There’s no two ways about it – gymnastics is a dangerous sport.
Fortunately though, there’s some good coaches out there waiting to step in when things go very wrong.
At least, that’s what happened when one young athlete miscalculated a landing during an event in Nashville, Tennessee, as her quick-thinking coach was there to catch her.
Shocking footage, taken by the girl’s mum, shows just how close she was to having a nasty fall, which could have led to horrendous injuries.
In the video, the child can be seen running towards the spring board, jumping into a handspring, before flipping through the air. However, when she comes to land, it becomes obvious she’s not going to make her landing, as her legs slide off the mat, causing her to fall.
Fortunately, a horrifying situation is narrowly avoided, as the coach jumps in and catches her mid-air. Talk about cat-like reflexes.
The video was posted to social media, with the caption:
When you compete vault, you have two tries at it – the judges takes the best one and that will be your score.
This was my daughter’s first run on vault and when jumping back on her back handspring she went sideways and could’ve badly hurt herself.
But her coach saw that she wasn’t aligned and ran in to catch her before she hit the ground.
It’s pretty terrifying to think what could’ve happened without this coach’s quick thinking and professionalism.
What a hero.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.