Elsa Garcia
Encyclopedia
Elsa García Rodriguez Blancas, born February 8, 1990, is a Mexican gymnast
from Monterrey
. She trains at the Regio Club Gimnástico where she is coached by husband and wife Antonio Barraza and Teresa Lopez. Elsa trains alongside national team member Marisela Cantú. Her coaches describe Elsa as a hard working gymnast, but one who still enjoys the sport very much. Garcia is currently Mexico's top female Gymnast and is rated a strong chance to qualify to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
For Elsa, gymnastics started as a game and a way to control her undying energy as a child. At the age of three she began her classes alongside her sister Laura. At age 8, she found her way to Regio Club Gimnastico where she met her actual coaches and trained alongside Mexican national champions Cristina Lozoya, Marisela Cantú, Rocío Leal, Abril Sánchez and others. Her first steps in gymnastic gold was in Méxicos Junior Olympic games in which she won the all around title for six consecutive years, apparatus 1st places as well as contributing to the team title. She fell under the economic support of the state of Nuevo León and later of the Mexican Federation.
Elsa's breakout performance was at the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games, where at the age of 12, she became the youngest champion in the competition's history. She won the all-around title and first place with the Mexican team, as well as silver medals on balance beam and floor exercise. Elsa also had a strong performance at the Pacific Alliance competition that year. Elsa returned to the Pacific Alliance competition in 2004, winning the junior vault title (tied with the USA's Jana Bieger
) and a silver on the floor. Still ineligible to compete as a senior, Elsa performed well at the Gymnix International and Leverkusen Cup junior competitions in 2005.
Elsa's breakout Senior performance was at the 2006 American Cup, held in Philadelphia. Here, Elsa placed 5th All Around at the prestigious invitational competition. Elsa's success continued, winning 4 gold medals at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games and placing 33rd in the preliminaries for the 2006 World Championships. In 2007, she returned to the American Cup, winning the bronze medal in the all around. After this competition, she had a series of strong results on the World Cup circuit, including two gold medals at the Cottbus event in Germany. In late 2007, Garcia struggled with injury which hampered her qualification hopes to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
In 2009, Elsa came back to gymnastics and competed at the World Championships in October. There she placed 12th in the All Around Final and qualified into the Vault final. She was also awarded the Prize for Elegance along with Great Britain's Daniel Keatings
at this competition.
Gymnast
Gymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia...
from Monterrey
Monterrey
Monterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the...
. She trains at the Regio Club Gimnástico where she is coached by husband and wife Antonio Barraza and Teresa Lopez. Elsa trains alongside national team member Marisela Cantú. Her coaches describe Elsa as a hard working gymnast, but one who still enjoys the sport very much. Garcia is currently Mexico's top female Gymnast and is rated a strong chance to qualify to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
For Elsa, gymnastics started as a game and a way to control her undying energy as a child. At the age of three she began her classes alongside her sister Laura. At age 8, she found her way to Regio Club Gimnastico where she met her actual coaches and trained alongside Mexican national champions Cristina Lozoya, Marisela Cantú, Rocío Leal, Abril Sánchez and others. Her first steps in gymnastic gold was in Méxicos Junior Olympic games in which she won the all around title for six consecutive years, apparatus 1st places as well as contributing to the team title. She fell under the economic support of the state of Nuevo León and later of the Mexican Federation.
Elsa's breakout performance was at the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games, where at the age of 12, she became the youngest champion in the competition's history. She won the all-around title and first place with the Mexican team, as well as silver medals on balance beam and floor exercise. Elsa also had a strong performance at the Pacific Alliance competition that year. Elsa returned to the Pacific Alliance competition in 2004, winning the junior vault title (tied with the USA's Jana Bieger
Jana Bieger
Jana Lyn Bieger is an American gymnast of German descent. Raised in the U.S. and a citizen, Bieger has competed only for the U.S. At the 2006 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, she won three silver medals...
) and a silver on the floor. Still ineligible to compete as a senior, Elsa performed well at the Gymnix International and Leverkusen Cup junior competitions in 2005.
Elsa's breakout Senior performance was at the 2006 American Cup, held in Philadelphia. Here, Elsa placed 5th All Around at the prestigious invitational competition. Elsa's success continued, winning 4 gold medals at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games and placing 33rd in the preliminaries for the 2006 World Championships. In 2007, she returned to the American Cup, winning the bronze medal in the all around. After this competition, she had a series of strong results on the World Cup circuit, including two gold medals at the Cottbus event in Germany. In late 2007, Garcia struggled with injury which hampered her qualification hopes to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
In 2009, Elsa came back to gymnastics and competed at the World Championships in October. There she placed 12th in the All Around Final and qualified into the Vault final. She was also awarded the Prize for Elegance along with Great Britain's Daniel Keatings
Daniel Keatings
Daniel Ryan Keatings is a British artistic gymnast. He trains at the Huntingdon Olympic Gymnastics Club under coach, Paul Hall alongside teammate Louis Smith....
at this competition.