Canadian gymnast Crystal Gilmore's competitive fire burns bright at age 40 while competing alongside her daughter

More than 20 years after gymnast Crystal Gilmore competed at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, the Canadian finds herself back on the competition floor joined by her daughter.

“It was really cool,” Gilmore told Olympics.com last month about her experience competing at Level 10 Canadian nationals while her daughter competed at Level 9. “I was really proud of her. It was her first nationals and she did a great job.

“She may not say this,” Gilmore continued with a smile, “But I think she was proud of me, too. In the trainings and stuff, it’s always neat to hear her cheering for me.”

Gilmore finished 19th in the all-around at that event, while her daughter, Jillian, finished 3rd in the Level 9, age 11-14 division.

The now-40-year-old returned to the sport in 2020 after her ex-husband, David Kikuchi, asked if she wanted to join a virtual competition with only a few weeks to prepare.

Gilmore, who says she loves a challenge, went for it, but it was short-lived.

“COVID happened and I stopped training for probably a year,” she explained. “Then, the same thing. There was a virtual competition and they asked me if I wanted to join, so I accepted the challenge and did another one.”

Eventually, Gilmore decided to make gymnastics part of her “everyday routine.”

“I just enjoyed the way that I felt after I trained and that feeling of satisfaction and all that’s involved,” she says.

Years of training in her youth, she says, had paid off with muscle memory that allowed her to get certain skills back with ease. Gilmore caught a Jaeger catch-and-release move on the uneven bars in one practice after years away.

Injuries – including to her sciatic nerve - kept her out from June until December 2022. In January 2023, she committed herself to training three or four days a week.

After several virtual events, Gilmore made her first in-person competitive appearance since 2006 this year.

“I have a whole bucket list of skills that I’d like to learn.”

Gilmore's competitive side has gone nowhere in her time away from competing, and she says she has plenty of goals in her sights these days.

“I think that older gymnasts are rare, but it doesn’t mean that they can’t be competitive or challenge themselves,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be the Olympic champion, that’s obviously not where I’m going with my goals.”

Instead, she’s focused on big goals including new skills like the free hip Shaposhnikova and free hip Hecht dismount she’s already added to her repertoire on the uneven bars to smaller goals about her strength and flexibility.

“I’m determined to learn some new skills,” Gilmore says. “I have a whole bucket list of skills that I’d like to be able to learn before I can stop my training.”

A balancing act

Gilmore admits that the hardest part of her training is finding the time.

She’s balancing work as a coach with Gymnastics Nova Scotia, family time, and her gymnastics.

“It makes it a balancing act to try to fit it in,” she says. “But I try to do it for my own personal well-being and my mental health. I find that it just boosts my mood when I do gymnastics and I get a lot out of it.”

Now, she’s training mostly in the daytime alongside three-time Olympian Ellie Black, 27, who is aiming for a fourth appearance at the Olympic Games next July at Paris 2024.

“I think she thinks it’s pretty neat and maybe inspiring,” said Gilmore of Black’s thoughts on her training. “She does [gymnastics] because she loves it, too, so she understands that feeling of satisfaction in doing this sport.”

“[I] keep doing it because I love it.”

Gilmore knows that doing gymnastics at her age isn’t the norm, but in a way, she hopes it will be, that she can serve as a reminder to anyone that needs it of the importance of chasing goals and doing what you love.

“It doesn’t have to be this level of gymnastics. I’m just a bit crazy like that,” she said with a laugh. 

Her return has changed her perspective on the sport, given her more appreciation for the day-in and day-out that might have once felt like a grind for a talented teenager.

“It definitely is more rewarding than when I was younger,” she said. “I’m maybe lucky that skills do come back really quickly for me, but I think I appreciate when I do achieve a skill, I appreciate that a little bit more now that I’m older and I know the process.”

For Gilmore, that process includes a big focus on goal setting.

“I write a note of my goals, try to keep them as realistic as possible. Some of mine are not, and I’m hopeful that I’ll reach them done,” she said. “But that may not happen.”

And for Gilmore, that’s okay.

This new phase of gymnastics is about more than checking boxes.

“If you don’t get to it that day, it’s not the end of the world,” says Gilmore. “There’s always obstacles that will come up along the way, whether it’s family or whatever. Life happens.

“So, I think it’s important to find the balance and stay positive about your goals,” she said.

“[I] keep doing it because I love to do it.”