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Kranjc cracks Canadian team

Double mini trampolinist to compete in Russia
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TAKING FLIGHT Trampolinist Gigi Kranjc will head to Russia for the World Age Group Championships in November. Photo submitted

Gigi Kranjc will wear the maple leaf in Russia in November.

On Sept. 13, the Grade 12 Whistler Secondary School student was named to the Canadian gymnastics team for the 2018 World Age Group Championships in St. Petersburg. Kranjc will compete in the double mini trampoline event.

"I was super excited. My coach texted me and said 'Everything happens for a reason. Check your email,'" the Whistler Gymnastics athlete recalled. "I eagerly checked and I started jumping up and down, actually."

Kranjc, who hit the podium at nationals earlier this year, said making the team was one of the accomplishments that pushed her throughout 2017-18, and she was hopeful after putting her best foot forward at the biggest events on her calendar.

"It's been a goal for the past season. It's something that was a lot to work for and it was left to hoping afterwards," she said. "I'd done all that I could do."

Having competed at nationals the past two years, Kranjc has learned how to handle herself at bigger competitions in front of larger crowds.

"It's very team-oriented, as opposed to going with Whistler when there are 10 of us at the competition, you're going with all of B.C., which is around 50 to 60 athletes," she said. "It's a very different atmosphere with everyone being at such a high level."

Still, Kranjc expects a totally different experience when she heads overseas to face off against the world.

"I think it'll help, but in a sense, it'll also be a whole new experience entirely. Everyone there is going to be another level and they're going to be trying their best to become the best in the world," she said. "The previous years at nationals will help, but I'll still be fairly intimidated by all of the high-level athletes."

In advance of worlds, Kranjc is hitting the gym regularly to ensure all her moves are locked in and ready to go.

"I'm starting to ramp up my training again so I'm doing four days a week for three hours each in Whistler, and I'll be occasionally going down to Vancouver to train with some of the other athletes," she said.

With teammates from across Western Canada that she's known for years, Kranjc said she won't be heading to Russia without some friends on the team.

"Trampoline is a very inclusive sport. You compete with the same people through most of your competition years," she said. "You're good friends with them even if you only see them in competitions."

Without knowing exactly what she's in for, Kranjc plans to go into worlds with a similar mindset to the one that landed her on the team: do her best and let everything else fall where it falls.

"I try not to go into competitions with extreme placement goals but I like to hope that I land all four passes and that when I finish, that I've done all I can do," she said.