Because the NCAA season attracts to an in depth, I’ve observed a surge in commentary relating to UCLA senior Norah Flatley. It goes with out saying that each gymnastics profession should come to an finish, and this time of 12 months at all times produces a wave of bittersweet moments as longstanding fan favorites compete for the final time.
However with Norah Flatley it has been completely different. In Norah’s case the gymnastics group has devoted additional consideration to her profession and the thought that this is perhaps the final time we see her in a gymnastics competitors. Social media posts speculating on Flatley’s potential retirement have been particularly in style and followers have gone so far as to investigate the capitalization of Norah’s Instagram account to discover a signal that she is going to return to NCAA competitors in 2023.
As some followers see it, Norah solely mentioned that is her final competitors as a BRUIN which doesn’t technically exclude the opportunity of her transferring and changing into a Razorback, Sooner, Gator or Tiger. Why was Bruin the one phrase she capitalized? Whereas Flatley hasn’t formally declared for 2023, she has mentioned the choice is one thing she remains to be understanding.
No matter whether or not we’re watching Norah’s remaining weekend of gymnastics, or her remaining weekend plus three hundred and sixty five days, there’s a lot to be mentioned over her standing as one of the crucial in style gymnasts within the sport. In contrast to most fan favorites, it doesn’t come all the way down to a single motive.
Norah Flatley doesn’t have a large social media following like Olivia Dunne, she isn’t a celeb exterior of the gymnastics group like Sunisa Lee, nor does she have a viral routine like Nia Dennis. She didn’t belong to a household dynasty like Sydney Johnson-Scharpf, grow to be an Olympian like Jordan Chiles, or obtain non-Olympic success on the senior elite degree like Riley McCusker.
And but, each gymnastics fan will passionately assert that Norah Flatley is as equally liked, revered, and admired as any of the beforehand talked about gymnasts. The distinctiveness of Norah Flatley’s profession is that she grew to become a fan favourite with out an Web algorithm, a significant senior elite task, or a extremely prestigious medal turning her into such a determine in a single day.
Norah has a tremendous repute as a result of she labored laborious for it and slowly constructed it up over time. If the potential retirement of Norah Flatley feels extra impactful than your typical NCAA retirement, it’s as a result of Norah has been a giant identify within the gymnastics group for roughly a decade.
Of all the good gymnasts the American program has produced which are nonetheless actively competing whether or not or not it’s on the NCAA or Olympic degree, Simone Biles is the one who has been actively competing the longest. Simone’s breakout success got here throughout the 2012 and 2013 seasons when she rose from a low rating junior, to a quickly rising junior, and ultimately an iconic 1st-year senior in these two years.
Flatley achieved her breakout success the place gymnastics followers first began taking discover of Norah in 2013 when she gained medals at two of the largest competitions on the home circuit. They have been a silver on beam on the 2013 U.S. Nationwide Championships, and later a gold medal on the identical occasion on the 2013 U.S. Traditional. On the time Flatley was just some months previous her thirteenth birthday, and on each events Norah had overwhelmed future Olympic beam silver medalist Laurie Hernandez.
That is the primary clue as to why gymnastics followers have had such a tragic demeanor in response to the prospect of Flatley competing for the final time. As issues stand now, Flatley is at present one of many longest working headliners gymnastics followers have had. Solely the mighty Simone Biles exceeds Norah on this regard. For a lot of gymnastics followers, Norah Flatley is the gymnast that has at all times been there. For younger gymnastics followers, Flatley has had an impression much like Oksana Chusovitina with older followers the place she has been round for therefore lengthy, issues will really feel oddly absent when Norah is now not round.
Norah Flatley’s profession was distinctive in that she achieved success at an extremely younger age, and stayed related into her early 20s due to an extended school profession. Longevity is likely one of the key causes for Norah’s recognition. However even again in her junior days Norah Flatley as a younger teenager was abnormally in style. Which brings us to the second component that has been key to her repute as one of the crucial in style gymnasts inside the gymnastics group.
As a junior Norah had three issues going for her. The primary was that she had a confirmed monitor report by profitable medals as a junior. Secondly, she had success from the very starting of her profession and made a reputation for herself proper off the bat. Lastly, Norah was the pupil of a well-known coach. All three of these items put collectively gave Norah instantaneous credibility from the beginning, and solidified her repute because the junior that everybody should observe.
The coach in query was Liang Chow who rose to prominence because the coach of 2008 Olympian Shawn Johnson. Not solely was Shawn Johnson a confirmed winner, she achieved abnormally excessive recognition. Regardless of profitable the silver medal within the All-Round, Shawn efficiently rivaled the gold medalist Nastia Liukin in profitable over sponsors, showing in main media occasions, and constructing a following for herself.
