Emma Leathem has been one of the territorySA国际影视传媒檚 best gymnasts for quite some time but now sheSA国际影视传媒檚 the answer to a trivia question.

The 17-year-old is back home after competing at the Gymnastics National Championships in Richmond, B.C., late last month. In doing so, she became the first female gymnast from the NWT to ever participate in the event, and she certainly didnSA国际影视传媒檛 disappoint.

She said her time there was simply awesome.

SA国际影视传媒淚t was a great experience and it was a thrill to be able to say that ISA国际影视传媒檝e accomplished something like that,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

Leathem competed on the vault and uneven bars only, meaning she wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 in contention for the all-around as she didnSA国际影视传媒檛 do the floor or beam. Still, she made the most of her time as she qualified for the vault final and finished eighth overall, becoming the first female NWT gymnast to place in an event final.

She said a top-10 finish was a hopeful placing beforehand.

SA国际影视传媒淚 just wanted to go in, do my best and see where that would lead me,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淚t was awesome just to know that I am a top-10 vaulter and have the ability to finish in that area.SA国际影视传媒�

The result is a bit more impressive when one realizes that Leathem hurt her knee during training. That meant she didnSA国际影视传媒檛 go as hard leading up to the main event, saving her best efforts for when she needed it.

SA国际影视传媒淚 was taking it really easy during training,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淚 went up for the vault, told myself this was my one chance, I did it, I nailed it, and I felt very strong about it.SA国际影视传媒�

John Tram, LeathemSA国际影视传媒檚 coach, said it was one of the best vaults heSA国际影视传媒檚 ever seen, and it also had a higher degree of difficulty than many others.

SA国际影视传媒淰ault is one apparatus where itSA国际影视传媒檚 really hard to stick the landing,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淗er vault was one of the harder ones SA国际影视传媒� a handspring front-tuck SA国际影视传媒� and that had a start (scoring) value of 10.0. A lot of the other athletes werenSA国际影视传媒檛 doing 10.0 starts so that was awesome to see. We saved her knee as best we could and luckily, she was all good that day.SA国际影视传媒�

Leathem, whoSA国际影视传媒檚 a veteran of the Western Canadian Championships, Arctic Winter Games and Canada Winter Games, said competing at the national championships was a much different experience from anything sheSA国际影视传媒檚 ever done.

SA国际影视传媒淲estern Canadians is just those from Western Canada, whereas nationals is much more competitive,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淵ouSA国际影视传媒檝e got Quebec and Ontario, who are the strongest teams in Canada.SA国际影视传媒�

The intimidation factor wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 there at all, she added, as sheSA国际影视传媒檚 used to being part of small teams whenever she travels.

SA国际影视传媒淚SA国际影视传媒檝e gone to competitions by myself in the past but ISA国际影视传媒檓 getting used to it,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淚 felt really good going into nationals and I felt good at what I was bringing to the competition. We trained really hard before we went and I was reaching my peak, everything was consistent and I felt strong.SA国际影视传媒�

Tram knows a thing or two about nationals as he was the first athlete SA国际影视传媒� male or female SA国际影视传媒� to represent the territory on three occasions: 2002, 2005 and 2006, the latter year being the most successful result for a NWT gymnast to date when he won bronze on the rings.

He said he did whatever he could to make Leathem comfortable.

SA国际影视传媒淚 talked about my experience and everything I knew to prepare her as best as possible SA国际影视传媒� just try and make her relaxed so she didnSA国际影视传媒檛 feel any kind of pressure and to just be in the moment to focus on herself,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淭hatSA国际影视传媒檚 how you achieve the best results: not being distracted by anything and focusing on the right things, setting the right goals.SA国际影视传媒�

Not being able to compete for the better part of the last three years was also a worry, he added.

SA国际影视传媒淪he didnSA国际影视传媒檛 have her best result at Westerns (back in April) because she was just coming back into the sport but she worked hard and she peaked right at nationals,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淲e had no idea of what her standing would be before nationals because we havenSA国际影视传媒檛 had competitions for a while and itSA国际影视传媒檚 hard to predict where the other teams are at. I knew she could do well and it just had to be good on that day but she did awesome.SA国际影视传媒�

As for her future gymnastics endeavours, Leathem isnSA国际影视传媒檛 sure what she will be doing as sheSA国际影视传媒檚 focusing on school. She just graduated from St. PatSA国际影视传媒檚 and is weighing her post-secondary options.

SA国际影视传媒淲hen I figure it out, weSA国际影视传媒檒l see how it goes,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

Tram added, SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 hard because there arenSA国际影视传媒檛 any university competitions in Canada. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 all about seeing what works out best for her but school should be number one for her.SA国际影视传媒�

As for being that trivia question answer? It feels awesome, said Leathem, but also a good feeling knowing sheSA国际影视传媒檚 started the path for female gymnasts in the territory to compete at the Gymnastics National Championships.

SA国际影视传媒淚SA国际影视传媒檓 proud to be able to say I was the first female,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淚t feels awesome to accomplish what I did.SA国际影视传媒