Like most gymnasts, Yvonne Tousek started the sport at a very young age.
By 12 she was already representing Canada on the international stage.
Hardly surprising since she comes from a very athletic family. Her mother
and aunt were national level cross country skiers, her grandfather is a
former ski jumper while her sister Chantelle is also a national gymnastics
team member and her brother plays hockey. Yvonne Tousek was Gymnastics
Canada's female athlete of the year in 1995 and 1996.
In 1996, she was 26th at the 1996 Olympics in an outstanding and
entertaining performance. However it was only this spring that she claimed
her first senior national all around title. Despite chipped bones in both
ankles she medalled on every apparatus with gold on floor and uneven bars
and silver on beam and vault. She plans to undergo surgery on her painful
ankles only after the Olympics.
The four-time world championship team member will compete next season for
UCLA, a powerhouse on the NCAA gymnastics circuit.
2000 Games
Sept. 21: Women's all-round: Yvonne Tousek, Cambridge, Ont., was 34th
Sept. 17: Tousek was 15th, advanced to individual all-round final
Sept. 17: Yvonne Tousek, Cambridge, Ont.; Kate Richardson, Coquitlam, B.C.; Lise Leveille, Burnaby, B.C.; Julie Beaulieu, Montreal; Michelle Conway, Toronto, and Crystal Gilmore, Cambridge, were ninth after four rounds of qualifying, failed to advance to final
Photos
Cambridge's Yvonne Tousek on the beam
Tousek wipes away a tear
Yvonne Tousek on the uneven bars
Yvonne Tousek gets instructions
2000 Games Gymnastics Coverage
