Local Gymnasts Medal at Nationals

AlexisGaulin and Maria Fabiano wearing National uniforms

Go out there and break a leg tonight. Put on a good show! That is what they say to actors for good luck before a big performance. But break a foot just before a National gymnastics competition is not suppose to be how you tumble.

That is exactly what happened to one local gymnast who had her sights set on the big prize at a National gymnastics meet.

Despite the setback, this gymnast and her very competitive teammate, were able to travel to Florida and represent Massachusetts and bring back some National medals.

Alexis Gaulin, 10, of Plainville and Maria Fabiano, 12, of Wrentham, both had won a place on the Level 7 Massachusetts gymnastics team. They had earned their spot on the 6-member team by capturing the highest all-around scores at the Judges Cup Challenge at Shrewsbury High School.

At the National Judges Cup gymnastics event held Jan 5 in Daytona Beach, Florida, Gaulin, a 5th grader at the Beatrice H. Wood Elementary School in Plainville, hit on all four events during the Team Challenge.
 

Gaulin on the beam.

In particular her beam performance was superior. Her flawless tick-tock backhandspring on the beam earned her a spot in the top 10 in the competition and a 10th place National medal. Her all-around score of 36.9 earned her a 10th place all-around National medal. This was an outstanding accomplishment for a gymnast at her first ever National event. Gaulin is also now ranked in the top 100 in America of Level 7 gymnasts, according to www.mymeetscore.com.

Fabiano, a 6th grader at the Roderick Elementary School in Wrentham, broke her foot at practice Christmas eve, just 12 days before the competition. She had to pull out of the Team Challenge but still managed to compete in an Individual bars event at the National competition.
 

Fabiano on the bars.

It might not have been as exciting as when 1996 Olympian Kerri Strug vaulted with a broken ankle and had to be carried to the podium to get her gold medal, but Fabiano, broken foot and all, managed to do her entire bar routine and stick her fly-a-way dismount. This earned her a third place medal in the Individual bars event at Nationals.
 
Gaulin heads to New York City and Texas for her next big competitions. In fact, the meet in Texas will be hosted by WOGA, the gym owned by Valeri Liukin the father and coach of 2008 Olympic champion Nastia Liukin. Fabiano will be on the mend with her broken foot and hopes to be back competing in March.
 
Both girls are teammates at the New England Sports Academy in Westwood (NESA). They are coached by Janie Murakovskaya. 

(submitted)