Cal's Toni-Ann Williams Reflects on a Historic Summer in Rio

Cal's Toni-Ann Williams Reflects on a Historic Summer in Rio

Toni-Ann Williams of Cal shares about a historic summer of competing at the 2016 Rio Olympics for Jamaica.

Dec 7, 2016 by Rebecca Johnson
Cal's Toni-Ann Williams Reflects on a Historic Summer in Rio
Toni-Ann Williams is in her junior season as a Cal Bear and is about to close out a historic 2016. Earlier this year, she competed for Cal during the NCAA regular season, performed at the Olympic Test Event in April, and went on to become Jamaica's first gymnast to qualify the Rio Games. Hear all about William's whirlwind year below.

By Toni-Ann Williams

Last season for me was historical and incredibly hectic. I was training for the Olympic Test Event and for the NCAA season. It was definitely a challenge balancing different routines and skills throughout the season. For example, each week in competition I would have a different floor routine with different tumbling passes in order to play around with what would work best at the Olympic Test Event.

null

The most difficult part about balancing being a student-athlete who also competes internationally is staying healthy and making sure my body doesn't fall apart. Maintaining the proper nutrition, fitness plan, sleep schedule, and the right amount of down time is something that I had to grow accustomed to, and figuring out the right plan for me definitely included a lot of trial and error. All of this preparation and planning certainly paid off when I helped the team qualify to the NCAA championships and then later on qualified as an individual to the Olympic Games. The moment I found out we made it to the NCAA championships was bittersweet moment for me, because I knew that I couldn't be with the team at such a historical championships for us. But I was also excited, because I could focus more on the Olympic Test Event.

null

This past summer leading up to the Olympic Games was the hardest I have ever trained. I dedicated more hours in the gym, took summer courses, and balanced a lot of media coverage that was coming my way. I injured my knee during my summer training that later led to me have knee surgery in the fall. At the time, I knew that I couldn't give up and that I had come this far to get to the Olympic Games.

null

I wasn't just competing for myself, but I was also competing for an entire country as the first gymnast to represent Jamaica at the Olympic Games. Coming back from the Olympic Games wasn't too bad, because I had a lot of time to rest my body, recover from knee surgery, and focus on schoolwork. Currently, I am getting back into doing skills and routines in preparation for our upcoming season starting on January 9.

More on Williams' Rio Test Event experience via the Olympic Channel:



Related:
Stanford's Nikki McNair Returns from India for Stellar Senior Year
Olivia Karas Opens Up About Six Newcomers on Michigan's 12-Gymnast Team