Heart racing, eyes wide open to a blurry setting, a sea of people cheering…and then she landed. Her feet pounded against the hard floor. A burst of cheers arose from the crowd. “Wow…I can’t believe I just did that,” 16-year-old freshman Angel McKay thought after her perfect finish.

McKay competes as a gymnast in various contests across the world and is training to be a part of the USA’s Olympic Gymnastics team. Five weeks ago, she competed in Dallas with the top gymnasts in the area. She received second place all-around with first on floor, second on beams, and third on bars and vault.

“I’ve still got a long ways to go,” McKay said. “We have to go through the training camps, and the qualifications for the team, trials for the Olympics and stuff.  It’s a long road.”

McKay has lived in Amarillo all her life and recently transferred from Tascosa to Canyon High School. In her twelfth year of gymnastics, she practices four hours a day on weekdays and about seven hours a day on weekends.  She works about 40 hours a week in the summer.

“I’ve dreamed about being on the Olympic team since I was really little,” McKay said. “I’m looking forward to being able to have the U.S.A. on [the] shoulder of my gym suit and to represent my country.”

Thousands of people watched McKay perform in Dallas, excluding her parents.

“They don’t watch because they’re more nervous than I am,” McKay said. “Really, it doesn’t matter if they’re there or not. I mean, it’s their choice.”

McKay first performed at the age of five. She has traveled to foreign countries such as Russia and Australia.  She trains at Amarillo College, and she said training for the Olympics is the most intense training she’s ever done.

“My parents wanted me to do something, so they put me in a gym,” McKay said. “I never expected to perform, but I was just there to have fun. I never really saw myself as competing. They couldn’t get me out of the gym.”

Even after McKay fractured her neck, dislocated her shoulder and elbow, broke her leg, ankle, three ribs, and both feet five-six times each, she said all the pain is worth the gain.

“The injuries that you overcome make you who you are,” McKay said. “The best thing about being a gymnast is people asking for your autograph and saying they want to be like you someday.”

McKay said it feels awesome to know that you worked so hard in the gym and to land a skill at a competition is awesome.

“You can’t think about it, you just have to do what you do in the gym,” McKay said. “You’ve got to be prepared.  Suck it up and deal with it.”