Doni Thompson’s only 13 years old, and she’s already spent six of those years training for the Olympics.
With less than 2 years to go before the ’96 Games, and more tricks to master before the Trials, Doni’s learning and competing as she goes.
Doni’s come a long way since she was 7 and wandered into the Aerials gym club in Colorado Springs after shopping with her mom. The coaches there, Tom and Lori Forster, got Doni started working on her flexibility, doing splits. A year later, she began to compete, and at 9, she was a Jr. Olympic national champion on the uneven bars.
Now, she’s winning bigger and learning faster. At the summer Olympic Festival in St. Louis, she grabbed firsts in the all-around, bars and beam, while bringing out a vault she’d never tried in competition before: a tucked 1 1/2 twist – backward.
“I used to be scared of it,” Doni says. “Now, it’s not so bad.”
Flips are her favorite moves, especially off the uneven bars. “For my dismount I do a double layout. It’s fun flipping around twice!”
Next on her to-do list are her Olympic routines. “I need harder tumbling runs, another release move on the bars (letting go of the bar, then catching it again) and more moves on the beam.”
She is getting more experience competing, too. Doni got second in the junior division at the August nationals and plans to compete as a junior at the World Championships in November (rules there say you have to be 15 before competing as a senior).
The fun she’s having traveling helps balance all the hard work – Doni trains five or six hours most days. In St. Louis, she met Olympic gold medalists and Tae Kwon Do and badminton champs.
It’s fun to meet other gymnasts, too, like the Russian, Romanian and Chinese girls. They traditionally exchange gifts, and the T-shirts Doni gives are very popular. She’s gotten neat stuff, too, including a red, yellow and black metal bracelet the Chinese gave her.
Her schedule would be a lot for anyone, teenager or adult, so Doni and her coaches also make time to just talk and help Doni keep a healthy outlook.
“If I don’t make the Olympics, it won’t be the end of the world,” she knows. “I’ll still have a full life to live.”
She’s already got something else to look forward to: going skiing again. Doni agreed to give it up last winter. “It’s only for a little while. After the Olympics, I’ll be back!”
Split seconds
Some super-quick facts on Doni
– Height: 4 foot 10.
– Weight: 78 pounds.
– Hometown: Colorado Springs, Colo.
– School: 8th grade, doing home school with her mom.
– Favorite music: Wynona Judd.
– Astrological sign: Aquarius.
