Rachael Flam of Stars Gymnastics closed out a truly outstanding club career at the 2017 Junior Olympic National Championships, defending her national all-around title with a 38.625 in the Senior E division earlier this month in Indianapolis. She is the only 2016 J.O. all-around champion to defend her title, which made for the perfect grand finale to her club career.

Flam's giant all-around score at J.O. Nationals boosted her to the very top of our J.O. Level 10 National Championships Rankings.

For our new series on the 2017 J.O. national champions, we caught up with Flam to hear about her incredible experience in Indianapolis:

FloGymnastics: Take me through your meet, starting with your first event.

Flam: I knew going into the meet that I had a chance to defend my title as national all-around champion. My first two events, bars and beam, were not my best so there was more pressure to do well in the final two if I was going to be able to reach that goal. Despite the nerves I had gathered, I competed to the best of my abilities, delivering a solid floor routine. I was confident moving into vault, as it is my best event. However, I knew that it would take a huge score to grasp the all-around title. I took a deep breath, pushed my nerves aside, and competed a vault that scored high enough to defend my title.

Watch Flam's stunning 9.9 vault that secured her the gold:

Video via USA Gymnastics

What was your favorite event to compete?

My favorite event that I competed was floor. I love showing off my dance and powerful tumbling! Floor is one of my strongest events; I had won multiple state and regional floor titles throughout the past few seasons. Going out there and competing a great floor routine was an incredible feeling. I finally got the national floor title that I had been striving for.

Video via USA Gymnastics

How did you feel when you finished the competition?

I felt extremely excited and a little bit sad knowing it was my last competition with my Stars Gymnastics family. However, I don't think that I could have concluded my J.O. competitive career in a better way. I had so much fun competing with my Region 3 team! 

What is the best part about becoming a national champion? Again!

The best part about being a national champion is knowing that all of my hard work and my coaches' hard work has paid off. We commit so much time to perfecting my routines in the gym that competing well and winning such a prestigious title is so rewarding. 

What was the best part about this year for you?

I have been a part of Stars Gymnastics since I was 2 1/2 years old and am now a graduating senior. I just wanted to make the most out of every competition by having fun with my friends and coaches and doing my best. Winning Nationals was so amazing for me because I was able to do that and end my J.O. career on a high note. 



I also really enjoyed seeing all of the friends that I have made over the years from other gyms at meets. I think it is so fun that we are able to form friendships within the gymnastics community just from the meets that we attend. I look forward to competing against these same girls that I have grown to know through club gymnastics in college!

What are your future goals for gymnastics?

I will be continuing my gymnastics career at Stanford University. My goal is to successfully compete in the all-around and win individual and team NCAA titles. 

Rapid-Fire Questions

Did you play any other sports growing up?

I played a lot of sports when I was younger so that I could get a taste of everything; I did swimming, soccer, tennis, and gymnastics until I was about 10 years old. I also enjoyed running so my family ran a bunch of 5K races together. Gymnastics, of course, won my heart!

What is your favorite healthy food and favorite junk food?

My favorite healthy foods are watermelon and salmon, and my favorite junk food is cheesecake!

What is your favorite movie?

"Life as We Know It" and I love comedies!

What is your favorite thing to do in your free time to relax?

I love to spend time with my family, friends, and pets at my ranch. I love riding the jet skis and suntanning on the big floats in the water. 

Are you a morning person or a night owl?

I am a morning person. I tend to wake up pretty early whether or not I have somewhere to be.  

What's the best vacation you've ever been on?

My favorite vacation was to Turks and Caicos in the summer of 2014. The beaches were beautiful. The fishing was amazing, and everything else was just as perfect. It was the ideal relaxing escape! 

If you had to wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it be?

If I had to wear one outfit for the rest of my life, it would be my black Lululemon leggings and my "I Whale Texas" Vineyard Vines T-shirt.


Related:
Final Rankings: L10 JO Nationals Competitors