Luisa Blanco Saavedra made a decision: abandon her family and look for new projects. Gymnastics required that. He packed his bags and left home, leaving his childhood behind and going to study political science at the University of Alabama.
When it seemed that he had chosen the ideal path, he hit a wall. The obstacle was so great that he hit rock bottom.
Luisa had already had a conversation with her mother, Sandra Saavedra, in which she told her that although her results in gymnastics were good and promising, she felt that her love for that sport had ended.
Perhaps the sudden change, leaving her childhood behind and diving into a professional career were issues that did not fit in the mind of the Colombian athlete, who obtained the country's 27th place at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
“Once I told my mother that I couldn't take it anymore, that I had given up. I told her that she wanted to be a normal person, that she didn't want to be an athlete. And at that moment I thought it would be the last. She was not motivated and she had a great responsibility in front of her, which was the university,” Luisa told EL TIEMPO.
When he arrived at his 'new house' everything got worse. Her love for gymnastics had ended, she wanted to be the Luisa the person, the woman who embarked on a new path and not the Luisa the gymnast, to be recognized for something else, less for the sport.
She was always very grateful for the people who surrounded her, for the coaches, the teammates, but there came a time when she exploded, she couldn't take it anymore and 'threw in the towel'.
“The culture in the United States at that time was very different; specifically with the national team and how they did things, the culture was horrible. That took away my love completely and I was doing gymnastics for other people, I wasn't doing it for myself,” said Luisa, who was born on November 18, 2001 in Los Angeles, California (United States).
As the days passed, little changed in her; On the contrary, everything was for the worse. She says that going to training was like going to a job that she “hated” and that the time she was going through was not good.
“Coming to university and being in an environment where everyone loves gymnastics was something very difficult because my heart itself was broken and it was the first time where I wasn't thinking about myself, I was thinking about my classmates. “They tried to change my thinking and I began to try to see the good,” declared.
For Luisa, who already graduated in political science, it was key to be surrounded in the best way at the university. She found people who understood her and took her along the path to recover her love for sports, for gymnastics.
It was a terrible month and a half for Luisa. She couldn't stop crying trying to find true motivation, but she didn't give up. She met again with the champion Luisa, the one who always went to practice with the desire to learn, be the best and win.
An extreme change
Today he remembers that December 27, 2019 was not the best day, but he warns that he takes it into account because he managed to overcome the worst moment of his life.
He points out that the main reason for his bad moment was leaving home, because he took flight and was unable to assimilate it as he thought. When she entered university it was as if a stone had fallen on her head, she felt alone, without support from her, because they saw her as the gymnast, not as Luisa, the new one in class who was coming out. forward.
Little by little he opened his heart to understand that life was not easy and that he had to leave his home and his family behind. She knew that she was seen as the medal-winning machine and not a normal person and she overcame it.
She was only 17 years old and that process she experienced matured her. Little by little she was achieving her sporting and student goals.
“At that moment when the story is not just about Luisa, but the story is about how Luisa can impact the people around her, was when everything changed. She was no longer Luisa the gymnast, she was Luisa the person,” she said.
Sport for the Blanco Saavedras has always been in the family. Nelson, his father, who was born in Bogotá, played in Millonarios, and his mother, born in Puerto Boyacá, practiced swimming. Things in Colombia were not good and both made the decision to go to the United States. They did it with Diego Alejandro, their eldest son.
They arrived in Los Angeles. Sandra started working cleaning houses (she still does it) and her husband was in charge of 'fixing' the cars, she had his own business. Luisa was born and the family became stronger. He began to grow and came to gymnastics by 'accident'. Her parents didn't want to see her jumping around her house much. She went to study and started playing soccer. Then she got into gymnastics and her parents forced her to choose just one sport and she decided on the last one.
He arrived 'late' to that sport, but it wasn't difficult for him. In the US, girls have been practicing this sport almost since they began to walk, but Luisa did not have the same luck and had to wait a little, although that was not an impediment for her to go far and learn quickly. The painful ones arrived. Her father returned to Colombia and Sandra, Darío and she stayed in the US. That was a hard blow for Luisa.
