SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — She flipped forward on the balance beam while perfectly poised in front of the watchful eyes of the judges.
Liah Mah, 13, showed no signs of strain or stumble while competing in the Eastern Canadian gymnastics championships at Credit Union Place on Saturday morning. But just over one year ago this skillful athlete found herself grounded and ready to quit.
“In March 2018, I was doing a sequence on the vault and fractured my right ankle. It took almost two months before I could walk properly and even longer before I could jump again. When you get hurt in gymnastics it’s very hard because it requires so much focus and concentration to keep going. I never thought I could recover in time for the Canada Games tryouts. I even thought about quitting gymnastics altogether.”
“In March 2018, I was doing a sequence on the vault and fractured my right ankle. It took almost two months before I could walk properly and even longer before I could jump again,” said the member of the Victory Gymnastics Centre in Charlottetown.
“When you get hurt in gymnastics it’s very hard because it requires so much focus and concentration to keep going. I never thought I could recover in time for the Canada Games tryouts. I even thought about quitting gymnastics altogether,” she said.
But surrounded by people that supported her dream, and believed in her ability to achieve it, Liah decided to give the sport one last shot.
“My coach (Kristi Shoemaker) and my parents encouraged me to continue,” Liah said.“With their support behind me, I recovered in time to participate in my first (top-tier) gymnastic competition after injury.”
Her parents, Kevin Kane and Janet Mah, proudly watched from the stands as their daughter competed on the four gymnastic stations – floor, vault, uneven bars, and balance beam.
“When Liah injured her ankle during training she missed the provincials, Atlantics, and Eastern Canadian championships, which we had already booked to see. It took her seven months to make a comeback, enter her first competition at the Canada Games and qualify for the team,” said Kane.
“Liah never made nationals because she’s a Level 9 and you need to be a Level 10, but she trained 19 hours every week to get to where she is today, and we are so extremely proud of her,” added Janet.
“She’s been hurt on the vault and the balance beam before, so it’s scary to watch. We’ve seen Liah have a couple of hard falls. So, when she gets on the apparatus we hold our breath and when she gets off we can breathe again,” she continued.
Despite the setbacks, Liah’s ultimate success was her refusal to quit.
“I’m glad I continued,” said Liah. “I believe that if you keep trying your hardest anything can happen.”
