Isaiah Wong returns to westerns for the second year in a row but this time as a provincial champion.
The Dynamyx Gymnastics Club athlete finished first all-around in the men's 13-and-over Level 4 category as the top performer on floor, parallel bars and rings and placed third in high bar at provincials recently in Lethbridge.
"I'm pretty proud," Wong said prior to Monday's training session at the St. Albert facility in Campbell Business Park. "It's very gratifying. It shows the hard work is paying off."
Wong, 15, had earlier qualified for westerns this weekend in Okotoks through a series of competitions to determine the eight Team Alberta reps.
The second-year Level 4 gymnast described last year's performance at westerns as "not that great" but has high hopes for a stronger showing.
"I didn't make it to any of the finals but I thought I did all right at the time. The competition is a lot higher than you're used to," said the Grade 10 Ross Sheppard High School student. "My goal for westerns is just do the best I can to represent my province and my gym and my coach."
Another goal for Wong is "not to fall" during his routines. He would also like to place in rings, his best event.
"Rings are definitely his thing," said Wong's coach, Kelly Baird. "He's got a move in his rings' routine that's called an Iron Cross that I don't think anyone does in provincial four.
"He is the strongest kid you will ever see, just phenomenal strength. He loves the strength training," she added. "His strength has definitely increased in the last year training for level four and putting new things in (like the Iron Cross) he has enough strength to get through it."
Wong recently added the Iron Cross to his routine and was surprised he pulled it off at provincials.
"With it being a recent change you're not really expected to master it right away," he said. "I started working on that at the beginning of the year actually, not really thinking about putting it in my routine really right away. I did it because I enjoyed it and thought it looked cool and also to build strength too.
"It just shows that you put in the hard work and then the strengthening pays off."
Wong was surprised "a little bit" by his success at provincials.
"Throughout other competitions you see guys and you're watching them and they're skilled and then you try and compare yourself to them," he said. "You just have to try and have a good time. You can't really focus so much on results. You just focus on yourself and that's what I tried to do."
Wong has been working overtime to sharpen his skills on pommel horse but it's been a rough ride at times.
"I'm doing all right but it's nothing too crazy," said the member of the Dynamyx competitive program for more than five years.
Baird is encouraged by the direction Wong is headed in the sport.
"Isaiah is a dedicated athlete. He's also been to worlds in kung fu so he trains in two different sports disciplines," she said.
"He finally mastered the pommel because now he gets to actually compete on a pummel. Before in level three they just use a mushroom so it makes a big difference to the boys when they have to swing over top of something like that.
"On the parallel bars there is a lot of swing and handstand movement and he's got a lot of control in his handstand.
"He has a new vault this year and some new stuff in his floor routine and it's really coming together.
"Overall he is doing very well."
Provincial results
The following Dynamyx gymnasts also competed at provincials:
Keely Mazzolini – P4 open: gold on beam and bronze on vault and floor; fourth all-around.
Emma Gould – P4 open: tied for silver on beam; eighth all-around.
Alysha Iskiw – P4 tyro: gold on vault; eighth all-around.
Emily Pilat – P5 novice: silver on floor.
Makenna Benedict – P2 tyro: silver on vault; fifth all-around.
Reagan Leonard – P2 tyro: silver on beam.
Sam Lefebvre – men's U10 Level 1: tied for bronze on parallel bars.
Ben Laycock – men's U12 Level 2: bronze on floor.
Rylan Wagner – men's U13 Level 3: gold on rings; seventh all-around.
