CATHERINE JUN Healthy or not, gymnast Carly
Raab plays a key role on the team.
By Adam Karon
Daily Bruin Reporter
In the face of adversity and misfortune, which are certainly not
new to athletes, some turn and walk away, while others fight on,
battling to return to an acceptable level of competition.
Carly Raab does neither.
Instead, the UCLA sophomore takes achievement to new heights
while setting an example for those close to her.
It would have been easy for Raab to quit. Last November, the
Seattle native collapsed during a back handspring-layout on the
balance beam. Overcompensating with her right leg, she
twisted, heard a crunch and fell to the mat. A month later doctors
used part of her patella tendon to repair a torn anterior cruciate
ligament in her knee.
Torn ACLs have become frequent in gymnastics due to high impact
and constant twisting wear on the knees. Raab’s knee had
already seen its share of trauma, and the torn ligament was the
culmination of too many handsprings and landings.
Repairing the knee was difficult because the patella tendon
donating the tissue was already subject to severe tendonitis. While
competing prior to the injury was difficult, competing after it
should have been impossible.
But Raab began the long climb back, redshirting her freshman
year and competing in 2001. Right now she is restricted to the
uneven bars, but she has set her sights on the floor and beam
competitions by next season.
“Some people look and say, “˜Hey, at least
you’re competing,'” Raab said. “I
don’t want to just compete, I want to get back to the level I
was before the injury.”
Before the injury, life was great. Coming to Los Angeles to
compete for the nation’s top gymnastics team is an
athlete’s dream.
After her injury, however, her life took a cruel turn.
“I hurt it right before our first meet,” Raab
said. “My family came down for New Year’s, but we
didn’t do anything because I was in bed.”
Being bedridden for winter break was the least of Raab’s
concerns. She focused on rehabilitating for the following season
while at the same time attending meets as a cheerleader for the
2000 team.
“She’s very optimistic,” teammate and roommate
Onnie Willis said. “She’s always at the meets,
ready to help.”
Last year, Raab was forced to bide her time until her injured
knee was strong enough to train. Rehabilitation is an ongoing
process, and Raab continues to improve her performance level.
A bulky knee brace and the haunting memory of a destroyed
ligament, however, constantly affect her efforts.
“My balance is still off, and I’m learning to adjust
to the brace,” Raab said.
Many athletes would have considered quitting, or at least
acquiesced to the thought that they might never compete at the same
level. Raab rejected this idea in her pursuit of peak performance
and took those around her on an inspiring ascent toward her
pinnacle of complete recovery.
“She is inspiring for me,” Willis
said. “She has really helped me a lot.”
It is ironic to hear a girl like Willis, who carried
Raab’s dining hall tray and took care of her crutches during
recovery, say that Raab is the one who helped her. But Raab
provided a pillar of support rather than leaning on
one. Others share Willis’ sentiment.
“Carly is a very unique individual,” said former
club coach Frank Lee, who has worked with Raab since she was
eleven. “She’s taught me a lot more than
I’ve taught her.”
A man who has been a coach, mentor, and source of strength for
the gymnast, Lee truly considers Raab “one of the most
amazing individuals (he’s) met.”
For their part, Raab’s teammates have helped keep her on
the path toward recovery. Though it pains her to watch others
compete while she sits out, Raab is thankful for the support given
by athletes that most people consider individualists.
“When my teammates tell me I contribute a lot, even if I
don’t see how, it makes it easier on me,” Raab
said.
The relationship is mutually beneficial. Just as her
teammates encourage her, Raab does her best to contribute where she
can. She is a constant presence in the gym, providing a fine
example of hard work and optimism.
“Carly Raab knows with all her heart that college
gymnastics is a team sport,” UCLA head coach Valorie Kondos
Field said.
“She really lifts you up,” Willis
added. “Seeing her compete for the first time this year
was great.”
While Willis and her teammates marvel at Raab’s ability to
compete, Raab herself is not content.
“Sometimes I feel like I’m working into a
wall,” Raab said of the frustration that comes with her
inability to participate on floor and beam.
While she feels that way, she never givers clues to her
teammates.
“It was a heartbreaker,” Willis said of Raab’s
injury. “But Carly always stays optimistic.”
For most, the future would seem bleak. For Raab, it
presents opportunities to pursue her goal. She is sad she will
not graduate with this year’s sophomore crop of gymnasts, but
Raab knows her life will go on.