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First-grader wins gymnastics championship
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Photo courtesy of www.OhioActionImages.com.Seven-year-old gymnast Shane Lindstrom performs on the still rings during the USAG men’s gymnastics state meet. He won the Level 4, 7-year-old state championship.
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Shane Lindstrom holds his balance during a routine on the parallel bars, as a spotter and other gymnasts look on.
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Shane Lindstrom competes on the high bars during a competition this season.
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Shane Lindstrom displays the collection of medals he won at the recent state gymnastics meet where he earned state champion honors.
For such a little boy, Boardman’s Shane Lindstrom has some big goals.
“I want to be an Olympic gymnast and then an NFL football player,” said the 7-year-old, who attends first grade at St. Charles School.
If those are his aspirations, it seems that he is well on his way – especially in the arena of gymnastics.
During the weekend of March 31 and April 1, Lindstrom competed in the state meet for USAG men’s gymnastics. The event included gymnasts competing in seven levels, ranging from beginner to elite level.
This season was Lindstrom’s first and prior to state, he had competed in six meets. The seventh proved to be his best.
He placed in the top six in all five events and his combined scores earned him third place overall. His best event was the still rings, where he won a state championship in the Level 4, 7-year-old division. He also placed second on the High Bars, third on the vault, third on Parallel Bars and sixth on the Floor Exercise.
“It felt great inside being a state champion,” said Lindstrom. “I was really happy I won. I was surrounded by great gymnasts and I was happy to be with my teammates.”
The rapid success has come as the result of many hours of training and athletic prowess, even at a young age.
He began gymnastics at age 5 at the Youngstown Gymnastic Center in Boardman. He trains at least nine hours a week.
His coach is Jonathan Imler, a former level 9 competitor himself and an Ohio State graduate.
“I got interested in joining gymnastics around age 5 and when I turned 6, my mom signed me up. I have always loved doing cartwheels everywhere even when I was little,” said Lindstrom. “Gymnastics is fun, gets you flexible and gives you muscles.”
In his second biggest meet of the season, he competed at the Arnold Classic Columbus, where he placed second overall. He was in the top four in every event. During the season, he won at least one gold medal in every event. While he likes each part of the sport, he does have a favorite event.
“My favorite event is the floor exercise because you get to do back handsprings and tumbling,” he said. “Rings is the hardest event because it hurts your arms doing pull ups and back lever.”
When he’s not in the gym training for gymnastics, Lindstrom finds plenty of time for other sports. He plays community basketball, flag football, tennis and competes on a swim team.