential storyline as well as the questions you will ask of Marisa and her team,” Pelletier said in an email to the Gazette.
Meanwhile, last month the Toronto Star reported Williams was pursuing legal action against the federation, arguing a contractual agreement was breached when it withdrew the gymnast from the test event at the last minute.
In Monday’s story in the Guardian, Dick thanked the people of Trinidad and Tobago for their support despite the controversy in the country surrounding her replacement of Williams.
“I tried to put everything behind me and concentrate on my goal to perform and I am very pleased that I could do that (at the Olympics). Now it is back to the drawing board to work on improving. It is all about learning from this,” Dick said. “Let me also thank Thema for standing behind me and supporting me and giving me her best wishes. That meant lot.”