“It was difficult at first. He was 17 years old and he was my hero. It's been more or less five years and my dad is better there. He has a tourism company in Medellín and it is doing well. She was very small and attached, but I can't deny that it was a big blow for him to leave,” he said.
The first years in gymnastics were normal. He started at level five and went up to level 10. He moved to Frisco and there he attended a gym where world-class athletes such as Nastia Liukin, Madison Koshin, Carlo Peterson and Luisa went, he realized that although he had the talent to compete against them it was better to look for a change. That was when the option to represent Colombia appeared.
In that task of training with some of the best gymnasts in the United States, Luisa met Jess Graba, in Minnesota, who is part of the technical staff of Simone Biles, the great world and Olympic champion, and is the coach owned by Suni. Lee, who won gold in the individual competition in Tokyo, took silver in the team event and bronze on the uneven bars.
“I am very lucky to have him as my coach. He is an expert and so is his wife Ali. She trains more beam, but the two are a team. Training with Lee makes me better as a gymnast. Jess is like a stuffed animal: he is super good people and I am very grateful to him and Ali,” said Luisa, who is considered one of the best gymnasts in the NCAA university tournament.
In 2021, the Colombian was the national balance beam champion and in 2023 she was one of the finalists for the award for best university gymnast of the year in the United States.
He has only come to Colombia twice. The first when he took part in the Pan American Games in Cúcuta and last year, when he was there before facing the competitions at the Pan American Games in Santiago.
“When I was 21 I went for the first time and I loved it. I have tried to imagine what it would be like to return, but I want to know more about my parents' country, with everything they have taught me from the experiences they remember. I felt at home, I loved everything about Colombia,” she said very excitedly.
For her, today, there are no barriers, and in the little time she has been in the country she assures that what she likes most is the people.
“The food, the culture and above all the people stand out. The public always supported me when I was in the Cúcuta competition. Of course, the heat was tenacious,” he recalled.
In Santiago de Chile she achieved place 27 from Colombia to Paris 2024. She achieved it thanks to the eighth place in the individual final of the women's general classification, in which she obtained 50,099 artistic gymnastics points.
Since he got the quota he hasn't stopped dreaming. He is excited to compete at the highest level. Going to the Olympic Games is, for her, like pursuing the communication specialization that she is studying in Alabama.
“It's a little difficult to understand that you work an entire career, your entire life for a few moments, that is, nine seconds, 10 seconds. But what that dream looks like has changed a lot. When I was little I saw myself there in first place, with the gold medal and now it has changed more in what it means to represent not only myself, my family, but my country.”
Train hard. Those bad days are gone and the negative thoughts are gone. The goal of going to Paris for a good result has her very busy, although she has time to visit her family and interact with her friends.
“It gives me more pride than anything and that's how the dream has changed. But the dream has always been there since when I started as a child,” she said. She is not afraid of anything. She knows the pressure is there, but she al
so masters it.
Luisa Blanco Saavedra has many objectives between her chest and back. At her young age she has lived a lot, but now she wants to overcome more obstacles.
“I think that when people think about pressure it is something bad, it is something that stresses; I take it as a pride, so I don't get stressed. “It is a good opportunity to grow in sports, in gymnastics, especially in Colombia,” he said.
Luisa is not only a gymnast, she is also a person who thinks about others. When she was part of the Colombian team at the Pan American Games last year she approached her teammates and taught them some secrets.
“It is more important to have a level that pushes the girls who are there, because if there is no more difficulty there is no more competition. How does one grow? I am very happy to be in this position and to be able to demonstrate my level and represent the team, because I want to show the world that Colombia can. I don't set limits for myself, I try to help, because we are a team that wants to move forward and improve its condition,” said Luisa Saavedra, who is seeking her consecration in Paris.
Lisandro Rengifo
Editor of EL TIEMPO
@LisandroAbel
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