CARBONDALE (WSIL) -- Gymnastics takes strength, dedication, and discipline.
The 2021 Tokyo Olympic games are less than 10 days away.
Local gymnasts are excited to watch all the action.
Our very own Kendra Sheehan caught up with some gymnasts who spoke about their passion for the sport.
"It's truly like nothing I've ever experienced before," Emma Shick said. "It's just you and you're focusing, and you are hitting all your skills, it's just a great feeling."
'It's breathtaking when you do it because sometimes you fall and you just have to get back up and do it again," Bristyl Eckhart said. "I just like floor because you get to be sassy and I just like being sassy."
The sport is tough. A lot of things to remember with every acrobatic move.
"I always have to remind myself to breathe because you can forget it while you are doing your passes and stuff," Madison Eigenrauch said. "Also confidence like you got this go for it, you do this all the time."
"You have to think, you have to stay tight, point your toes and keep your knees straight," Eckhart added.
"The more you do stuff. It gets a lot easier, like whenever I started I was terrified, but I've gotten a lot more comfortable," Eigenrauch said.
Gymnastics is one of the most watched sports in the Summer Olympics. Local Gymnast Emma Shick had a chance to watch 2-time Olympian Simone Biles at the Olympic Trials held in St Louis.
"Whenever she is on the TV you think, oh yea she get's kind of high and then you watch in person and she is like above you when you are in the stands and you're just like OH my gosh," Shick said. "I didn't even think this was possible especially for someone that is shorter than me. Like she is so small but yet gets so high. I knew the first time I watched her that she was going to be something big, She was just amazing. It's almost inhuman what she can do."
Our Local gymnasts have big aspirations, some wanting to be collegiate athlete. But for now they are excited to cheer on Team USA at the Olympics as they hope to stick their landings to another gold medal.
"I particularly like Sunisa Lee, just because her bars is super pretty," Eigenrauch said.
"MyKayla Skinner, watching her beam because she does a really cool mount and she does some really cool technique things in her routine and I like picking out part of their dances for my routine," Echart said.
Gymnastics can be looked at as an individual sport. but its teamwork that helped the women's national team earn gold in back to back Olympics.
"I think that without them, I would never be the gymnast I am today without my teammates and my coach," Shick added. "I think it's very important to have a strong support system and people that are in your corner that want you to get back into it."
"It really just made me want to strive to be better and work harder in the gymn and come back and do all my skillls."
It wasn't long ago that I was a young gymnast inspired by team USA Gymnastics. I still am. Reporting in Carbondale Kendra Sheehan, News 3 Sports.
