By Anna Rose Johnson
Isabela Onyshko is a veteran of the Canadian national team. The 19-year-old made her debut at Worlds in 2014 and went on to qualify to the 2016 Olympic balance beam final, in addition to winning a team silver at the 2015 Pan American Games. Her polished blend of power and flexibility has been a huge asset to the Canadian team in the past several years, and now she’s looking forward to competing at her home World Championships this October in Montreal. We recently caught up with Isabela to discuss her future goals and her training in the lead-up to Worlds.
Originally featured on insidegym.com
Inside Gymnastics: How is your training going?
Isabela Onyshko:My training is going very well. It’s been very nice to have the opportunity to focus on new skills this summer instead of practicing routines, like I have been the past couple of years. It has been making training very exciting.
Inside: What’s your favorite apparatus?
Isabela:I would say that my favorite apparatus is beam.
Inside: Are you working on any upgrades for Worlds?
Isabela:I am working on some upgrades for Worlds on bars, including new connections, and floor. Right now on beam I am working on solidifying my routine.
Inside: What are your goals for the remainder of the year?
Isabela:For the remainder of the year I obviously want to stay healthy and really enjoy my gymnastics. I took about a seven-month hiatus from gymnastics after the Olympics to heal my injuries (wrist and shoulder fracture). Coming back was a much harder process than I thought it would be. However, the process let me rediscover the joy I felt as a little girl doing gymnastics. I want to keep that joy. I also want to have final-worthy performances at this year’s Worlds in Montreal.
Inside: What are your long-term gymnastics goals? Are you aiming for Tokyo 2020?
Isabela:Tokyo 2020 is for sure my long-term goal. After Rio there was no question that I wanted to do another quad and do even better than the last.
Inside: What was it like to be named to the 2017 Worlds team?
Isabela:It was a huge honor and super exciting to be named to the 2017 Worlds team. Like I said, coming back from the Olympics and a couple of months out of the gym took a lot of hard work and it was really gratifying to see that hard work pay off.
Inside: How do you approach a major competition like Worlds now that you’re a seasoned veteran?
Isabela:I will definitely approach major competitions like Worlds with more confidence. I compete best when I am having fun and am not super serious. Now that I have gained some experience at major competitions, I’ll be able to put this behavior into practice.
Inside: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Isabela:I would like to add that I am really excited to compete in front of a home crowd. I love the energy and support that you get.
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Anna Rose Johnson writes about women’s artistic and rhythmic gymnastics. She loves Whippets, brownies, and full-twisting double layouts. Her writing portfolio can be viewed at: https://annarosejohnson.contently.com
