A year ago, Victoria Podollan set herself the goal of making the senior national rhythmic gymnastics team.
It was a lofty ambition for a first-year senior, but the Grade 11 Kalamalka Secondary student has never been one to back down from a challenge.
Podollan trains under former Olympian Camille Martens, logging 27-plus hours a week training at Martens’ Okanagan Rhythmic Gymanstics Club. She began as a Novice in 2005, earning he way onto the Junior national team five years later.
Working with intensity and passion, Podollan and Martens crafted new routines and upped the difficulty level in preparation for the 2011 season, which began in Las Vegas last January.
After that, Podollan, working with teammates Kiah Ward and Megan Hamilton, embarked on a 10-day back-to-back competition trip to Toronto and Montreal.
At the Elite Canada ranking event in Winnipeg, Podollan and teammate Kelsey Anderson were two of the three competitors representing B.C. at the Senior level.
Ward was one of nine from B.C. competing as a Junior. Podollan climbed the podium for her first time, as third Senior, Ward was sixth Junior and Anderson 10th Senior.
The result was enough for Gymnastics Canada to invite Podollan to represent Canada at an official world cup event in Portugal. For Podollan, the mere thought of being sanctioned to represent her country was exhilarating, even more so because world cup participation is reserved for the top three athletes from each country.
The synergy between Podollan and Martens is remarkable. Leading up to some competitions, the pair can be in the gym for more than 40 hours a week.
“Victoria has been known to drill difficult moves literally thousands of times, calling on family members to sometimes stay after practice to move the beads on the abacus and chart her progress on her self-imposed charts,” said Leah Podollan, Victoria’s mother.
“Camille runs a very intense and inspiring program. To have a 16-year-old jump out of bed at 4:45 a.m. and train some evenings until 10 p.m., 46 weeks a year, foregoing a typical teenager’s life and most family holidays, speaks volumes of her commitment.”
The world cup in Portugal welcomed 52 athletes from more than 30 countries, with Podollan the sole Canadian representative. For Martens, it was her first time to a world cup as a coach. The duo went in with a “nothing to lose, everything to gain” attitude.
Podollan placed 45th and was overjoyed with the result.
“With four clean routines, not a single drop, she dazzled the carpet with her electrifying expression and conquered four personal best scores at the biggest event of her career,” said Martens.
Added Victoria: “To arrive to a city and see billboards and buses painted with the world cup advertised, I realized what a dig deal this event was going to be.
“I’ll never ever forget the moment that they announced my name to enter the carpet. The venue was huge and there was three levels of international judges. There was even a whole level of cameras and media. It was like you could see my heart beat through my suit. I’ll also never forget the feeling I felt at the final moment of my first routine. I was so pumped.”
In June, Martens flew with her national level athletes to Montreal for the Canadian individual championships.
Representing her club for their first time at the prestigious event, Podollan claimed fifth overall and Anderson took 10th, both earning spots on the senior team.
Novice competitors Megan Hamilton and Tessa Rohatensky were 18th and 20th respectively. In the Junior event, Ward placed sixth and Loren Stanley was 28th.
