Interview: Hungary’s Zoja Szekely takes us along on her Olympic rollercoaster

2024 will forever be in the memory of Zoja Szekely. The Hungarian gymnast had her eyes firmly set on the Paris Olympic Games but almost didn’t make it.“I had a really long year and it was a really, really long journey to get until the Olympics. It wasn't easy. There were so many ups and downs”, the 21-year old recalls.

From the highest high to the lowest low in a matter of days, Szekely did not give up that easily. “It was such a big disappointment, but after that I still saw some hope because we had this non-nominative spot which we got for the team. I promised myself that I am going to work the hardest right now and I will do anything I can to be that gymnast who gets the last spot for the Hungarian team. This is what I literally did in the whole half year from January. All my competitions, everything was because of the Olympics, so I wanted to get in the perfect shape until the Olympics. I wanted to do lots of competitions to show my federation -and show everyone- that I'm always ready and I’m always good and can do my bars routine whenever I need to. I could still upgrade my D[ifficulty] score and upgrade my E[xecution] score.”

One important step on Szekely’s path to the Paris 2024 Olympics was the European Championships at the beginning of May in the Italian coastal resort of Rimini. “I was going there with big hopes because I was in a really, really good shape. I had a 6.3 D score on the uneven bars. So I had small hopes in my head that maybe that would be enough for a medal. And it started amazingly. I finished 10th in the all-around. I got in the bars final even though my routine wasn't perfect. Then the bars final came and unfortunately I had a fall. This never happened to me before in a European final. So yeah, that was a little bit disappointing, but I came home from the Europeans with good feelings because I made a really good result in the all-around, my best result yet. And while it wasn't a perfect routine, I still ended up being in the bars final. That's a good start before the Olympics.”

The Hungarian Gymnastics Federation decided that the remaining Olympic ticket would be allocated based on the performances at the Romania Trophy. Szekely made sure she was in excellent shape: “After that I continued going really hard. I had three trainings in a day like conditioning, training, gymnastics. I literally did everything I could to get in shape. Then there was a competition in Romania where our federation finally decided which gymnast is going to the Olympics. In the first day of the competition, it seemed like it's going to be me, because unfortunately Zsofia [Kovacs] had a fall on bars and didn't end up being in the finals. That showed me that it's going to be me because she cannot participate in the final. The next day -she was first reserve- someone withdrew from the competition because of sickness and she ended up being in the final. She hit her routine and she got 1,5 tenths higher than I did in the qualifications. So she got the spot, the last spot, and I was so disappointed because I worked so hard for this. I knew that it's going to be really hard to get through this and watch the Olympics without being there.

This wasn’t the end of the road yet for Szekely: “I still had to do the routines, the normal trainings but with being mentally not OK, it was really hard. I think these were the hardest trainings of my career. So, on the Monday when they flew to Paris, I was told that I can stop training because nothing can change anymore as no one got injured. I didn't know that there is a rule that if someone got injured before the competition in Paris, maybe during podium or in any training, there is still a possibility for me to replace them. I didn't know that there is a rule like this, so I stopped training. I was physically there in the gym, but I didn't really do anything. Just try to get through this, processing what's happening and letting it go.”

Thinking this was the end, Szekely resigned to her fate. But in podium training teammate Zsofia Kovacs injured her knee and was unable to compete. “On Friday morning, I got a call at 6am from my federation. I woke up to this call by the way”, Szekely remembers still in disbelieve. “Obviously I saw what happened during the podium training on Thursday. I was shocked, to be honest, because I think this is the worst thing that can happen to an athlete to get injured days before the biggest competition of the year. I felt sorry for her.

