Super Kids

EVAN

After warming up with front flips and cartwheels on the mat, Evan McGrath quickly darts his way up the support beam. It’s clear that he’s already in his element as his tongue hangs out of his mouth. Eyes intense with focus, he grips the crossbar and starts swinging back and forth, slowly gaining the momentum to make one complete rotation.

While bidding for the 2024 Summer Olympics has yet to commence, it’s been on Evan’s radar for a while—his dream fueled by a recent run-in with two male Olympic gymnasts.

By 2024, the, now, nine year old will be eligible to compete in the Olympics—at least in terms of age. And if everything goes according to his plan, McGrath will qualify for the games based on skill, as well. For the last four years, Evan has been a top competitor on his gymnastics team at Xtreme Altitude in Lafayette. Though he competes in all six events, his favorites are the high and parallel bars.

“I like them because you feel like you’re flying,” Evan says, something evident as he practices. But Evan’s active history goes further back than his years on the team. Almost as long as he’s been able to balance on two feet, Evan has been doing handstands across the house, and back flips off the couch. An outlet was needed. So, Shannon McGrath put him in gymnastics … almost on a whim. “Then every time I picked him up from practice, his instructors would tell me he needed to go to the next level,” recalls Shannon. “I always say that gymnastics picked him.”

In the summer, Evan spends 20 hours a week practicing at the gym. And between the hours of weekly practice, and competitions during meet season, his gymnastics schedule can seem like overload for a nine year old. That isn’t how Evan sees it at all, though. In regard to the long hours and hard work, Evan explains that, “you keep getting to do bigger things and learn more skills.”

“He knows this can all evolve into bigger things,” Shannon says. Bouncing in his chair with energy, nodding agreeably, Evan breaks out into a wide grin—2024 will be here before we know it.