Young gymnast eyes Olympic glory

Young gymnast, 11-year-old Quasiann Palmer, has her sights set on representing Jamaica at the Olympic Games.

Jamaica has had two representatives in gymnastics at the Olympics so far, Toni-Ann Williams at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro and Danusia Francis who competed in the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Palmer not only wants to become the third representative but she also wants to do what they were unable to do, win a medal.

"I hope to at least get one medal and to be able to say that I competed in the Olympics," Palmer said. "I want to make my family, friends,teachers and coaches proud and to see my improvement from when I just started gymnastics."

After picking up five medals at the recently concluded Carifta Gymnastics Championships, Palmer said it is a great feeling as this experience brings her closer to her main goal. She said it was a proud moment representing Jamaica at this inaugural competition, and being a part of history.

"I started gymnastics at five years old. I saw it on YouTube and I wanted to try it out," she said. She said she felt proud, proud, excited and exhausted after her competition but got strong support from her gymmates, coaches and her mom.

"Even when I'm down they always support me," she added.

Palmer claimed first place in floor , took second in the bar and vault , and finished third on the beam. This placed her third overall in the USAG level 6 under-12 division at the championships, with Eva Wright of Bermuda and Elissa Ennis of Jamaica finishing first and third, respectively.

Palmer said she is aware there are improvements needed and she is willing to continue to push through the difficulties.

"I have to work hard to get my skills, focus and have fun," she said. "The most difficult thing is to have enough energy for both of them (gym and school), especially in grade six. You have to balance your time well because I want to do well in PEP and go to a good high school."

Inspired by former gym mate and first Jamaican to receive an international scholarship for gymnastics, Jamilia Duffus, Palmer said she is determined to reach the top..

"Jamilia's achievements inspire me in many ways, in training and sometimes it gets hard but she keeps on pushing. She fell from the bar (in one exercise) but she gets up and is ready to go again and I hope to be like her in the future," she said.

Her coach at Nishida's Gymnastics, Donel Gordon, said Palmer is a promising athlete, but her dreams will not be easily achieved.

"To be honest going to the Olympics is no easy feat or task but I can tell you that if she continues at the rate she's currently going at then that's definitely a possibility for her," he said.

He said her Carifta performance is a good indication of where she is and where she needs to be.

"Quasiann's Carifta results are simply due to hard work and consistency at the gym along with the mentality of a perfectionist, though that same mindset acts as a double edged sword from time to time but it has more pros than cons," he said.

With continuous improvement, Gordon said she might very well achieve her goal of representing Jamaica at the Olympic Games.