Daily Bruin File Photo Mohini Bhardwaj,
shown at a meet last season, will be competing in the World
Championships in October.
By Jackie Abellada
Daily Bruin Contributor
In a sport where success is synonymous with youthfulness, it
appeared to many that there was little if any room remaining for
this “aging” star to bask in the glory and the
spotlight.
But UCLA athlete Mohini Bhardwaj, 22, was determined to prove
them wrong. And she did just that when she amazed the crowd in the
U.S. Gymnastic Championships this past weekend, finishing third
overall with 72,487 points behind Tasha Schwikert (74,912 points)
and Tabitha Yim (73,587 points).
“I think they were impressed since not many gymnasts do
USA Gymnastics again after they have done college
gymnastics,” Bhardwaj said. “I hope that it will let
them know that the older girls can still hang in there with the
younger girls to compete.”
A selection committee will announce the three other gymnasts who
will join Bhardwaj, Schwikert and Yim in representing the U.S. at
the World Championships in Ghent, Belgium from Oct. 24-Nov. 4.
For the 11-time All-American, the day was filled with smiles and
broken records. With a score of 9.525 on the vault, she won her
first national title, becoming the only collegiate gymnast to grab
an individual title at the U.S. Championships in the past 13 years.
At her age, she is the oldest female competitor to capture that
event and the oldest to earn an individual championship in 30
years.
Along with her vaulting title, Bhardwaj also seized the silver
medal on the beam with a score of 9.125, finished sixth on the bars
(8.825) and tied for seventh on the floor (8.775). This level of
competition isn’t new to Bhardwaj who began her gymnastic
career at age four and has participated in numerous national and
international events.
In 1997, she received her highest individual national
achievement when she finished third all-around in the U.S.
Championships and took third place in the vault and eighth in the
beam.
She went on to compete in the World Championships later that
year, ranking fifth in the vault and sixth on the beam.
“She really impressed people in the gymnastic circles
coming back in this arena at this age and succeeding this
way,” said Valorie Kondos Field, the Bruins’ head
coach.
But for the next couple of days, Bhardwaj is resting her aching
body. After that, she will endure months of arduous training under
the supervision of Marta Karoli, the U.S. women’s coach, to
prepare for the next level of competition where she hopes to
demonstrate to the world once again that she still has some fight
left.
With reports by Scott Schultz, Daily Bruin Senior Staff.