As the calendar ticks down to the one year mark from the start of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, a Santa Clara gymnast and her coach are hoping to each make history in the global competition.
Gymnast Nola Matthews, 15, has already scratched her name in the record books by becoming the first Bay Area gymnast to win gold at the Pan American Games in Columbia this past spring.
Her coach Cleo Washington has also broken new ground in the sport by becoming the first Black coach of a world champion for her work training gymnast Morgan Hurd in 2017 and 2018.
The pair of history makers are now united in their quest to quality Matthews, a member of the U.S. National Gymnastics Team, for the Olympic trials ahead of next year’s games.
“It’s a little nerve-wracking but it’s exciting,” said Matthew during a training break in Santa Clara’s Airborne Gymnastics, where she’s trained since she was 4 years old. “I’m excited to work for that goal, and yeah, it’s so close.”
Matthews will have an uphill battle as the competition for the five spots on the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team is fierce.
“We don’t talk about it often, but it’s a year out, so," said Washington.
Matthews' pursuit of athletic dreams has come at the cost of a typical childhood. She trains five days a week, missing out on much social interaction and gatherings. There are pain and injuries to constantly overcome. To make way for training, she’s done online schooling since well before the pandemic forced others into virtual learning.
“I was ahead of the game,’” Matthews laughed. “There’s things I missed out, but there’s so many opportunities gymnastics gives me.”
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In a typical training day at Airborne Gymnastics, Matthews spends time working her routine on the balance bar – launching her body into a full aerial flip, deftly landing a precarious touchdown on the 4-inch wide beam. From there, it’s off to work on vaulting, uneven bars and her floor routine.
“She’s in a really good spot right now,” said Washington, looking on as Matthews practiced. “So, we’re just going to do what we can and see where that takes us.”
Gymnastics paved the way for Washington’s own unexpected journey in athletics. Born in Pennsylvania, she spent 10 years competing in gymnastics alongside lacrosse and rowing. She was on her way to medical school to pursue a dream of becoming a doctor when a gymnastics coach called up asking if Washington could help train some gymnasts. She’s now coached for two decades.
“I got sucked in,” Washington said. “I loved it and have never looked back.”
Washington moved to the Bay Area and started coaching at Airborne, which has produced dozens of top competitors — as evidenced by the many championship banners hanging from the ceiling of the cavernous warehouse space. Everywhere inside the gym, gymnasts from tiny tots to muscled teens were leaping, jumping and swinging from bars.
Washington wasn’t aware she’d was the first Black coach of a world champion until the owner of Airborne pointed it out and researched it to confirm. For Washington, it’s become a source of pride, though she’s so low key about the accomplishment. It takes some prying to get the information out.
“That’s what starts the doors to be open,” Washington said. “To be the first, it’s cool to be that person.”
The strategy for Matthews’ Olympic hopes is to see her peak in the fall for major competitions that include the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Belgium – a key runner-up to the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Inside Airborne Gymnastics, above the din of dozens of gymnasts in training, Washington watched on as Matthews spun from the uneven bars, seeming to defy trajectory as she flipped into the air, caught the bar again and launched in another direction. Matthews is in her third year on the U.S. National Team and earned her gold at the Pan American Games on the uneven bars.
The work toward the Olympics is as delicate a balancing act as a stroll down the balance beam; the concept is to scale up the momentum and energy while tamping down the anxiety.
“I think our challenge is just to keep it normal,” said Washington. “Business as usual.”
