|
Michelle in attendance
at the 2001 Spring Cup |
At 16, Michelle Conway was the second youngest of
Canada's 2000 Olympians, yet she used her considerable
international experience and some old-fashioned guts
to be one of the team's unsung heroes. Just days
before the start of the competition, Conway had torn
the meniscus in her left knee while training a
one-and-a-half twisting Yurchenko, placing her
competitive status in jeopardy. She was not to be
denied, however, and when teammate Emilie Fournier
sustained a tibial fracture during podium training,
Conway stepped up and contributed three nearly
flawless exercises towards Canada's impressive
9th-place team total.
Most remarkable was an inspired floor routine on an
injured knee: with Canada having already having to
count Lise Leveille's 8.587, Conway, who has been
lauded the world over for her passionate,
no-holds-barred style on floor, handled the difficult
mat that claimed so many athletes in Sydney. She
scored a 9.612, placing her among the alternates for
the floor exercise final.
Finishing her competition on vault, Conway's Olympic
experience culminated with a perfectly stuck
Hristakieva. Scott Russell, the CBC commentator for
women's gymnastics in Sydney, was amazed by Conway's
toughness, exclaiming to the television audience back
home in Canada that Conway's effort was "one of the
greatest performances I've seen in a long time in this
sport". Conway returned home after the Sydney Games,
and eventually had surgery to repair her knee to give
her the chance to continue her elite career for
another season before heading off to join teammate
Yvonne Tousek at UCLA in 2001.
Leading up to the Olympics, Conway had lived what
could be considered a charmed life in women's
gymnastics. A child prodigy, she moved up to the
senior ranks early, placing an impressive sixth at the
1997 Elite Canada at the tender age of 14. The first
half of 1998 was less kind to Conway, however, for her
debut at Senior Nationals was marred by errors caused
by a knee injury sustained at the Wild Rose meet in
Edmonton earlier in the year. Her surprising 2nd
place finish at the Wild Rose, behind Russia's future
Olympic champion, Elena Zamolodchikova, had given
Conway hopes for a top finish at nationals, but the
pain and lack of training time resulted in a
disappointing 11th place finish. Undaunted, she
bounced back at the end of the year with a remarkable
2nd place effort at the Elite Canada, ceding victory
to a much more experienced Tousek.
As a result of Conway's high national ranking at the
end of 1998, she was selected to a number of
prestigious competition squads in the 1999 season.
First came the USA vs. Canada, a meet hosted by her
own Sport Seneca gymnastic club. Seneca has a long
history of producing outstanding gymnasts, largely
because of their unique program combining sports with
academics. Athletes who train at the club are
admitted to a special school program that allows for
the rigors of training and competition without
compromising academic integrity. Sport Seneca's head
coaches, Carol Angela Orchard and Brian McVey, had
considered leaving coaching after years of dedication,
but it was Conway's obvious talents as a youngster
that persuaded them to continue.
|
Michelle competing in the
2000 Olympic Trials |
Just weeks after Canada's victory at the USA vs.
Canada, Conway was selected to compete at the Pan
American Games. There, she stepped out of the shadows
of her more famous teammates, first by sticking a
clutch beam routine to clinch the team gold medal, and
later by finishing second in the all-around behind
American Morgan White. Notably, Conway had the nerve
to throw her 1½ twisting Yurchenko for the first time
ever in competition with her medal placing on the
line. Despite some minor execution deductions, she
stood it up confidently to secure the silver. Conway
then added to her impressive medal haul with a silver
on the floor exercise, bringing Canada's total medal
count in women's gymnastics to a remarkable seven.
At the world championships later that year, Conway
helped the Canadian team secure a berth in the Sydney
Olympics with their 10th place finish. Unfortunately,
a shaky beam routine, coupled with judging that was
inexplicably strict on her Start Value (8.9!), kept
Conway out of the all-around final.
The year 2000 resulted in the fulfillment of Conway's
Olympic dream, but a series of injuries made the road
to the Games a bumpy one. After being unable to
participate in the Pacific Alliance Championships in
April (she traveled to a duel meet with Great Britain
instead), Conway's chance to compete at the Gymnastic
Challenge 2000 was dashed by an ankle injury. Even as
late as the Olympic Trials in July, Conway still had
her ankle taped and was unable to complete full
tumbling.
|
Michelle competing in the
2000 Olympic Trials |
At the Trials, Conway's consistent performance (one
beam fall over the two days of competition) was good
enough for fourth place overall, but it was not enough
to gain automatic selection to the Olympic team (only
the top two athletes gained such a right). After a
meeting of the selection committee, however, Conway's
experience and ability were considered indispensable
to the team, and she was named to the Canadian Olympic
team that would travel to Sydney.
A born performer, Conway is known for her exceptional
style and originality. On the balance beam, she
performs an incredibly difficult illusion with a full
turn as well as a risky tour jete with a half twist (a
full 360 degree turn from the time her feet leave the
beam). On the floor exercise, she has shown a variety
of tumbling and dance elements, including (during
various stages of her career) a tucked front full
through to 2½ twist punch front, a 1½ twist to double
back, and a tough double illusion as part of her
dance.
With the arrival of the 2001 season, Conway is now
faced with a difficult choice: train to represent
Canada one last time at the upcoming world
championships in Ghent, Belgium, or simply work to
maintain her physical condition and skill level so
that she can join the top-ranked UCLA gymnastics team
in the fall. Despite not being completely recovered
from her knee injuries of the past year, Conway has
already begun to re-establish herself on the
international scene, first with a victory against a
tough field at the 2001 Gymnix International, and more
recently with a 5th place showing (despite two errors)
at the well-attended Friendship Cup in Pottsville,
Pennsylvania.
|
Michelle competing in the
2001 Gymnix International |
Interestingly, the new 2001-2008 Code of Points has
actually given Conway an edge on what was
traditionally one of her weaker events, the balance
beam. With only minor adjustments, including a new
punch front-back tuck combination and a difficult
switch leap to side somi, Conway is capable of a full
10.0 Start Value on beam, a feat that is exceedingly
rare this early in the competitive season. As she
works to upgrade her other events, most importantly
her exercise on the uneven bars where she lacks the
now-required same-bar release element, Conway will
continue to evaluate her goals and priorities in her
final year on the Canadian national team.
When she is not training 30 hours per week, Conway
devotes her energies to her church at the Salvation
Army Agincourt Temple. Her faith plays a major role
in her views on life and competition. "I don't pray
for God to help me win...I pray for Him to help me be
strong," Conway told the CBC prior to the Olympic
Games. "I pray to have fun and do my best, and I pray
to be strong, because I know I can do it."
