WHAT A BALANCING ACT! EMMA’S IN WORLD FINAL WHILE STILL AT SCHOOL
SOCCER, Gaelic football and hurling are all played by the sports-mad Slevin family, but it is gymnastics that has them in the headlines today.
Emma Slevin, 18, yesterday became the first Irish gymnast to reach an All Around finals at the World Gymnastics Championships. She finished 21st, with the top 24 gymnasts going into the final in Kitakyushu, Japan, which will take place tomorrow at 6.30am Irish time.
Emma, from Galway, said she was ‘very happy’ with her performance.
She added: ‘It was actually a very enjoyable experience as well. I felt confident out there and despite a few small mistakes I’m very proud of how I did. I’m super excited for the final.’
Emma’s mother Deirdre Slevin said: ‘As her mum, I know how much she’s put into this, and gymnastics in Ireland is really starting to come of age, so I’m so proud of her for being to the forefront of that.
‘I’m so glad for her it’s paying off. Everything that she’s done over the last ten years, she’s now getting rewarded for it.’
Emma is not the only sportsperson in the family, with twin Kate, 18, being a soccer player and older brother Mark, 20, playing Gaelic football and hurling. It has meant the family have had to make lots of sacrifices, and Deirdre said: ‘For all of the children, we definitely prioritise their sports, you know, changing holidays and moving things around to accommodate along the way.’
However, she said gymnastics posed unique challenges. ‘It is a really, really hard sport to keep doing, especially when you hit 14 or 15,’ she said.
‘My other children play lots of sports and while it takes the toll on them, it’s nothing to the same extent as gymnastics.’
Emma took up gymnastics at a summer camp when she was seven before joining a club to do it recreationally once a week.
‘Then when she started to thrive, gymnastics went from one day to two and then to three days and then four days, five days, and then there was no time for anything else,’ her mother said. Emma is now in her final year of secondary school so will be sitting the Leaving Cert next year.
‘She has a difficult year ahead. It’s will be a balancing act,’ her mother said.
In the long term, Deirdre said, her daughter will be looking towards the Paris 2024 Olympics for her next big challenge.
Gymnastics Ireland chief Ciaran Gallagher said: ‘Emma has broken into coveted Top 24 All Around gymnasts in the world – to say we are proud is an understatement.’