U Of M Freshman Gymnast Excels On Beam, Floor
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Gopher women's gymnastics team is hosting the Big 10 Conference Championships this weekend at the Sports Pavilion and there is a freshman sensation from the 'U' to look out for.
It's been instant impact for gymnast Dusti Russell. Despite an elbow injury, the Gopher freshman has excelled this season, especially on the balance beam and the floor.
"We have great expectations for her. She came in doing all-around in her first two meets before she was injured and she did a great job. She has overcome the injury and has been probably one of our highest scorers on both beam and floor this year," said Jenny Hansen, the Gophers Assistant Gymnastics Coach.
Russell was born to be a gymnast. Her family is all involved in the sport. Her parents, Debbie and David Russell were gymnasts at UW-Oshkosh, sister Rehana is a former Gopher gymnast, another sister Randi Jo is currently competing for Utah, and brother Cody has also trained in gymnastics.
"I used to be their little guinea pig. They used to just have me do flips around the house and they used to coach me a lot. They still do actually," said Russell.
She got involved in the sport when she was two years old, however her parents did not push her hard.
"They just wanted us to have fun and when I realized how good they were I was like, 'Wow!' I'm surprised they didn't put more pressure on us," she said.
Hansen used to coach Russell as a kid in Oshkosh. Hansen knew then that Russell would someday blossom into a future star.
"She was pretty much born in the gym. I mean she was there all the time and you kind of pick up on things rather quickly," Hansen said.
