‘Beam Queen’ Samantha Couture overcomes foot pain, jet lag to win 2nd international medal of 2024

By Dan Plouffe

The Tumblers Gymnastics Centre’s “Beam Queen” added another jewel to her ever-growing collection at the Tournoi International meet in Combs la Ville, France.

Samantha Couture’s bronze medal in the junior women’s balance beam event final was the crowning moment of the Nov. 9-10 international competition, which had its ups and downs.

“Jet lag was kind of hard,” signals the 14-year-old. “The first day was really rough.”

Alongside Tumblers coach Anic Bellerose, Couture took an overnight flight from Canada to France. They landed in Paris in their morning and decided it would be best to stay up all day, so they did a bleary-eyed tour of the City of Light before settling in for the competition in the southeast corner of metropolitan Paris. The next day, Couture was back in the gym.

“It was a big experience for that type of training, when you’re really tired and exhausted and you need to perform,” notes Bellerose.

The following day included official training in the competition gym, and come competition day, Couture felt adjusted from the travel. But a sore foot was bothering her, which proved especially difficult to manage without any team physiotherapists on site.

“We had to talk to each other and trust each other and make sure that she was going to be able to compete,” Bellerose recounts. “That was a big challenge, but she managed the pain and was able to go through and take to the beam in the final, even though her foot was hurting.”

The Paris competition was Couture’s second time representing Canada in Europe this year, having earned a silver medal at a March international meet in Germany. That medal came from her signature balance beam event as well, which she later followed up with a national junior beam bronze medal.

“We call her the ‘Beam Queen’ here at the gym,” smiles Bellerose.

Balance beam is usually the hardest event for young athletes to excel in, adds the coach of 20+ years, given there is such a small margin for error without falling off, but that offers no nuisance to Couture.

“She always hits her beam routine, which is fantastic for her age,” Bellerose indicates. “She has a really high starting value, and then she doesn’t fall. It makes her special on beam for sure.”

Athletes can often struggle to replicate what they do in the gym come competition time, but Couture manages to stay calm, in the zone, and in her own bubble.

“I do exercises in the gym, and I just focus on my skills to do them one at a time,” explains Couture, a Grade 9 (secondaire 3) student at Nicolas-Gatineau high school.

The event in France provided a different level of stress than usual, she notes, because instead of many gymnasts competing on various apparatuses at the same time, they went one at a time come the balance beam event final.

“It’s a lot of pressure,” Bellerose underlines. “All the lights are on her, she’s on her own on the beam, and all the fans in the stands are just looking at her.”

Undeterred, Couture was one of only three athletes to score above 12 points, taking third place out of 27 total entries from USA, Italy, Belgium, Romania, South Korea, Argentina, Switzerland and host France.

“I was really happy,” says Couture, who competed alongside two older Canadian teammates and placed 16th in the all-around standings.

She also felt “very proud” to represent Canada and get a full set of fancy Team Canada gear for the first time.

Mackenzie Grant from Edge Gymnastics in Kanata was also part of the Canadian contingent. The 2024 Canadian novice women’s champion placed 35th all-around in the novice event, with a best finish of 11th on vault.

Both local athletes were selected to attend the meet following a Gymnastics Canada training camp in August.

The French event was a self-funded trip, but Couture’s next big goal is to earn a place on the national team in 2025, which she could do with a strong performance at February’s Elite Canada event in Markham.

Couture also has her eye on making her first Canadian international championships team come next summer’s Pan American juniors.

There is plenty on her schedule before then. The first order of business was ensuring her foot was back to health, so she’s focused on conditioning and flexibility since her return from France to reduce impact.

With peak competitions usually starting in January and February, Couture performed essentially the same routines she had last season in France, with some added consistency. But she plans to debut new skills at a Burlington meet on the Dec. 7 weekend in pursuit of having maximum start values in all her events.

Then comes a Dec. 16 trip to the Bahamas for an invitational competition alongside a 30-athlete strong Tumblers contingent. Couture will be joined by her three sisters, who regularly get a ride over to Tumblers Gymnastics Centre in Orleans from coaches who also live in Gatineau, for the Caribbean trip (but not their unlucky parents).

Several more local gymnasts also booked trips to sunny destinations thanks to their performances at Gymnastics Ontario’s Nov. 8-11 Tour Selection meet in Orangeville.

The Ottawa Gymnastics Centre’s Alexandra Reddick, who recently committed to attending Central Michigan University on scholarship, will be headed to the Simone Biles Invitational from Jan. 30-Feb. 2 in Houston, TX, along with a pair of Nepean-Corona School of Gymnastics athletes.

Reddick will be on Ontario’s Level 10, Age 16+ team, while Corona’s Shanae Emmanuel will be part of the Level 10, Age 12-15 squad and Mia Vega will compete in Level 6.