Galaxy Gymnastics host Olympic watch party
Go for Gold!
MARYLAND – The Olympics are here, and it’s predicted that over 34 million people will tune in to watch the 2024 Games in Paris. A local gym was one of those million today, hosting a watch party in Salisbury to view the Women’s Gymnastics All-Around Finals.
Watch Party
Owner of Galaxy Gymnastics, Chelsea Lahey says many aspire to win big in this field. She thought having an Olympics watch party was a perfect idea, and she says at her gym, she starts making dreams happen at virtually any age. “Just to see their hard work and dedication, and watch it play out on TV is so exciting… So, we take them as soon as they can walk so usually right around a year, and then we actually have adult gymnastics too, so we have somebody who’s 54.”
Aspiring Gymnast
That’s exactly what she’s done with 12 years old Mariah Rodriquez-Harris and Scarlett East. Both have been here over 6 years and enjoy the comradery, but mainly, they just like to have fun. “I like how everybody here is supportive, and I have a lot of friends here,” says Mariah.
Scarlett, who’s tuning 13, says she has won numerous awards and was so excited to show us her favorite moves. “I love seeing my friends, but I also like love doing upgrades like into the pit and off bars and stuff… My favorite move is, well I have two, A back handspring- back handspring- full off beam, and then a giant double back off bars.”
Even the youngest gymnast, 4-year- old Wynnie Jones, says she likes to do bridge kick overs. She tells us why she wants to go for gold, “Because I want to be on tv!”
Life Lessons
Chelsea says she absolutely loves what she does, but it’s the lesson that she teaches that matters the most. “We are competitive, but I think most importantly it’s teaching the girls work ethic, discipline, responsibility, and then, just being kind, determined, and really good humans.” And you never know, she may even be training the next Olympic gold medalist, “I don’t know! maybe some college scholarships that would be great.”
The young gymnast continued their watch party and rooted for Simone Biles and Suni Lee both representing the USA. Ultimately, Simone Biles took home the gold medal in the women’s gymnastics all around finals, and Suni Lee walked away with the bronze.
Maloney’s Medal
Speaking of medals, Salisbury is actually home to an Olympic champion. Bronze medalist Kristen Maloney is serving as a mentor for the athletes at galaxy gymnastics.
Almost 25 years ago, Kristen competed in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia when she was only 19 years old. Besides the fact she has a move named after her that people still do today, she won the Bronze with her team for their overall accomplishments. She brought the medal to the watch party to share with the young athletes. Although she no longer competes, Maloney says she is glad to be an inspiration to the next generation.
“I have a move on bars named after me called “The Maloney”, a lot of the girls still do it now. It’s a toe shoot to handstand, you travel over the low bar, and you catch the high bar… It’s really nice to see girls still in the sport of gymnastics and working hard and loving it, and just doing the best that they can.”
Maloney says she does a lot of choreography and coaching at the gym, and at Galaxy Gymnastics she encourages all kids to aim for the starts.
