Shallon_Olsen

Shallon Olsen

Shallon Olsen

Canadian artistic gymnast


Shallon Jade Olsen (born 10 July 2000)[1] is a Canadian artistic gymnast. She is the 2018 World silver medalist and 2018 Commonwealth Games champion on vault. She is also the 2018 Commonwealth Games floor exercise bronze medalist and the 2019 Pan American Games vault bronze medalist. She was a member of the Canadian team that won the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the silver medal at the 2019 Pan American Games. She is also the 2016 Pacific Rim vault champion, team silver medalist, and floor exercise bronze medalist. She represented Canada at the 2016 Olympics where she was the youngest member of the Canadian Olympic team and at the 2020 Olympic Games. Additionally, she currently competes for the University of Alabama gymnastics team, and she helped the Crimson Tide win the 2021 SEC Championships.

Quick Facts Personal information, Full name ...

Early life

Shallon Olsen was born on 10 July 2000 in Vancouver to parents Tony Olsen and Jayne Chow-Olsen, and she has an older brother named Chas.[2] She began gymnastics when she was three years old.[3] She attended Centennial Secondary in Coquitlam, British Columbia outside of her hometown of Surrey to remain close to her six-day a week training at Omega Gymnastics.[4]

Novice career

Olsen made her elite debut at 2009 Elite Canada where she placed fifth in the all-around in the novice division.[5] She won the bronze medal on the floor exercise behind Maegan Chant and Jordyn Pedersen.[6] In 2010, she won the gold medal in the all-around at Elite Canada and the silver medal at the Novice Canadian Championships.

At the 2011 Canada Winter Games in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Olsen won the silver medal with the British Columbia team. Individually, she won the bronze medal on the balance beam and the gold medal on the floor exercise.[7] She won the gold medal in the all-around and on the vault and the silver medals on the uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise at the 2011 Novice Canadian Championships.[8]

Junior career

2012

Olsen moved up to the junior level in 2012 and won the gold medal in the all-around at Elite Canada.[9] In the event finals, she won the gold medals on the vault and on the floor exercise and tied for the silver medal on the uneven bars and placed eighth on the balance beam.[10] She also won the all-around gold medal at the Canadian Gymnastics Championship in Regina, Saskatchewan.[11] She made her international debut at the Élite Gym Massilia in November, winning gold with her team and silver in the all-around behind compatriot Rose-Kaying Woo.[12][13]

2013

Olsen began her 2013 season by defending her Elite Canada all-around title. Additionally, she won the gold medal on the vault and the silver medal on the floor exercise, and she finished sixth on the uneven bars and fourth on the balance beam.[14] She then competed at the International Gymnix, winning gold on vault and placing tenth in the all-around.[15] In May, she competed at the Canadian Championships, winning gold in the all-around, vault, and floor exercise, and placing fourth on bars and fifth on beam.[16] In November, she competed again at the Élite Gym Massilia placing fifth with the Canadian team, thirteenth in the all-around, and fourth on vault.[17] Olsen was awarded the Kate Richardson Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year by Gymnastics British Columbia.[18]

2014

In February, Olsen began her season at Elite Canada, winning gold on vault and floor and silver in the all-around, uneven bars, and balance beam.[19] One month later at the International Gymnix, she won gold on vault, silver with her team and on floor, bronze in the all-around, and placed seventh on balance beam.[20] She then traveled to Aracaju, Brazil for the Junior Pan American Championships and won team gold alongside teammates Rose-Kaying Woo, Megan Roberts, and Sydney Townsend.[21] In the event finals, Olsen won the silver medal on the vault behind Brazil's Rebeca Andrade and placed forth on the floor exercise.[22] Then at the Pacific Championships in Richmond, she helped team Canada win the silver medal behind the United States.[23] Individually, Olsen finished seventh in the all-around and sixth on uneven bars, and she won the bronze medal on vault and the silver medal on floor exercise.[24][25] In May, Olsen competed at the Canadian National Championships, winning vault gold, all-around, uneven bars, and balance beam silver, and floor exercise bronze.[26] Then in November, she competed at the Elite Gym Massilia and won silver on vault and placed fifth with her team and eleventh in the all-around.[27]

2015

Olsen competed in the senior division of the Elite Canada in late January, winning vault gold, floor exercise bronze, and placing sixth in the all-around and eighth on beam.[28] Then at the Canada Games, she helped the British Columbia team win the bronze medal. Individually, Olsen won the silver medal in the all-around behind Rose-Kaying Woo and on vault and floor exercise behind Megan Roberts. She also won the bronze on the uneven bars and placed fourth on the balance beam.[29] In March, she competed at the International Gymnix, winning team and vault gold and placing eighth in the all-around.[30] Then at the City of Jesolo Trophy, she won team and vault silver and placed tenth in the all-around.[31] Her final competition of the season was the Canadian Championships where she placed sixth in the all-around in the senior division.[32]

