Minnesota Gymnast Helps Lead Team USA To Gold At World Championships
LITTLE CANADA, Minn. (WCCO) -- A Minnesota gymnast who just won Gold with Team USA returned home on Tuesday to a warm welcome by fellow gymnasts from Twin Cities Twisters.
That's Maggie Nichols' home gym. The Olympic hopeful from Little Canada just competed with Team USA in the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships in Scotland.
Nichols helped her team bring home the gold.
"Knowing that we have a World Champion at our gym, that is amazing," Olivia said. "We're just so proud of her."
Team Maggie was anxious to welcome Maggie Nichols home.
And what a welcome. The 18-year-old helped Team USA win gold in the team title at the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships.
That team included two 2012 Olympic gold medalists, Gabrielle Douglas and Alexandra Raisman. Nichols was the only gymnast on the team to compete in all four events.
"It's such an honor, it's just an amazing experience and I just want to represent USA as best I can and help the team," Nichols said.
And she took home her first individual medal, bronze, for her floor routine.
"That was pretty cool," Nichols said. "And it was pretty nerve-wracking and a lot of hard work but it was just so much fun and all my hard work is paying off so it was just awesome."
Her coach, her mom and her dad were in Scotland cheering her on. And she felt the support from her Twin Cities Twisters family back home.
"It just shows how amazing my teammates are and I love them so much and we're just so close and that made my day so much better," Nichols said.
The elite gymnast's favorite moment from her first World Championship:
"When I'm standing on that podium it's just amazing, I get the shivers," Nichols said.
And now she looks to the future -- and preparing to compete on the Olympic stage.
"It's always in the back of my head and I'm always striving for that goal and that'd be amazing if I could accomplish that, but I'll just take it one step at a time and see where the journey takes me," Nichols said.
Nichols will take this week off, then she'll begin training again. She's looking toward the 2016 Olympics next summer in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.