Shawn Johnson went on to grow to be arguably the most well-liked runner-up within the Olympic All-Round in the complete historical past of girls’s gymnastics. Shawn Johnson’s recognition made Liang Chow in style as effectively. However it additionally revealed that Liang Chow had the flexibility to educate a gymnast to an Olympic medal, whereas additionally instructing her the best way to win over a big proportion of followers whereas doing it.
After already teaching one of the crucial well-known athletes within the sport, Liang Chow then coached somebody who was much more well-known. In 2014 Gabby Douglas arrived in Iowa and skilled with Liang Chow. It additional raised the profile of Liang Chow who was now related to two of essentially the most iconic names of the period. However Norah Flatley benefited from this greater than anybody as a result of it meant she was coaching alongside the latest Olympic All-Round champion. Even in 2014, regardless of Simone Biles’ success, it was nonetheless Gabby Douglas who was essentially the most recognizable determine to the broader sports activities group. When folks got here to look at Gabby, Norah was alongside her to be observed too.
If Norah was getting the advantage of being photographed alongside Gabby Douglas, she additionally appeared to remind folks of Shawn Johnson. The Johnson-Flatley connection went past the mere affiliation of two gymnasts who occurred to be coached by the identical man. Shawn Johnson was an Olympic gold medalist on the steadiness beam and as a junior Norah Flatley achieved breakout success on beam.
When gymnastics followers noticed Norah Flatley in 2013, they noticed a lot promise as a result of Norah had the advantage of a confirmed coach who efficiently produced an Olympic gold medalist, whereas additionally progressing in the very same method Shawn had.
For all of the silver medals Johnson gained on the 2008 Olympics exterior of her success on beam, Shawn may need effectively have turned all of them into gold in the best way she utilized her picture to develop a big model. Shawn Johnson’s joyful perspective was unmatched. Johnson maximized her younger facial expressions, youthful persona, and had so many situations the place she produced a healthful second when the cameras have been watching.
It was as if all these traits have been instilled on Norah as she competed in junior occasions with the very same perspective. It was as if two issues have been sure anytime Norah appeared in a junior competitors. You have been going to see Flatley win a medal, and she or he could be laughing on the rostrum as she celebrated together with her fellow medalists. One extra profit was Liang Chow has confirmed to be a preferred coach and has prevented the animosity of followers who’ve come to query the ways of nearly all his American rivals. In an period the place each prime gymnastics membership is both scrutinized or is a mixture of scrutinized and in style, Norah Flatley was the likable gymnast from a coach who himself has remained likable.
Every little thing about Norah Flatley’s junior profession was “likable.” She was the likable gymnast from a likable coach, in an period the place gymnastics followers had a extra optimistic viewpoint in direction of younger juniors and the game itself. This was all earlier than the Larry Nassar scandal dropped at mild conversations that ought to have been had way back relating to the abusive nature of the game. There was additionally the wave of junior burnout from quite a few Texas Desires gymnasts in addition to Russia’s Ekaterina Sokova. This has resulted in each followers and USAG doing extra to pivot the dialog towards younger juniors like Norah, in favor of a junior profession extra harking back to Simone Biles’ junior profession.
The subsequent component of Norah’s profession that was key to her recognition was Flatley’s choice to attend UCLA. If Flatley was “gifted” in her affiliation with Liang Chow the place she was immediately empowered due to her affiliation with highly effective figures, UCLA took issues to a brand new degree.
UCLA would go on to be such a strong drive that its social media following just isn’t solely the biggest in school gymnastics, however is larger than the 2nd, third, 4th, and fifth largest applications mixed. Norah Flatley was a excessive profile junior in an period the place USA Gymnastics was in between its legendary 2012 and 2016 groups, skilled alongside Gabby Douglas when Gabby was on the top of her recognition, and was related to Chow when he was on the peak of his recognition/recognition on the American leg of his teaching profession.
Now Norah was a UCLA gymnast competing proper in the midst of UCLA’s personal golden age. UCLA was so in style that Oklahoma soccer followers who dared ventured into gymnastics on-line boards after studying the Sooners had taken the Nationwide Championship have been flabbergasted that gymnastics followers have been posting “UCLA loses” as an alternative of “Oklahoma wins.” The concept that one group is so overwhelmingly in style that their loss is a much bigger story than the group that gained the season finale would confuse most fandoms of different sports activities.
However that was UCLA within the early years of Norah’s school profession. UCLA had all of the well-known gymnasts from the elite degree and bought so many fan favorites. The arrival of Norah Flatley, the broadly beloved junior was but one more reason why gymnastics followers all appeared to like UCLA. It was as if “in fact UCLA has Norah” as a result of there was no higher match than the favored determine going to a program identified for buying in style figures.
