Brooks May Surprise Many

Brooks May Surprise Many

By Elizabeth Grimsley

Chris Brooks has been on and around the international scene for quite some time. In 2010 he finished third at the American Cup ahead of World silver medalist Daniel Keatings and was a member of the 2010 World Championships team that finished fourth. But after the competition, Brooks was forced to have surgery on his ankles and wrist, taking him off the radar. But he didn’t shy away from his injuries because he knows they come with the territory. “Every time you get a tweak, you go to the doctor and think, ‘Is this it? Is this going to be the end of me?’” Brooks said. “But I think I’ve made it through all the injuries for a reason, and I think I’m still here for a reason. I’m just trying to live out what that reason could be. I’m just trying to go for it.”

In 2011, Brooks was selected as the alternate to the World Championship team that won the bronze medal– the first World team medal for the U.S. men since 2003. Although he wasn’t on the floor, Brooks could still be heard throughout the arena because of his large presence, cheering on his teammates from the stands. “Chris Brooks is the loudest mouth in the entire arena,” fellow training mate and best friend Jonathan Horton said. “He just gets people pumped up.”

Brooks’ emergence back into the spotlight started at the Pacific Rim Championships this past April where he not only helped the team to a first place finish but also nabbed the all around title in the process. “I hadn’t even viewed Pac Rim as an all around meet at all, actually,” Brooks recalls. “I was more excited about the team aspect of it and wasn’t really even paying attention. Then when I won, I was like ‘Cool. I won,’ Then everybody made a big deal about it. I was just pumped that we won team (laughs).”

More than winning, Brooks says that building his confidence was the most important part of the experience. “It was kind of a confidence booster that I could go out there and hit some sets and be on the podium again,” he said. “It’s important that every meet that you go through– and every stressful situation you put yourself in– you gain confidence in yourself and you compete well. So that was more valuable to me than winning.”

And now that he’s healthy, Brooks says he’s trying to be more careful as he gets older. “Things happen,” he admits. “It’s a very physical sport, and you’re pounding on your body constantly. But you just try to listen to your body and train for it and try and keep the little things out, so you can be healthy.”

Pac Rim was also a chance to try out new skills before the last push for the Olympics. “I tried [the handspring double pike] for the first time at Pac Rim, and I was super scared,” Brooks said. “I’m not going to lie; I’m still kind of nervous. It’s just hard, scary, committing to doing it right… I had to tuck it out at Pac Rim, and I still landed short, but it’s been going really well in the gym.”

However, his attempt on night one of the Visa Championships went even better than planned. Brooks nearly stuck the difficult vault and left his fellow competitors in awe. Horton had the daunting task of following Brooks on the event. “His vault was sweet!” Horton said. “How do you even follow that up? I was like, ‘Oh man! That was the hugest handspring double pike I’ve ever seen.’ And he almost stuck it. I was like, ‘I don’t want to go now! I don’t want to vault. Mine’s not as cool as that.’ It was awesome.”

Besides vault, Brooks’ says that, unfortunately, his other standout events include high bar and parallel bars– two events the U.S. men are the strongest on. However, he is very aware that this is somewhat of an issue and has been working on bring his other scores up to the same level. “I think I’ve done a pretty good job,” Brooks said.  “I think that just makes it so that I can fill in however they make the team. I’ve just been trying to make myself useful in a three-up-three-count situation on every event– try to take the question out of it.”

Brooks has been there, done that in terms of competing at Championships and other international competitions, so since experience isn’t an issue, dealing with the added stress of it being an Olympic year is the biggest hurdle he faces. “It’s obviously different,” Brooks points out. “It’s a little more pressure, but you just try to put that in the back of your head and don’t worry about it. It’s just gymnastics; just go out there and have fun.”

“I think Chris Brooks is going to surprise a lot of people,” Horton said. “I may be a little biased because he’s my best friend, but we train together. He looks phenomenal.”

So for now, all Chris Brooks can do is continue to hit his routines on every event. And if he can do that, he’ll most likely find himself on the plane to London. “What going through my head at the moment?” he asked. “Just stay calm, I guess? I don’t know… I’m ready. I’m always prepared.”

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Photo- Lloyd Smith

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