By Gabe Themar
Tampa Bay Rhythmics (TBR) welcomed two-time Olympian Evita Griskenas from July 23-25. Griskenas offered elite-level training and shared her Olympic story firsthand to the gymnasts that train at TBR. Griskenas has been training in rhythmic gymnastics since she was 4 years old. She has competed at both the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and Paris in 2024 and plans on competing again at the 2028 Olympic games in Los Angeles, California.
Griskenas was also the first American to win an all-around silver medal at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup in 2023. In domestic competitions, she is the 2022 USA national all-around champion, a four-time USA national silver medalist (2017-19 and 2021) and the 2015 junior national champion. Overall, Griskenas has won 12 gold, five silver, and 12 bronze medals throughout her career thus far.
Despite being born in Chicago, Griskenas’ mother currently lives in Florida, so during the brief vacations she gets between training and competitions, she makes sure to stop by TBR whenever she can to coach the athletes. One of her biggest points of emphasis when speaking to young gymnasts is to make sure they focus on their academics as well as their athletics. In addition to excellence on the mat, Griskenas herself graduated from Colombia and is currently working on her master’s degree.
“On my tippy toes,” joked Griskenas when asked how she balances academics with the rigorous training required by gymnastics, “but communication and planning is super important; it’s on the athletes to plan in advance and communicate to your teachers when you have a competition coming up, and vice versa with your coach when you have exams. If you’re proactive with both and communicate ahead of time, the teachers and coaches in your life will understand and work with you. Adapt, adjust and overcome.”
This message resonates especially with owner and coach Tyana Marlow. The former gymnast, coach, international judge and gym owner encourages her athletes to stay in brick-and-mortar schools.
“I do not make homeschooling mandatory for the girls,” said Marlow. “Education is important, and I tell the girls you need to have a plan for after gymnastics; you can’t know how long this sport will take you, so not letting gymnastics take over every part of these athletes’ lives is important to me.”
TBR is a tight-knit, family-oriented training facility for gymnasts ages 3 and up. Those interested can find more information at www.tampabayrhythmics.com.
