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Born April 5th, 1946, Gail was
one of Saskatoon’s finest gymnasts. At the age of 11, she took part in
a tumbling program at St. Mary’s hall. Mike Matich noticed her working
out, and introduced her to the gymnastic program. Chuck Sebestyen also
entered the scene and before long, Gail was winning medals and ribbons.
In 1959, she was Saskatchewan’s junior champion, then became Alberta and
Western Canadian junior champion in 1960 and 1961. In 1962, she really
progressed and after winning the Canadian championship was on the World
Games team and competed in and England/Canada meet and the U.S.
championships.
The competition in 1963 was tougher but she
added the Canadian senior championship to her credit and was on the
Pan-American Games team. In 1964, Gail was the only female to go to the
Tokyo Games. Because of her excellent showing all year she was awarded
the Federation of International Gymnastics Pin and was named Canadian
Female Athlete of the Year. After moving to the U.S. she won several
collegiate titles and when she left competition she found time to coach,
train and officiate. |
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