Summary: Watch out for the athletes who make it look easy. They are the ones who have poured agonies of effort into every millisecond of their game. Olympic Gymnastics Champion Kyle Shewfelt is a prime example. The ‘Style of Kyle’ was practically balletic, but every ‘effortless’ gesture was the product of intense, obsessive hard work. CBC’s Gymnastics and Trampoline analyst explores the many layers of mental and physical effort that excellence demands in his new autobiography ‘Make it Happen’, but almost more fascinating than his years of chasing a perfect routine, is his time spent adrift when the competitive career ended. Kyle tried to fit into a few new careers, and he is no enemy of hard work...but it wasn’t until he was slapped in the face by the obvious that he remembered- Gymnastics! That’s what I love- I’ll open a gym! Kyle and his fellow Calgarian Anastasia Bucsis broaden the talk to issues that define his sport internationally now. Why are male gymnasts revered in Germany and Japan, but elsewhere seen as lesser athletes than those in team contact sports? Why can't robo-judging take some of the bias out of artistic gymnastics scores? And why do Gymnastic routines and difficulty points never stay the same from one season to the next? You'll be watching Gymnastics like a pro when the Tokyo games get underway.
