Calif. teen is PH gymnastics bet in SEA Games
07/05/2011
CALIFORNIA – Maria Victoria Recinto stretched and warmed up in a dark corner of the Marriot Wardman Hotel ballroom, contorting her seemingly frail frame until it looks as though she may break her bones.
This is the amount of discipline and devotion that Recinto puts into her chosen sport.
Recinto, 17, will represent the Philippines in the Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia this November. She was born in Quezon City but grew up in Palo Alto, California.
Recinto specializes in rhythmic gymnastics, perhaps one of the most exciting and exacting branches of the sport. It calls for individuals or teams to manipulate on or two pieces of apparatus such as balls, hoops, ropes or ribbons, and combines elements of ballet, gymnastics, dance and apparatus manipulation.
She is currently under the tutelage of US National Team coach Nataliya Lisogor, the former Ukrainian national champion.
Recinto reportedly trains 25-30 hours per week, and increases her training to 40 hours per week near competitions.
“I’m always at the gym practicing,” Recinto said.
The reigning Philippine national and California State champion, Recinto reportedly competed for the first time at age 4 in Singapore. When her father was reassigned to California in 2002, Recinto, then 8 years old, shifted from artistic to rhythmic gymnastics.
Despite the rigors of keeping competitive on the mat, Recinto has managed to maintain her grades at the Gunn High School in Palo Alto, where she is an incoming senior. She dreams of eventually joining the Ivy Leagues.
Filipino roots
The teen is proud of her Filipino roots. "It is who I am as a person. Both my parents are Filipino and I was raised the Filipino way," she said.
Together with a school chum, Erika Cagampan, Recinto has raised funds to buy school supplies for 300 Aeta school children in Zambales.
They are raising their goal this year, saying that they want to raise enough money for a feeding program.
This is the amount of discipline and devotion that Recinto puts into her chosen sport.
Recinto, 17, will represent the Philippines in the Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia this November. She was born in Quezon City but grew up in Palo Alto, California.
Recinto specializes in rhythmic gymnastics, perhaps one of the most exciting and exacting branches of the sport. It calls for individuals or teams to manipulate on or two pieces of apparatus such as balls, hoops, ropes or ribbons, and combines elements of ballet, gymnastics, dance and apparatus manipulation.She is currently under the tutelage of US National Team coach Nataliya Lisogor, the former Ukrainian national champion.
Recinto reportedly trains 25-30 hours per week, and increases her training to 40 hours per week near competitions.
“I’m always at the gym practicing,” Recinto said.
The reigning Philippine national and California State champion, Recinto reportedly competed for the first time at age 4 in Singapore. When her father was reassigned to California in 2002, Recinto, then 8 years old, shifted from artistic to rhythmic gymnastics.
Despite the rigors of keeping competitive on the mat, Recinto has managed to maintain her grades at the Gunn High School in Palo Alto, where she is an incoming senior. She dreams of eventually joining the Ivy Leagues.
Filipino roots
The teen is proud of her Filipino roots. "It is who I am as a person. Both my parents are Filipino and I was raised the Filipino way," she said.
Together with a school chum, Erika Cagampan, Recinto has raised funds to buy school supplies for 300 Aeta school children in Zambales.
They are raising their goal this year, saying that they want to raise enough money for a feeding program.
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