Senior career

2016

Olsen made her senior debut at Elite Canada in February. She placed fourteenth in the all-around and won the title on vault.[33] She went on to compete at the WOGA Classic in Frisco, Texas, winning vault and floor exercise gold and all-around silver behind Japan's Nagi Kajita.[34] Then in March, she competed at the International Gymnix, winning gold on vault and bronze on floor, and placing fourth with her team and twelfth in the all-around.[35] In April, she competed at the Pacific Rim Championships in Everett, Washington winning vault gold, team silver, floor exercise bronze, and placing fourth in the all-around and seventh on the balance beam.[36] She then competed at the Canadian Championships, winning vault gold, floor exercise silver, and placing fourth in the all-around, ninth on uneven bars, and eleventh on the balance beam.[37] Then at the Canadian Olympic Trials, she won the bronze medal in the all-around.[38]

Olsen was named to the Canadian Olympic team in late June alongside Ellie Black, Isabela Onyshko, Brittany Rogers, and Rose-Kaying Woo.[39] She was the youngest athlete on Team Canada.[3] During the qualification round, Canada finished ninth and missed qualifying for the team final by less than 0.200, but Olsen qualified for the vault final in sixth place.[40][41] She finished eighth in the final after touching her knee to the mat on the Amanar vault.[42]

2017

In February, Olsen competed at Elite Canada, winning gold on vault and placing fifth on the uneven bars and sixth in the all-around.[43] Based on her showing at Elite Canada, she was selected to compete at both the International Gymnix and the City of Jesolo Trophy, winning vault at both competitions and winning silver in the all-around and bronze on floor at the International Gymnix.[44][45] Later that year at the Canadian Championships, she won her seventh consecutive national vault title and was named to Canada's World Championship team along with Olympic teammates Ellie Black and Isabela Onyshko and first-year senior Brooklyn Moors.[46] Prior to the World Championships, she competed at the Varna World Cup, winning silver on both the vault and floor exercise behind Brazilians Rebeca Andrade and Thais Fidelis, respectively.[47] After winning the two silver medals, she stated, "I feel very happy with the results and it makes me feel very confident heading into worlds and future competitions."[48] At the World Championships in Montreal, she competed on the vault and floor exercise, qualifying in fourth place into the vault final and competing a clean routine on the floor exercise to score a 13.133, but she did not qualify for that final.[49][50] In the vault final, she overrotated and crashed her Amanar, finishing seventh.[51] Afterward, she revealed that she had committed to the University of Alabama’s gymnastics team, and would begin competing for them in the 2018-2019 school year.[52]

2018

Olsen began her 2018 season at Elite Canada, winning the gold medal on the vault and the silver on the floor exercise behind Brooklyn Moors.[53] She was selected to compete at the International Gymnix, where she again won gold on vault. She also placed fifth in the all-around, ninth on the balance beam, and fourth on the floor exercise.[54] She was selected to the Canadian team for the 2018 Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast, Australia alongside Ellie Black, Jade Chrobok, Isabela Onyshko, and Brittany Rogers. Olsen helped the Canadian team win the gold medal, and she qualified first into the vault final and third into the floor final. In the vault final, she scored a 14.800 for her first vault and a 14.366 for her second, winning the gold medal with a 14.566 average.[55] Then in the floor exercise final she scored a 13.266 and won the bronze medal behind Alexandra Eade and Latalia Bevan.[56] At the Canadian Championships, she won the gold medals on the vault and the floor exercise.[57]

Olsen was named to Canada's World Championships team alongside Ellie Black, Sophie Marois, Brooklyn Moors, and Ana Padurariu.[58] The team placed fourth in the team final, Canada's highest finish ever at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.[59] In the vault final, Olsen won the silver medal behind Simone Biles. This was the third medal won by a Canadian woman at the World Championships and the first one on vault.[60] After winning the silver medal, Olsen said, "This is absolutely insane, I did not think I was going to come second behind Simone Biles, because she's literally amazing. I'm just really happy and ecstatic right now."[61]

2019

In May, Olsen competed at the Canadian National Championships, winning gold on vault and placing fifth and fourth and beam and floor respectively.[62] In June, she was named to the team to compete at the 2019 Pan American Games alongside Ellie Black, Ana Padurariu (later replaced by Isabela Onyshko), Brooklyn Moors, and Victoria-Kayen Woo.[63][64] The team won the silver medal behind the United States.[65] During the vault final Olsen upgraded her López to a Cheng and was able to win the bronze behind Black and Yesenia Ferrera of Cuba.[66] She was named to the team to compete at the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany alongside Ana Padurariu, Ellie Black, Brooklyn Moors, and Victoria-Kayen Woo.[67] During qualifications, Olsen helped Canada place fifth, thereby qualifying Canada a team for the 2020 Olympic Games.[68] The team went on to place seventh in the team final.[69] Then in the vault final, she finished in fourth place behind Americans Simone Biles and Jade Carey and Ellie Downie of Great Britain.[70]

