Best in the West
West Wind’s Jackson Lowe wins all-around title at Westerns
This time, Jackson Lowe was making more than just an appearance. As he made a return trip to the Western Canadian Gymnastics Championships April 28-29 in Brandon, the 14-year-old member of the West Wind Gymnastics Club was determined to do more than just participate and soak up the experience.
This time, Lowe made his presence known in spades, hauling in a stunning six medals after qualifying for the finals in all six events he was in on his way to winning the individual all-around gold medal in the provincial 4 category with a personal best of 71.8 points.
Making his Western debut, fellow West Wind member Riley Johnson hit the podium as well, winning the bronze medal on rings.
The medal haul for the local duo didn’t stop there as Lowe and Johnson teamed up with Team Alberta to win the gold medal over British Columbia.
For Lowe, it was time to make his mark after his prior Western appearances.
“In past years it was all about just qualifying and getting there and getting the experience,” said Lowe, who earned gold on floor exercise, pommel horse and vault, silver on still rings and parallel bars and bronze on high bar. “This year it felt like I had a shot to win. So training up to the competition, I was thinking to do my best and maybe it’ll happen. I went there and just gave it my best shot. I had really good routines, they were very solid and it worked out for me.”
That became apparent after Day 1.
“The first day he nailed all six events,” said West Wind Gymnastics Club coach Jamie Ellacott. “He scored about two points higher than he has all year, so it was much improved. He qualified for all six event finals on that first day and won the all-around individual competition.
“He’s had some good results this year. He won the provincial championship and he was the University of Calgary competition in March, which was probably the biggest one of the year. So I expected him to do well.”
The timing — and success — at those competitions set Lowe up nicely for Westerns.
“I felt going in because there were two competitions earlier that I had gone to, one was in May at the UCIC and I ended up getting first at that,” he said. “Then I had provincials and got first in that and I (thought) ‘I’m feeling good and this is going well for me.’ I went in feeling confident and didn’t have a whole lot of nerves. I felt more confident than nervous.”
In addition to his bronze medal on the rings and gold medal in the team event, Johnson, 16, also place sixth on the vault.
“He did really well,” said Ellacott. “This was his first time at Westerns. Jackson had a little bit more experience. But Riley did really well. He had a couple falls on the first day in some of his weaker events, but he did well.”
Johnson said he didn’t expect to medal in his Western debut.
“I was just going to go there and do my best, see what happens and give it a good first try. I think I had some good routines. The first day was really good and I placed first in qualifications. On Day 2 I knew if I could just repeat what I did the first day that maybe I could have a chance to medal and it happened.”
Lowe and Johnson then tacked on one more medal in the team event.
“It was great,” said Lowe. “We had a good team. We were all cheering each other on while the other was competing. It was good a good, positive atmosphere we had. It was awesome competing with Riley, too, because the last few years I didn’t have someone from my club that I was with.”
“It was awesome,” added Johnson. “Gymnastics is usually known for being more of an individual sport. But with Jackson and the rest of my teammates you could feel being cheered on by your team and that team atmosphere was really there.”
With their multiple medals earned, the two head into the offseason working on skills for next year.
“They’re both hoping to move up a level. Riley is 16 so he’ll have to move up to Open, which is harder rules. So he needs to upgrade his difficulty,” said Ellacott. “Jackson is 14, so he can move up from Level 4 to Level 5 next year. But it’s the same thing, more difficulty and harder skills. Both of those guys need to do pommel horse with the handles next year, so that’s a big jump for them, we’ll be spending a lot of time on that. Right now it’s just strength and flexibility and lots of skills training.”
His Western Canadian Gymnastics Championships medal provides Johnson with a nice shot in the arm going forward.
“It really means I get better and improve my skills seeing what I’ve accomplished in the four years I’ve been doing gymnastics,” he said. “It’s a big indicator for me that I can achieve higher than what I’m doing now.”