How a Minnesota gym is training elite gymnasts for the Olympics

CATHY WURZER: Today, Minneapolis becomes the center of elite gymnastics. Target Center is host to the USA Olympic gymnastics trials this weekend. All eyes will be on Saint Paul native Suni Lee and Waconia native Shane Wiskus, and of course, Simone Biles. Minnesota has started to make a name for itself when it comes to producing Olympic gymnasts.

Part of that is thanks to the elite gym, Twin City Twisters in Champlin. They are responsible for training Olympic medalist Grace McCallum and world champions Maggie Nichols and Lexie Zeiss. And there are some young athletes there that could be the next Minnesota natives to be on the Olympic stage. Joining us right now is Maliha Tressel, a junior elite gymnast who trains with Twin Cities Twisters. Maliha thanks for joining us. Hi.

MALIHA TRESSEL: Hi.

CATHY WURZER: Hi. Thanks for taking the time. I am hoping you're going to be at Target Center for the competition. What are you looking forward to?

MALIHA TRESSEL: I'm so excited to watch everybody compete. I've got to know some of the girls from competitions or camps, and I really hope that they all do their best and achieve their goals.

CATHY WURZER: I understand you're 14 years old, so next year, you'll be eligible to compete for the Olympics. Is that right?

MALIHA TRESSEL: Next year, I turn-- or I go into the Senior Elite category. So then I will be eligible for the 2028 Olympics.

CATHY WURZER: Oh my gosh. So tell me about how are you training?

MALIHA TRESSEL: I train 25 to 30 hours a week. And it's pushing through things like any challenges, but also just enjoying it and taking every day step by step.

CATHY WURZER: I understand it takes about an hour for you to get to practice. Is that right?

MALIHA TRESSEL: Yeah. I live in Eagan, and the gym's in Champlin, so it's 45 minutes to an hour drive.

CATHY WURZER: Yeah, wow, depending on traffic. So obviously, you've been doing this for a while. And you must love it. What do you love best about gymnastics? I'm curious.

MALIHA TRESSEL: I like the challenge of it or the sense of achievement you get after accomplishing something, whether it's big or small. It's just like you feel so accomplished and so good.

CATHY WURZER: What's your best event?

MALIHA TRESSEL: Definitely floor. I'm pretty powerful, so that's probably my highlight.

CATHY WURZER: And the most difficult for you at this point?

MALIHA TRESSEL: Probably bars. I'm getting much better at it, but it has always been the hardest for me to get the hang of.

CATHY WURZER: Oh my gosh. I can't even imagine how you would even do it. It looks so incredibly difficult. What do your coaches tell you about improving on the bars?

MALIHA TRESSEL: Well, it's just a little bit day by day, again, but you just have to swing with the bars. Sometimes I try and muscle things a little bit too much.

CATHY WURZER: So you are obviously an accomplished, accomplished gymnast, and you're taking aim at the Olympics. So as you watch these other gymnasts, like Suni Lee and Simone, what are you watching for?

MALIHA TRESSEL: Well, their gymnastics is amazing. And they do a lot of things that I aspire to do one day. So I watch, and sometimes I take note of how they do things or even how they react after maybe a bad turn or how they react after a good turn.

CATHY WURZER: When you watch, say, Suni Lee, what pops out at you in terms of how she looks on, say, the bars or the beam?

MALIHA TRESSEL: She just looks so graceful and elegant and like she's really working with the event and singing and just she looks so calm always.

CATHY WURZER: Because I'm sure on the inside-- I don't want to speak for you. But yes, they all look calm, don't they? I bet you look calm, too. But what's happening inside?

MALIHA TRESSEL: I would say on the inside, you're probably a little bit freaked out. But if you don't let it show, then it sometimes helps you calm down a little bit and just really trust yourself.

CATHY WURZER: Right. Say, I'm wondering about your gym. That seems like it's a real hotspot for gymnasts. What's going on in Champlin?

MALIHA TRESSEL: Well, we have a really fun team, and every day at the gym, it's super loud. Everybody's cheering for each other. And it makes it so much easier to push through things and really work your hardest. And there's a team supporting you.

CATHY WURZER: Sure. So are you and the other gymnasts from the Champlin gym, are you going to be at Target Center altogether?

MALIHA TRESSEL: A lot of us are going. Some of us are sitting together, but I would say we're mostly in little groups, but we're all very excited.

CATHY WURZER: So you'll be there watching. So I've always been so impressed when I watch the gymnastics events for the Olympics, especially the all-arounds. I can't even imagine how you would get yourself prepared for beam, bars, floor, vault, all of that. Can you give me a sense as to what that's like?

MALIHA TRESSEL: It's definitely tough. You have to focus on each event when you're on it. So you can't think about the next event. While you're on vault, you can't think about beam. But you have to work on each thing individually. And whether it goes good or bad, you have to move on to the next one.

CATHY WURZER: It's kind of like life, isn't it?

MALIHA TRESSEL: Yeah.

CATHY WURZER: You kind of concentrate on what's in front of you, and then just kind of move on and do your best. Say, I understand your mom is a coach. What is that like?

MALIHA TRESSEL: It's so fun that she's a coach. She coaches a lot of the lower levels. And those kids are what's going to be next. You start at level three, and that's what she coaches, and you work your way up from there. So it's really fun to see how she trains them and how they then work their way up the levels.

CATHY WURZER: So I'm betting you probably talk to your mom a lot about what she sees you do, or does she kind of stay out of it and let your other coaches kind of handle things?

MALIHA TRESSEL: She mostly stays out of it. But if I'm really struggling, sometimes we watch a video together or we do something like that. She's definitely able to point out the little things, like the toe points and the knee bends. But I leave the bigger stuff to definitely my coaches.

CATHY WURZER: Sure. Say, before you go, there's going to be some amazing people that you're going to be watching here over the weekend. Who do you think might be somebody that we're not thinking about who might do really well? Any ideas?

MALIHA TRESSEL: I really feel like everybody has a chance. There's not like-- I feel like in the past, so they could kind of had a pretty good idea of this person's really good. But all 16 of them all really have got-- they're really amazing.

CATHY WURZER: Oh my goodness. I know, right? It should be. It should be so interesting to see what happens at the end. Say, I know that as I mentioned prior-- and you said this, too-- you have your sights set on the 2028 Olympics in LA. So, gosh, what's your life going to be like between now and then? Do you have any idea?

MALIHA TRESSEL: Well, a lot of time in the gym, but I would really like to next year, maybe get an international assignment. That's really good starting point. And then from there, I can build up and work my way up to the Olympics, hopefully.

CATHY WURZER: Oh gosh, Maliha, we'll be watching with our fingers and our toes crossed for you. And I hope you have a great weekend, too.

MALIHA TRESSEL: Thank you.

CATHY WURZER: Absolutely. It's been fun talking to you. Maliha Tressel's been with us. She is a junior elite gymnast. She trains with the Twin Cities Twisters based in Champlin. They are responsible for training a bunch of Olympic medalists here based in Minnesota.