Name: Mercedes Leguizamon
Born: Argentina
Major: Journalism
Hobbies: Gymnastics, working out, watching pro wrestling and eating pasta
Mercedes Leguizamon isn’t just an ordinary journalism student at UF — she’s also an active gymnast with UF Club gymnastics. In Leguizamon’s spare time, she works at Balance 180 as a gymnastics teacher for children ages 3 to 12.
Her Campus: How did you get involved with UF Club gymnastics?
Mercedes Leguizamon: “I didn’t know about UF Club gymnastics until the summer coming into my freshman year. I had a friend who did gymnastics with me when we were younger who was also coming to UF, and she texted me suggesting we join the team together. As soon as I found out, I was so excited and began annoying the president whenever I could to make sure I could get as involved as possible. Eventually, I attended the first community service event of the season and was able to bond with all of the girls on the team.”
HC: Have you ever considered trying out for the official UF gymnastics team?
ML: “My dream was always to be a part of the gymnastics team at a university. The thing about college gymnastics is that most of the athletes are elites or level 10s. We have a girl on our team that’s been to the 2008 Olympics. It can be very difficult to be a part of the team if you aren’t really good like they are. I trained for many years, but the places where I trained were never as serious as other gymnastics places, so I was always behind on skill levels than others my age. I was pretty good, but there were girls at other gyms who were younger and more capable of doing harder gymnastics than I was.”
HC: Usually gymnastics is not the first sport kids are drawn to. What made you have an interest at a young age?
ML: “I loved gymnastics from the second I saw it on TV. I was watching a Nickelodeon commercial and this little girl came on doing cartwheels and I just fell in love with the sport. I taught myself a cartwheel, and my mother put me in gym classes so that I wouldn’t hurt myself. Ever since then, it became such a big part of my life. I loved it and I loved all of the things that you can learn with enough dedication. I think it’s because I started so young that I can’t imagine my life without the sport of gymnastics.”
HC: What is your favorite event to perform and why?
ML: “My favorite event is floor! I love making up choreography and performing a routine in front of a crowd. It’s much cooler than dancing because you get to flip, so you look both strong and graceful. You also can’t really fall off the floor like you can fall off a balance beam or the uneven bars, which is always comforting to know.”
HC: Can you remember any really bad days you’ve had competing? How did you pick yourself up afterward?
ML: “I can think of a couple competitions that didn’t go as well as I planned. Usually, if I didn’t rest up enough the night before, I was tired and not as strong. The only thing that kept me going was knowing that if I work hard enough for the next one, I can not only wow the audience and the judges, but also myself. I knew that if you worked hard enough, you could prove to everyone that you’re capable of improvement. Competitions are stressful because you can’t do more than one routine. So, you need to do one perfect routine. You can practice routine after routine during practices, but if it’s not perfect that one time you need it to be, then sometimes you feel like a failure, like all the practice wasn’t worth it. The only thing to make it better is knowing that there’s always going to be a next time that you can improve for.”
HC: After doing well at a competition, how do you and your teammates celebrate?
ML: “I actually went to a competition this weekend! Right after, we ordered pizza to our hotel room and ate three slices each, along with cake! It’s important to treat yourself after a meet, especially because your muscles are so sore. The meets are usually long, so we are all hungry by the time it’s over!”
Photo Courtesy of Mercedes Leguizamon