Suburban gymnast to represent Team USA at World Championships
· Yahoo Sports
DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. (WGN) - A teenage gymnast from the southwest suburbs is set to represent Team USA at the World Championships next week in China, but before becoming one of the best in the world, he almost quit the sport.
As one of the best trampoline gymnasts in the country, Freddie Wanat knows a bit about taking a leap.
Visit amunra-online.pl for more information.
"Once I hit the mini and I like get up in the air, it just feels like I'm flying," he said.
Before you can soar, sometimes you stumble and Wanat learned that early.
He started gymnastics at nine years old and almost quit the sport by the time he turned 10.
Loyola Academy running back shines for top-ranked Ramblers"It just felt like it was too much work. I just wanted to be more relaxed and like have more freedom," Wanat said.
He told his coach "D'Robinson" that he'd rather be playing outside with his friends.
"He's like, 'I don't want to be in the gym all day,' so when he said, 'I want to quit,' I'm like, 'You have so much more to give,'" D'Robinson said.
Coach was indeed tough.
Wanat received the blessing of raw talent, but Robinson said that wasn't enough and that he had to be willing to give something, too.
"You've got to give it all you got. If it don't work, it don't work, but you've got to at least try," D'Robinson said.
Building tied to Great Chicago Fire in danger of being demolishedThe message landed.
Wanat is now a five-time U.S. Tumbling and Trampoline Association National Champion, who's name adorns on the wall at his gym, the Elite Sports Complex in Downers Grove.
Wanat, a freshman in high school, is now "world bound" with Team USA.
"It was very exciting to find out that I was going to Worlds," Wanat said.
He'll be competing for his country next week in China and will be one of four Americans in his age group to compete in the difficult "double-mini" event.
"The double mini is a long trampoline that kind of reminds people of the vault, and you do two or three skills on and I usually do two because it's the harder type of version," Wanat said.
All the hours of training will come down to a single moment.
Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines"In this sport, you train 12 hours a week for only three seconds of your life," D'Robinson said.
Wanat learned long ago, sometimes the most important moments don't involved the bright lights of a world competition. They're the quiet choices we make to believe in ourselves.
"I realized I was like going to be really good at it, and I realized that I really shouldn't have quit, and I just kept going," Wanat said.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV.