Anica Profitt at the opening ceremony with the Youth Olympic flame in the background.
RHYTHMIC gymnast Anica Profitt and her coach, Roumiana Kostin, have returned after participating at the unforgettable inaugural Youth Olympics in Singapore.
“I am proud of Anica. She did the best she could and has learned so much. This is the type of experience our gymnasts need,” the coach said.
Talking to Anica shortly after her competition she made a comment which shows a deep understanding and insight: “If we want to start being competitive and not just participate at international level, we have to follow the same type of training program as the competitors of say Russia and Europe. It is impossible to really know what your capabilities are, if your preparation is only for three months. Most of these competitors have been in a four year program to prepare for these Games.”
Anica is determined to continue her training program which she started before the Games and wishes she could do home schooling to enable her to train five to six hours a day.
“I would like to compete at the World Championships in Portimao early in 2011, but I must keep up this program!” Anica said.
“We have a lot of talented gymnasts and coaches but our schooling system simply does not allow 51for more than three hours a day training, which is not enough if you want results. Education is also very important for the future.”
Anica was 18th overall with a total score of ±72 in comparison to the ±90 which the winner from Russia achieved.
