After Naomi Morrison’s mother,
JoAnn, learned that her daughter taught
herself how to do a back handspring on
the side of the house, she decided it was
time to enroll Naomi in gymnastics. That
decision began her lifelong love of the
sport.
Now a junior at Michigan currently
ranked 17th in the nation on the floor,
with first-team Big Ten honors for the
second straight season, Morrison has
had an impressive career so far at Mich-
igan.
But, her journey with gymnastics
started long before this, at the age of
three or four, through watching her old-
er sister Faith who went on to compete
at Washington.
Faith and Naomi are not the only
athletes in their family, though. They’re
just the tip of the iceberg. Their sister
Grace played volleyball for Appalachian
State, their brother Sam played football
for Arizona and San Diego State, and
their brother Ben is a current sopho-
more playing football for Notre Dame.
Moreover, their father, Darryl Morrison,
played football for Arizona before going
on to play for the Washington Com-
manders in the NFL.
With such an athletic family, her
siblings — as well as her parents — served
as her role models throughout her child-
hood.
“My siblings, seeing them having
that dedication day in and day out, go-
ing in and training, and just trying to be
the best athlete that they could be — they
were my biggest role models,” Naomi
told the Daily. “Also, my parents — just
the way that they led their lives as well. My
dad played football as well, so seeing the
things that he achieved, it was like, ‘Oh, I
can see that for myself because it’s literally
in my genes.’ ”
Gymnast Naomi Morrison stands on
the lower bar and leans forward to catch
the higher bar in front of spectators.
Since beginning the sport as a kid,
Naomi has flourished, and her high skill
is now shining at the college level. By the
end of her sophomore season, she had
garnered seven event titles and scored a
9.900 or better 29 times despite still be-
ing an underclassman. And, as the 2023
season comes to a close, she has only built
upon those numbers.
Her talent came through, especially
at the Big Ten Championships, where she
scored a 9.900 on vault, an impressive
score that contributed to the Michigan
women’s gymnastics team’s overall first-
place finish.
Naomi noted that she prepared for
this competition throughout the season,
and in doing so, she underwent some im-
portant mindset changes.
“I feel as if I’ve matured a bit more
as an athlete, just being an upperclass-
man,” Naomi said. “So now it’s no longer
like, ‘How can I master these skills? But,
how perfect can I make them?’…It’s a
mind game — forcing yourself to believe
that you literally can hit any routine you
go up and do, and it can be the exact same
as you do in practice.”
Indeed, gymnastics is not only a
physical sport but a mental one as well.
Many student-athletes struggle to bal-
ance the demands of their sport with the
rigor of classes and outside activities. For
Naomi, she credits her teammates, family
and especially her faith for creating such
a strong support system that she can rely
on.
“Growing up, we understood that
everything that we have is a gift from God,
and we need to steward it correctly,” Nao-
mi said. “So, it just means that every time
you go out, and you train that you can’t
give a half performance; you have to give
it your all. If you’ve been given this gift,
utilize it for the best that you can be. So,
that definitely pushed me to be the woman
that I am today.”
Naomi has most certainly demon-
strated drive and dedication throughout
her career. Her strong upbringing has
shaped her into the woman that she is.
She’s determined to continue to make her
mark in the gymnastics community and
won’t stop until she’s satisfied.
“I don’t want to leave the sport with-
out knowing that I tried my absolute best
to be the best that I can be,” Naomi said.
While women have been compet-
ing in the Olympics since 1900, women’s
gymnastics was not officially standardized
in the competition until 1928. In contrast,
men’s gymnastics had already been offi-
cially recognized at the start of the Olym-
pic tradition in 1896.
While conditions for female ath-
letes have improved throughout history,
particularly after the passing of Title IX
in 1972, women still face an abundance of
discrimination.
Aware of that history, being a female
athlete holds a stronger significance for
Naomi.
“It means so much,” Naomi ex-
plained. “I didn’t really understand how
much weight there was in that title until
growing up and understanding that wom-
en didn’t have the same opportunities as
men. So to understand that I’m a trailblaz-
er for people who are still coming and may
have been like me and know that there
are people who look up to me because of
what I’m doing, it’s amazing — I feel like a
trailblazer.”
And, trailblazer is the perfect word
to describe Naomi.
As she continuously seeks to better
herself both as an athlete and a person,
she is etching her name into the gymnas-
tics world. Her strong character and com-
mitment to reaching her goal of becoming
the best athlete she can be have served as
an inspiration for many young athletes
who hope to one day compete at the col-
lege level.
Naomi understands the impact she
can have on others, and she has a message
for all the aspiring gymnasts who look up
to her as an example:
“The sky is the limit,” Naomi said.
“When people don’t believe in you, it’s
up to you to believe in yourself and make
sure that you have a support system that
constantly pushes you to be the best
that you can possibly be because you’ll
be surprised at the things you’re able to
achieve.”
And if there’s one thing that Naomi
can do, it’s continue to surprise us all.
Naomi Morrison’s victorious path to
Michigan gymnastics
4 — Women’s Month /
/ Wednesday, March 29, 2023
ALINA LEVINE
Daily Sports Writer
GRACE BEAL/Daily
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