{"id":516972,"date":"2026-03-05T23:58:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T23:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/516972\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T23:58:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T23:58:13","slug":"montreal-hosts-international-gymnix-as-event-highlights-olympic-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/516972\/","title":{"rendered":"Montreal hosts International Gymnix as event highlights Olympic history"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every performance begins long before competition day.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, junior and senior gymnasts took part in training sessions at the Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard in Montreal for the 32nd edition of International Gymnix, underway March 4\u20138.<\/p>\n

\"\"Gymnasts during training sessions at the Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard in Montreal for the 32nd edition of International Gymnix on March 5, 2026. (Adriana Gentile, CityNews)<\/p>\n

A legacy from 1976<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s event comes as Montreal marks the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Summer Olympics \u2014 a defining moment in the sport\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

At those Games, Romanian gymnast Nadia Com\u0103neci made history as the first athlete to score a perfect 10 in Olympic gymnastics. Competing at just 14 years old, she earned the historic mark on the uneven bars and went on to record seven perfect scores during the competition.<\/p>\n

For many in Montreal\u2019s gymnastics community, that moment still resonates decades later.<\/p>\n

\"\"Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, 14, performs a flip on the balance beam en route to a gold medal in the event during the Olympic Games in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on July 22, 1976. (AP Photo\/Stephanie Maze)<\/p>\n

Remembering the moment<\/p>\n

High-performance coach and Club Gymnix artistic director Francine Bouffard remembers seeing the performance in person as a young gymnast.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was there. I was a 12-year-old kid back then who was already a gymnast,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Francine Bouffard, high-performance coach for the national team and artistic director at Club Gymnix, at the training sessions at the Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard in Montreal for the 32nd edition of International Gymnix on March 5, 2026. (Adriana Gentile, CityNews)<\/p>\n

Bouffard was at the Olympics when Com\u0103neci\u2019s historic routine took place.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was privileged enough to see her every day, every performance,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the first 10 happened, I was just underneath the bleachers and I thought it would crumble. The sound was amazingly strong and the feeling was so \u2018my God this is happening.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Romania\u2019s Nadia Comaneci, 14, performs her part of the balance beam routine Thursday July 23, 1976 in Olympic competition in Montreal. This multiple exposure study points out the grace of her movements, leading to a gold medal and a perfect score in the event. (AP Photo\/Suzanne Vlamis)<\/p>\n

She says the moment sparked a surge of interest in gymnastics across Montreal.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany, many young girls wanted to become Nadia,\u201d Bouffard said. \u201cDifferent clubs around Montreal had lots of new registrations.\u201d<\/p>\n

That momentum helped shape the city\u2019s gymnastics community for decades to come.<\/p>\n

A global competition<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s competition brings together more than 1,200 athletes from 12 countries, including teams from the United States, France, Japan and Romania.<\/p>\n

The event features competitors across multiple levels, from introductory divisions to junior and senior elite categories.<\/p>\n

\"\"A poster promoting the 32nd edition of International Gymnix is displayed at the Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard in Montreal on March 5, 2026. (Adriana Gentile, CityNews)<\/p>\n

International Gymnix director Marie-Chantale Laplante says the goal is to give young athletes early exposure to international competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have girls competing from all levels, introductory all the way to juniors and seniors,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The format allows young gymnasts to compete alongside high-level athletes while giving Canadian competitors valuable international experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe tend to do that to offer the little girls opportunities to compete with the greatest and also to give our gymnasts at home from Quebec, from Montreal and from Canada an opportunity to compete with international competitors that they will meet later on in their career,\u201d Laplante said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Marie-Chantale Laplante, director of International Gymnix, at the training sessions at the Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard in Montreal for the 32nd edition of International Gymnix on March 5, 2026. (Adriana Gentile, CityNews)<\/p>\n

Hosting the event also puts Montreal on the global sports map.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone is meeting here, all athletes from around the world, also coaches, judges and also athletes and it gives also a vision of what Montreal can offer for other sports also,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Preparing on the podium<\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s sessions were part of what organizers call podium training, allowing athletes to adjust to the competition venue and equipment.<\/p>\n

Laplante says it helps athletes settle in before the pressure of competition begins.<\/p>\n

\u201cPodium training is an opportunity for the athletes to train on site. Many have travelled from far away, all the way to Japan, so it gives them the opportunity to try the events, try all the apparatus, make sure that they feel well, they feel secure and when it\u2019s time to compete all the stress, what most of the stress is gone and they just have to show.\u201d<\/p>\n

Competition began earlier in the week with provincial-level events and will build toward the finals scheduled for Sunday.<\/p>\n

\"\"Gymnasts during training sessions at the Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard in Montreal for the 32nd edition of International Gymnix on March 5, 2026. (Adriana Gentile, CityNews)<\/p>\n

The next generation<\/p>\n

For the athletes preparing to compete, the event represents years of training.<\/p>\n

Fourteen-year-old Team Canada gymnast Nikita Th\u00e9odat says she has been involved in gymnastics since she was a child. She hopes to reach at least one final.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal is to maybe do at least one final,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Nikita Th\u00e9odat, Team Canada gymnast, at the training sessions at the Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard in Montreal for the 32nd edition of International Gymnix on March 5, 2026. (Adriana Gentile, CityNews)<\/p>\n

She also wants to represent her country on the international stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s to show\u2026 the other countries how Canada could be competitive, good, and have good teamwork,\u201d Nikita said.<\/p>\n

She says she has been preparing for competitions like this for years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been training I\u2019d say my whole life because this is like a dream come true,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve been training for this type of competition since I was maybe like eight years old since I knew it existed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Team Canada gymnasts train together at the Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard in Montreal for the 32nd edition of International Gymnix on March 5, 2026. (Adriana Gentile, CityNews)<\/p>\n

After several training sessions in the venue, she says she feels ready.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m feeling great. I have been doing three training sessions in here and I\u2019ve got used to the equipment and I feel like the competition might be good because I\u2019m ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

A dream realized<\/p>\n

For 13-year-old Canadian gymnast Mackenzie Grant, simply being part of the competition is already a milestone.<\/p>\n

\u201cGymnastics is literally my whole life,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m so grateful for this opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Mackenzie Grant, gymnast, at the training sessions at the Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard in Montreal for the 32nd edition of International Gymnix on March 5, 2026. (Adriana Gentile, CityNews)<\/p>\n

Mackenzie first discovered the sport by watching her sister train.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy sister was a gymnast and I always watched her and then I started doing it at school, on the grass, at my house and then finally my parents got me into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Years of dedication have led to this moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been working so hard and finally my hard work has paid off and I\u2019m just so incredibly grateful for everybody who\u2019s given me this opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Nikita Th\u00e9odat (left) and Mackenzie Grant (right), Team Canada gymnasts, at the training sessions at the Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard in Montreal for the 32nd edition of International Gymnix on March 5, 2026. (Adriana Gentile, CityNews)<\/p>\n

Her focus now is simple: perform well and enjoy the experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mindset is just hitting all of my events, keeping it slow and having a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

And for younger athletes hoping to follow the same path, her advice is clear: \u201cKeep working hard, have a good mindset and just be grateful every step of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every performance begins long before competition day. On Thursday, junior and senior gymnasts took part in training sessions…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":516973,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194292],"tags":[49,48,2338],"class_list":["post-516972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-montreal","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-montreal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=516972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/516973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=516972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=516972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=516972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}