Every performance begins long before competition day.
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 4–8.
This year’s event comes as Montreal marks the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Summer Olympics — a defining moment in the sport’s history.
At those Games, Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci 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.
For many in Montreal’s gymnastics community, that moment still resonates decades later.
High-performance coach and Club Gymnix artistic director Francine Bouffard remembers seeing the performance in person as a young gymnast.
“I was there. I was a 12-year-old kid back then who was already a gymnast,” she said.
Bouffard was at the Olympics when Comăneci’s historic routine took place.
“I was privileged enough to see her every day, every performance,” she said.
“When 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 ‘my God this is happening.’”
She says the moment sparked a surge of interest in gymnastics across Montreal.
“Many, many young girls wanted to become Nadia,” Bouffard said. “Different clubs around Montreal had lots of new registrations.”
That momentum helped shape the city’s gymnastics community for decades to come.
This year’s competition brings together more than 1,200 athletes from 12 countries, including teams from the United States, France, Japan and Romania.
The event features competitors across multiple levels, from introductory divisions to junior and senior elite categories.
International Gymnix director Marie-Chantale Laplante says the goal is to give young athletes early exposure to international competition.
“We have girls competing from all levels, introductory all the way to juniors and seniors,” she said.
The format allows young gymnasts to compete alongside high-level athletes while giving Canadian competitors valuable international experience.
“We 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,” Laplante said.
Hosting the event also puts Montreal on the global sports map.
“Everyone 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,” she said.
Thursday’s sessions were part of what organizers call podium training, allowing athletes to adjust to the competition venue and equipment.
Laplante says it helps athletes settle in before the pressure of competition begins.
“Podium 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’s time to compete all the stress, what most of the stress is gone and they just have to show.”
Competition began earlier in the week with provincial-level events and will build toward the finals scheduled for Sunday.
For the athletes preparing to compete, the event represents years of training.
Fourteen-year-old Team Canada gymnast Nikita Théodat says she has been involved in gymnastics since she was a child. She hopes to reach at least one final.
“My goal is to maybe do at least one final,” she said.
She also wants to represent her country on the international stage.
“It’s to show… the other countries how Canada could be competitive, good, and have good teamwork,” Nikita said.
She says she has been preparing for competitions like this for years.
“I’ve been training I’d say my whole life because this is like a dream come true,” she said. “I’ve been training for this type of competition since I was maybe like eight years old since I knew it existed.”
After several training sessions in the venue, she says she feels ready.
“I’m feeling great. I have been doing three training sessions in here and I’ve got used to the equipment and I feel like the competition might be good because I’m ready.”
A dream realized
For 13-year-old Canadian gymnast Mackenzie Grant, simply being part of the competition is already a milestone.
“Gymnastics is literally my whole life,” she said. “I’m so grateful for this opportunity.”
Mackenzie first discovered the sport by watching her sister train.
“My 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.”
Years of dedication have led to this moment.
“I have been working so hard and finally my hard work has paid off and I’m just so incredibly grateful for everybody who’s given me this opportunity.”
Her focus now is simple: perform well and enjoy the experience.
“My mindset is just hitting all of my events, keeping it slow and having a lot of fun.”
And for younger athletes hoping to follow the same path, her advice is clear: “Keep working hard, have a good mindset and just be grateful every step of the way.”