I had these questions in my head, so I told my federation that I needed 10 minutes to answer this question. I called my coaches. They were already on vacation and I told them what's happening. They were also shocked, like everyone was shocked. One of my coaches, I felt like she's also a little bit scared, but she told me that whatever I decide, she's going to support me. It was already clear that I can't go with my coaches. If I go, I go alone. Then I called my other coach, my older one, and he told me ‘Don't even think about not going! This is your dream. This is what you worked for during 13 years. I'm not going to let you not go!’ He also told me ‘I know that you can do it even if you didn't train for a week, I don't care. I know I believe in you. You've been a good competitor before. You are going to be do it’. I felt like this gave me so much confidence. My answer was obvious after this: I will go. So I called my federation and told them that of course I accept. If it's a possibility to change then I will accept it and go. We had one day to do everything: papers, [anti] doping, etc. I told them ‘I'm going to do everything I need to, but I have to go to the gym first! I haven't been training for so long’. Everyone was going crazy in my club. They were so happy for me, but I was a little bit stressed. I had to get back in shape as much as I could. This is what I did. I got all my clothes I needed for the Olympics and I did all my paper work. The next day in the morning, I flew to Paris. I hoped that I could have two trainings before the actual competition, but it ended up that I only could have one, on Saturday afternoon. Sunday night we had the competition, but we couldn't train in the morning because the timeline wasn't good, so I just had one training on Saturday afternoon there. And a little conditioning on Sunday morning. Then it was action time! That was quite scary because this was my first competition that I've ever done without any podium training, without any trainings before. The first time I went to the arena was basically the competition. So I only had one chance to touch the bar in the warmups. That's it. And next, OK, Zoja Szekely, you're up. That was really exciting."

This is the moment that I will never forget. This experience was just crazy. After the Olympics, I was thinking back how I felt there and I realised that I want to experience this feeling again. So I will definitely try and do anything I can to be there in the next Olympic Games!”

Briefly debating whether or not to watch the Games on TV if she couldn’t compete, Szekely realised it would be painful but rewarding: “I knew that if I watch it, that is going to be hurtful, but as an athlete, as someone else's teammate, I needed to watch. My plan was to watch them, to support them and obviously if I watch everything, I can still learn from other gymnasts. I want to know what's happening with everyone because obviously I have really good friendships. With gymnasts from other countries as well. So the end plan was to watch it.”

Many athletes spent weeks ahead of the Games either at a preparation training camp in or close to the host city or already at the iconic Olympic Village. Szekely’s last minute call-up made for a completely different experience. “I didn't have any time to realise what was happening. All I could think before the competition was my routine because I was both scared and excited. I really wanted to do well. So flying there, I didn't had time to look around. I was completely focused. But after the competition, I still had some days [in Paris]. These days were the best days of my life! I could just let myself enjoy the moment. I looked around the village. I met so many amazing athletes. I was talking to so many amazing athletes. I was so surprised that many of them, not just the gymnasts, knew about my story. They were shocked that they saw me but in everyone's eyes I could see that they were happy for me. That felt crazy good.  That was an incredible experience.  I think this made me a better gymnast. I was really proud of myself that in this much time, with those last preparations, I still managed to hit my routine. That is all I could ask for.”

Now proudly and officially an Olympian, Szekely took in all the attention. “I was just talking with my family every day. They followed this journey with me and where there with me when I was down. They were with me when I was up. I wanted to feel this moment together. I tried to call them as much as I could. And I did the same thing with my coaches because it was a bit hard for me that they were not there. First, I was talking with them and answering to all the ‘Congratulations’ messages. My social media blew up a little bit, which I was really happy for. I tried to say thank you to everyone because literally every single congratulations was special to me. I couldn't even sleep. I couldn't even realise what happened. After the competition, I needed 24 hours to realise what happened in these three days since I got that call. I tried to look around the village and see all the places and people that I could talk to. When I got home, I told everyone my story. I think I told this story 100 times to all the people around me because it just feels really good. When they are listening to it, they'll be like ‘Damn, that's crazy’. So yeah, this is exactly how I felt!”

Looking ahead, Szekely knows what kind of future she wants: “If I want to be completely honest, I want to work in media after my gymnasts career. So I'm trying to build my social life and social media as much as I can. I was really, really happy that I got more opportunities in TV. I could tell my story to more people. I was really happy about these opportunities after everything what I've been through. Life's been crazy since then. Now I'm trying to get back to training. I had a little break after the Olympics. My body needed that because it was a tough half year before that. When I came back, it was really hard to start doing gymnastics again. It's so crazy that I built my body for nine months straight and then I go on a break for two weeks and my body forgets everything! I felt like I'm weak. I felt like I'm not even a gymnast anymore. But this was just in the first two weeks. Right now I feel so much better. We started to learn new things. I just can't wait for the next season.”

Sporting the Olympic rings on her necklace, Szekely also got them tattooed.

What a fabulous story! Best of luck with training Zoja, hope to see you in Leipzig!