Level Best

Rhythmic Gymnast Martha Valkov Wins National Championship in Iowa   

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

In the ultra-competitive universe of rhythmic gymnastics, a lapse in concentration for a split second can be the difference between a pat on the back and a medal.

Martha Valkov knows precisely what is required to be the best in the sport and her creativity, personality and dexterity were on full display last month at the National Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, where she took first place in the Level 10  Junior division—the highest level in the USA Gymnastics Junior Olympics Program. Valkov, entering her sophomore year at Palisades High, has been a rhythmic gymnast since she was 6. She is currently training with California Rhythms, a Los Angeles-based rhythmic gymnastics club. Next season she will be Level 10 Senior. Her coaches are Tatyana and Julie Itkina and Ira Zhurenko.

Valkov trains four to five hours per day, six days a week. Each season she participates in a minimum of seven local, regional or national competitions. A graduate of Canyon Elementary and Paul Revere Middle School, she discovered what would become her life’s passion on a trip overseas and since then it has been full speed ahead. Fortunately, Valkov has the discipline and work ethic to enjoy the daily grind.  

“I went to Bulgaria one summer, my grandfather took me to a camp and I fell in love with it. I remember vividly when I came back my mom had a bunch of music and I’d dance to it in my living room,” she said. “I was going into first grade at the time and asked my mom to sign me up. I started at LA School of Gymnastics in Culver City, then we moved to California Rhythms. You start in Level 4 or 5, then move up every year based on a combination of your age and ability. We travel everywhere throughout the country. I’ve competed before in Chicago, San Diego and Las Vegas.”    

In rhythmic gymnastics, athletes  perform on a floor with balls, hoops, ribbons, ropes or clubs. With roots in ballet and dance, the combination of leaps, turns and acrobatic skills with complex apparatus handling, tosses and catches makes this sport one of the most spectacular to watch but hardest to master. Gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, graceful and coordinated. It has been an Olympic sport since 1984 and is governed by the International Gymnastics Federation. At the international level, it is a women-only sport.

“I’m 15 now so I’ve been doing it eight or nine years,” said Valkov, who resides in Santa Monica and whose older brother Todd plays for Pali High’s varsity tennis team. “Each apparatus has its own set of challenges but I’d say ball is my favorite. It’s the easiest to handle. There are ups and downs with each one. You get scored based on three categories: difficulty, execution and artistic expression. Routines last 90 seconds and they’re very tiring! I’m totally out of breath after each one. Of course the Olympics are a goal for anyone, but you never know. I could be going to the national team. I don’t know where this sport is going to take me. Ballet is a huge part of it. All the girls follow each other on Instagram but we’re all very competitive. It’s crazy just to think I was No. 1 at Nationals. I felt pretty comfortable competing when there aren’t any no expectations. You pick your own music and there’s so much variety in terms of what jumps and tosses you include in your routines and your sparkly outfits, as long as you meet certain requirements. With the ball there are cool catches in my legs and back and with ribbon I can hook it onto my foot. At LA School

I was surrounded by artistic gymnasts and lots of rhythmic gymnasts started off by doing that. These days, I primarily practice after school. I do ballet from 3-4, practice from 4-8, then after that I have homework. In all, I devote 25-30 hours a week to training with private lessons mixed in. Preparing for Nationals, practices were even longer.”

In such a technical sport as gymnastics, practice often does not make perfect, but for someone as driven as Valkov, the successes and failures are rungs on the ladder to the top.

“You’ve got to watch what you eat because in this sport stamina is a necessity,” she said. “One routine wipes you out. Mentally, it’s hard to forget it when you make a mistake but you have to shrug it off and stay focused on the next apparatus. Hoop is the first one. It varies, but for me I tend to get lower scores for club (a set of two wood or plastic rods shaped like slender bowling pins). That’s the hardest for me. I’d say I probably have the most clean routines in ribbon and hoops. I like the ball because you can toss it, bounce it, catch it, roll it and balance it on various parts of your body. You’re just not allowed to grip it. ”

In Des Moines,Valkov was second in hoop, first in ball, fifth in club and first in ribbon, giving her a cumulative total of 107.333, nearly three full points ahead of silver medalist Goda Balsys of North Shore Rhythmic Gymnastics in Illinois. Maria Serper from Evergreen Rhythmics in Washington took the bronze with a score of 100.950.

In what little free time she has, Valkov enjoys going to the mall with friends and going to the beach with her family. She wishes her brother could come to more competitions, but she understands he is focused on tennis (a sport she too used to play).

“It’s really nice to get into Level 10—it’s worth it. I’ve spent so much time and energy and made so many sacrifices the last year,” Valkov said.   

“The national team is my next goal. That would be really cool. Most of the best rhythmic gymnasts are online so you can watch the routines and learn from them. Sometimes you see judging is more strict on the East Coast. Scoring tends to be confusing but my coaches know when I do a clean routine or when it might seem worse than it actually it is. I like it when coaches are more stern, not lenient, because I know they’re pushing me to be the best I can be.”