2020–2021

Olsen only competed once during the 2020 elite season- at Elite Canada on the vault and the uneven bars, finishing first and eighth respectively.[71] She returned to elite competition at the 2021 First Canadian Technical Trial, a virtual competition for Olympic team selection, and placed fourth in the all-around.[72] At the Second Trial, she competed only on the vault and won the gold medal.[73] At the Canadian Championships, she placed eleventh in the all-around but won gold on the vault.[74] On June 17, Olsen was officially named to Canada's 2020 Olympic team alongside Ellie Black, Brooklyn Moors, and Ava Stewart.[75] During the qualification round, the Canadian team placed tenth, missing the team final, but Olsen qualified for the vault final in sixth place.[76] In the vault final, she finished seventh with an average score of 14.550.[77]

2022

In July Olsen competed at the Pan American Championships alongside Denelle Pedrick, Ava Stewart, Sydney Turner, and Rose-Kaying Woo. They finished third as a team and individually Olsen placed fifth on vault.[78][79] In late October Olsen was set to compete at the World Championships in Liverpool alongside Ellie Black, Emma Spence, Pedrick, Turner, and Laurie Denommée; however the sudden death of her mother left her unable to compete. Although Olsen was not physically in Liverpool, she was still officially part of the Canadian delegation as the alternate. During the team final the Canadian team won a historic bronze medal, their first team medal at the World Championships. As the alternate Olsen was also awarded the team medal.[80]

NCAA career

Olsen joined the Alabama Crimson Tide women's gymnastics team in the fall of 2018. She made her NCAA gymnastics debut at Alabama on January 5, 2019, winning the vault title in a quad meet against Southeast Missouri, Temple and Northern Illinois.[81] At the Southeastern Conference Championships, Olsen helped Alabama finish third behind LSU and Florida.[82] She also received All-SEC and SEC Freshman honors for her performance on the balance beam where she received a 9.925. At regionals she contributed to Alabama’s third-place finish behind Michigan and UCLA, just missing a spot at nationals for the first time since 1982. She was named Alabama Gymnastics Rookie of the Year at the conclusion of the 2019 season. During the 2020 season, Olsen competed at every meet before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.[83] At the 2021 SEC Championships, Olsen helped Alabama win the team title, the school's first SEC title since 2015.[84] Olsen was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll and as a Scholastic All-American in 2019, 2020, and 2021.[85]

Personal life

Olsen studies communications at the University of Alabama.[85] Her hobbies include reading, completing word searches, baking, biking, and going to the movies.[2]

