Soaring Cayuga Heights: Gymnast Elana Molotsky
Sports Editor: Zoe Forster
After attending a birthday party at a gymnastics place at age three, Elana Molotsky ’17 knew she wanted to be a gymnast.
“I had such a good time that my mom signed me up for classes and I never left,” Molotsky said. “I trained there [the gymnastics studio] my whole life.”
Molotsky, a freshman on the Cornell Women’s Gymnastics team, expresses that getting to Cornell was not easy. The path to becoming a high level gymnast requires dedication as it is filled with many hours of practices and competitions.
From a young age Molotsky learned how to be a student athlete, balancing 16-20 hours of practice a week on top of schoolwork.
“My weekends were always filled with lots and lots of homework because it was so hard for me to get a lot of work done on weeknights after practice,” Molotsky said. “Here it’s basically the same thing. I spend a lot of time on the weekends preparing for tests and doing homework that is due sometime that week so I don’t have to worry about it after practice.”
These long nights at the gym and long hours working on the weekends took a toll on Molotsky, as she always wanted to be a normal teenager. “I never wanted to be in the Olympics or be homeschooled in order to train more hours,” Molotsky said. “I wanted to be a normal kid who also did gymnastics 20 hours a week.”
Prior to Cornell, Molotsky competed at level ten, the highest level of gymnastics, for six years. She was a member of the Jersey Jets Gymnastics team and was captain of her high school’s gymnastics team her junior and senior year.
Molotsky was also fortunate enough to participate in the 18th and 19th Maccabiah games in Israel, a series of competitions for Jewish athletes from around the world. Motosky describes the Maccabia games as an “amazing experience.” Molotsky continues saying, “Not only did I get to do the sport I love, but I got to do it in my favorite place in the world with thousands of other Jewish athletes. I made so many friends and made so many memories both times I competed and hope to one day go back and coach.”
Molotsky’s competes on two events, bars and floor, at Cornell. “I love floor because I love performing and dancing and it’s a great event for the audience to watch,” Molotsky explains, “It’s always been a favorite for me because it is definitely the most fun and energetic. Plus I love to smile during my routines.”
Molotsky hopes to continue her passion for gymnastics throughout her time here at Cornell and improve individually with the support of her team and coaches. “She is a hard worker, and is very diligent about making the small corrections to her routines that will allow her to score at or above the 9.7 mark,” coach Paul Beckwith said.
Header image source: Ken Vanderputten
