By Mat Labranche & Dan Plouffe
The sister act of Bella and Catarina Musca followed one another to the podium in back-to-back sessions of Level 7 competition at the April 9-12 Ontario Men’s and Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Windsor.
The Ottawa Gymnastics Centre siblings earned respective all-around gold and silver medals in the Age 10-11 and Age 12-13 categories to highlight a long list of local provincial hardware winners.
“At first I thought there was no way they actually called my name,” recounts Bella, who was consistent on each apparatus, placing 3rd on vault and uneven bars and 5th on floor and balance beam. “Then when I finally realized it was actually me, I just couldn’t believe it.”
Catarina also had no clue that Bella had won, although that was because she was already busy warming up for her competition when her younger sister was receiving her awards. OGC coach Tobie Gorman wound up delivering the unexpected news.
“When I told Cat, she started to do the ‘happy dance,’ she was so incredibly excited for her,” recalls Gorman, noting the sisters show a lot of maturity by training together in the same group and not letting sibling rivalry get the best of them. “They’re just so genuinely happy for each other.”
Being able to count on each other for support can serve as a valuable tool, the Muscas indicate.
“I really think having my sister there did help me do better. She was in the audience for my competition watching and cheering me on,” Bella underlines. “She always helps me out through rough times and it’s just great to have each other there to lean on.”
The Ontario bars gold and beam silver medallist concurs.
“It really helped having my sister there,” echoes Catarina, noting she got a boost from seeing Bella succeed, and that it made her feel more at ease before she took centre-stage herself. “When I need her help, she’ll be there for me, and she knows I’ll be there for her.”
Catarina wound up with another familiar face on the provincial podium as OGC clubmate Suzana Diacomescu earned all-around bronze in the L7, A12-13 division.
“It was amazing having two of us from Ottawa on the podium, and knowing that the whole group did so well,” Catarina adds.
OGC sets new club record
It was a big meet across the board for OGC, highlighted by a pair of champions – Chelsey Louis-Jean (Pre-Novice Aspire) and Logan Lacroix (men’s L1 A10-11).
OGC also placed a club-record six girls, plus four boys, on the Ontario team set to compete at the May 9-10 Eastern Canadian Gymnastics Championships, while several more national-stream athletes qualified for the Canadian Championships.
“The entire weekend was just a blast,” signals Gorman, an OGC coach of 38 years.
OGC wasn’t alone amongst local clubs celebrating success at the provincial level.
Gold and silver all-around medallists Nathanael Teng and Micky Geller from the National Capital Boys’ Gymnastics Academy combined to win 5 of 6 L4, A10-11 events.
“When I heard my name called, it was pretty shocking. I was just so surprised because I wasn’t having my best competition,” details Teng, who struggled with an early high bar dismount but gained a big advantage on the field with his pommel horse victory by a large margin. “I really pulled through (on pommel horse), and that’s what made me succeed.”
Sophie Paquin of the Tumblers Gymnastics Centre sat atop the L9 A14+ standings through three events but a fall on her final apparatus caused her to settle for silver.
“It was so close, but I was still really happy with second place,” Paquin says. “I was proud of all the work I put in and finally had good results in competition.”
A number of local athletes also landed on the podium at the provincial trampoline championships the same weekend in Scarborough.
Spring Action’s Elisabeth von Schoenberg was the women’s Level 1, Age 14+ individual champion, while Les Sittelles’ Nicolas Dessureault won silver in men’s Level 3, Age 15+ and Jasmine Boyer from Spring Action took bronze in women’s Level 2, Age 12-. Spring Action’s Alyssa Greenwell (L2, A15+) and Les Sittelles’ Maxine MacKinnon (L4) were double mini-trampoline champs.
Men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics all-around provincial medallists
GOLD
Bella Musca (Ottawa GC), Level 7 Age 10-11
Chelsey Louis-Jean (OGC), Pre-Novice Aspire
Logan Lacroix (OGC), L1 A10-11
Nathanael Teng (National Capital), L4 A10-11
Eric Gauthier (Tumblers), National Open
SILVER
Catarina Musca (OGC), L7 A12-13
Sophie Paquin (Tumblers), L9 A14+
Isabelle Allan (OGC), L5 A14+
Micky Geller (NC), L4 A10-11
Sam Zakutney (NC), National Jr. HP
BRONZE
Suzana Diacomescu (OGC), L7 A12-13
Sarah Hu (OGC), L9 A12-13
Grace Boxer (OGC), L8 A12-13
Haley Turcotte (OGC), L5 A14+
Robin Tarnocai (Corona), L6 A10
Sebastien Baranyi Nichols (OGC), L3 A14+
Justin Perry (Tumblers), National Open
Benjamin Astorga (OGC), National Novice
Taylor Jackle Spriggs (OGC), National Sr. HP