Competitive history

More information Year, Event ...
  1. Olsen was the team CAN alternate

References

  1. "Athlete Profile: Shallon Olsen". Gold Coast 2018. 2018 Commonwealth Games. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  2. "Shallon Olsen". Gymnastics Canada. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  3. "Shallon Olsen". Team Canada. Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  4. Seal, Evan (18 November 2016). "Surrey gymnast vaults onto world stage". Peace Arch News. Black Press.
  5. "Elite Canada - NN Day 2" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. 12 December 2009. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  6. "Elite Canada - NN Day 2 Floor" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. 12 December 2009. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  7. Kupchuk, Rick (22 February 2011). "Two more medals for gymnast Olsen". Surrey Leader. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  8. "2011 Canadian Championships Women's Artistic Gymnastics Novice Women" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  9. "2012 Elite Canada Women's Artistic Gymnastics Junior Women Day 1" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. Gymnastics Canada. 18 February 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  10. "2012 Elite Canada Women's Artistic Gymnastics Junior Women Day 2" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. Gymnastics Canada. 19 February 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  11. Kupchuk, Rick (5 June 2012). "Earning gold at nationals". Surrey Leader. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  12. "Palmares Open Massigalia 2012 par Èquipe" (PDF). Gymnastics Results (in French). Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  13. "Palmares Open Massigalia 2012 individuel" (PDF). Gymnastics Results (in French). Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  14. Hopkins, Lauren (10 February 2013). "2013 Elite Canada Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  15. "L'International Gymnix - Finales Engins Event Results - Saut" (PDF). Gymnastics Results (in French). 10 March 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  16. Hopkins, Lauren (17 November 2013). "2013 Elite Gym Massilia Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  17. "Gymnastics BC honours locals". Surrey Leader. 28 October 2013. Archived from the original on 30 December 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  18. "Campeonato Panamericano Juvenil de Gimnasia Artistica Competicao Para Equipes Final" [Pan American Junior Artistic Gymnastics Championship Team Final] (PDF). Gymnastics Results (in Portuguese). Confederação Brasileira de Ginástica. 29 March 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  19. "Campeonato Panamericano Juvenil de Gimnasia Artistica Competicao Por Aparelho Final" [Pan American Junior Artistic Gymnastics Championship Individual Event Finals] (PDF). Gymnastics Results (in Portuguese). Confederação Brasileira de Ginástica. 30 March 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  20. "2014 Pacific Rim Championships April 9-12, 2014 – Richmond Olympic Oval Team Results" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. 9 April 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  21. Hopkins, Lauren (17 November 2014). "2014 Élite Gym Massilia Report and Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  22. "2015 Elite Canada Trois-Rivieres, QC (CAN) 2015 Jan 30 - Feb 1". Gymnastics Results. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  23. Hopkins, Lauren (19 February 2015). "2015 Canada Games Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  24. Hopkins, Lauren (28 May 2015). "2015 Canadian Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  25. "Elite Canada Halifax 2016" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  26. Hopkins, Lauren (17 February 2016). "2016 WOGA Classic Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  27. "25th International Gymnix 2016 Montreal (CAN) 2016 March 3-6". Gymnastics Results. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  28. "2016 Pacific Rim Championships recaps, results, photos and videos". USA Gymnastics. 11 April 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  29. Hopkins, Lauren (2 June 2016). "2016 Canadian Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  30. Hopkins, Lauren (28 June 2016). "2016 Canadian Olympic Trials Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  31. "Canadian Gymnastics Team Nominated for Rio 2016". Gymnastics Canada. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  32. "Artistic Gymnastics Women Qualification Results" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. Rio 2016. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  33. "Artistic Gymnastics Women's Vault Qualification Results" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. Rio 2016. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  34. "Artistic Gymnastics Women's Vault Final Results" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. Rio 2016. 14 August 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  35. Hopkins, Lauren (3 February 2017). "2017 Elite Canada Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  36. Hopkins, Lauren (10 March 2017). "2017 International Gymnix Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  37. "2017 City of Jesolo Trophy - Event Finals". FloGymnastics. 2 April 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  38. Hopkins, Lauren (25 May 2017). "2017 Canadian Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  39. Hopkins, Lauren (1 September 2017). "2017 Varna Challenge Cup Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  40. "47th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2017 Montréal (CAN) Women's Vault Qualification" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. International Gymnastics Federation. 3 October 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  41. "47th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2017 Montréal (CAN) Women's Floor Exercise Qualification" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. International Gymnastics Federation. 3 October 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  42. "47th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2017 Montréal (CAN) Women's Vault Final" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. International Gymnastics Federation. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  43. Johnson, Rebecca (10 November 2017). "Shallon Olsen Officially Commits To Alabama For 2018-2019". FloGymnastics. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  44. Hopkins, Lauren (3 February 2018). "2018 Elite Canada Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  45. Hopkins, Lauren (11 March 2018). "2018 International Gymnix Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  46. "Results - Women's Vault Final". Gold Coast 2018. 8 April 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  47. "Results - Women's Floor Exercise Final". Gold Coast 2018. 8 April 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  48. Hopkins, Lauren (28 May 2018). "2018 Canadian Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  49. Nichols, Paula (2 November 2018). "Shallon Olsen vaults to silver at artistic gymnastics world championships". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  50. "Canadian Shallon Olsen earns silver at gymnastics worlds". CBC Sports. 2 November 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  51. @FloGymnastics (July 23, 2019). "Team Canada in Lima!" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  52. Hopkins, Lauren (3 August 2019). "2019 Pan American Games Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  53. "Alabama's Olsen qualifies on vault at World Championships". Tuscaloosa News. October 9, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  54. Hopkins, Lauren (May 3, 2021). "2021 Canadian Technical Trial 1 Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  55. Hopkins, Lauren (May 3, 2021). "2021 Canadian Technical Trial 2 Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  56. Prest, Andy (July 30, 2021). "North Vancouver's Shallon Olsen lands a spot in Olympic vault final". North Shore News. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  57. "Brazil's Rebeca Andrade takes home gold in women's vault final". CBC Sports. August 1, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  58. Crumlish, John (May 25, 2020). "Olsen on Tokyo Postponement: 'Another Year To Get Better and Refocus'". International Gymnast Online. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  59. "2021 SEC Gymnastics Championship". Southeastern Conference. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  60. "Shallon Olsen". Alabama Athletics. The University of Alabama. Retrieved 31 January 2022.

Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Shallon_Olsen, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.