As Norah’s profession progressed, her legacy was additional empowered due to Flatley’s presence alongside viral sensations comparable to Katelyn Ohashi and Nia Dennis. It was an period the place UCLA was on the peak of its recognition. Earlier than teaching adjustments, inner controversies, declining outcomes, and the surfacing of allegations relating to a previous coach has decimated a lot of the “really feel good, optimistic story” that made UCLA so likable. For the second time in her profession, Norah was a part of a wave of success that instantly ended as her time at that degree was coming to an in depth.
As Flatley’s school profession involves an in depth, this pattern seems to have resurfaced in a single extra method. The freshman degree of NCAA gymnastics has by no means been extra in style due to NIL giving in style Olympic gymnastics comparable to Jade Carey the flexibility to crash onto the scene and immediately obtain success as a freshman. All whereas elite gymnastics is altering and the American system is now not discouraging its Olympic prospects from avoiding the NCAA.
These developments are overwhelmingly in style, however gymnasts who as soon as used the NCAA degree to flee the shadow of well-known Olympic gymnasts as Norah had finished will discover doing so tougher to perform in future years. Norah Flatley was a younger junior in a sport that has pivoted to discouraging extremely younger juniors in later years. Norah achieved a preferred run of NCAA success as an upperclassman, in an period the place the game seems to be on the verge of a pivot in direction of underclassmen having a bigger presence. She was a UCLA gymnast at a time when UCLA peaked in recognition and departs proper because the SEC and rival Pac-12 applications are pulling the rug out from underneath UCLA.
One of many key causes for Norah’s success is she has taken benefit of home windows of alternative proper earlier than they have been closed.
However most significantly, Norah’s longevity coupled together with her affiliation with first Liang Chow and later UCLA made Flatley a gymnast that for nearly a decade, was at all times round and at all times within the highlight. Norah has solely bounced from one in style establishment to the subsequent. Preserving her immediately within the highlight always which is uncommon for many gymnasts. This irregular profession trajectory is how Norah achieved the bizarre standing of a fan favourite whose standing as a fan favourite can’t be defined in easy phrases.
It’s troublesome for any gymnast to be within the highlight for 9 years. Much more so to climate that highlight and at all times be on the correct aspect of issues. Going 9 years as a public determine with out making a mistake is an accomplishment in its personal. Norah Flatley belonged to an period of troubled waters. In her time gymnastics has skilled three main actions. First there was #MeToo when Norah’s nationwide program got here to phrases with systemic sexual assault occurring inside its ranks.
Then there was #GymnastAlliance the place the dialog relating to sexual assault was expanded to discussing the rampant teaching abuse occurring inside the sport that had harmed so many gymnasts. Lastly, there was #BlackLivesMatter when gymnastics which has lengthy been related to a largely white demographic needed to come to phrases with each its failures to attain a extra equally consultant demographic, and the exclusion many black athletes already taking part within the sport felt once they competed as a minority alongside largely white teammates and coaches.
Throughout all three of those actions Norah Flatley was at all times there to both say the correct factor, or help her teammates who had ideas they wished to share. Throughout the latest school season this matter was dropped at the forefront as UCLA gymnastics mishandled an allegation of racism occurring inside its program.
Norah Flatley would take a management position as her group was in disaster and questioned the choices UCLA directors had made because it tried to finish the controversy. Going so far as to publicly tag the UCLA athletic director on Twitter. Within the enterprise world, this might be like going round your boss and publicly criticizing his boss for everybody to see at an organization occasion.
It’s the least shocking component of Norah’s profession that she took a stand in a second of disaster, and didn’t cease till she had created the biggest ruckus potential to make the voice of her group heard. As a result of Norah has lengthy represented each optimistic worth followers need a gymnast to embody.
In fact Norah would step as much as the plate and never stand idle when she was the one quite a few folks have been relying on to be a voice for the remainder of the group. Norah was a senior and one of many greatest names inside the program, her stance mattered. For a gymnast that has by no means let the game down, having the braveness and bravado to take a stand for the remainder of the group was a foregone conclusion.
In her youthful years Norah acted likable, after which gave you a motive to love her with the best way she carried out herself. Norah was identified to followers as a younger gymnast who promptly gained everybody over together with her cuteness, whereas additionally producing robust beam routines that made folks take this little one athlete significantly. Followers then witnessed her progress and later noticed a totally completely different Norah Flatley. One who had grown right into a younger grownup lady with the energy and talent to criticize highly effective directors who doubled her in age.
Norah Flatley emerged as an lovely junior that many followers fell in love with, and spent the subsequent 9 years justifying all that love.
