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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