MENASHA, Wis. (NBC 26) -- At Ultimate Fusion Gymnastics in Menasha, showing support for your teammates is part of the game. The young athletes training on Wednesday morning at the gym have set the bar high though, in terms of understanding how support can bring them to the next level.
"Sometimes my teammates get stuff wrong, so we all help them correct it. If they're scared or something, we help them," says Holan Laclair, a 9-year-old gymnast from Oshkosh.
"Having a team is really nice because they are always there for you, and they know exactly what you're going through," adds Asha Lyboualong a gymnast from Kaukauna.
Lyboualong, a Hmong American who has been in gymnastics since she was just four years old, has experienced a slight change at her gym over the years according to her coach.
"I'd say probably in the last 10-years, you're starting to see it become a lot more diverse," says Ultimate Fusion Gymnastics coach and owner Mikal Ramadan.
Ramadan says when he got into gymnastics nearly 40 years ago, the gym wasn't a very diverse place. Today though, these kids are looking up to Olympic athletes like Simone Biles and Suni Lee, and that change has encouraged more kids to enter the sport.
"I think it's very cool and it shows that anyone can do gymnastics. It's not just one person, one type of person," says 17-year-old Mackenzie Havlik of Oshkosh. Havlik, who started training in the sport as a child, helps encourage the next generation of gymnasts to push their limits.
Many of the gymnasts here are aware that this year, for the first time ever, Team USA has Suni Lee. Lee is the first Hmong American athlete to ever represent America at the Olympics.
"I think she is definitely an inspiration and she just kind of shows me you can't just always put pressure on yourself, and you can have fun while doing gymnastics," says Lyboualong.
"I want to be like her someday cause she's really good on bars and I want to be just like her," adds Laclair.
Saint Paul, Minnesota's native Suni Lee, has become a symbol of progress and pride for the Hmong community. In turn, Lee has also become a representation of what any young gymnast can accomplish through hard work.
