One of 10 Israeli gymnasts at the Olympics, Valeria Maksyuta enters the London Games
under little pressure. The 24-year-old made aliya from the Ukraine five years
ago after an eye-catching performance in the 2005 Maccabiah.
Maksyuta made
her breakthrough in 2011 and took a big step towards London with her showing in
the All-Around competition in the Olympic Test Event at the O2 Arena in January,
before taking medals in the vault and balance beam finals as
well.
Maksyuta still had to meet the Olympic Committee of Israel’s
criteria to book her place at the Olympics and did so by ending the All- Around
final at the European Championships in ninth place, while also finishing the
vault final in an impressive fourth position.
“Since the age of 14 I
understood that gymnastics is my future,” Maksyuta said after qualifying for
London 2012.
“The dream has always been to reach the Olympics and now
that I have realized that I have no intention of stopping.
“I’m not going
to London for fun. I’m going with the clear goal of winning a medal in the
vault.”
A podium finish will likely be out of Maksyuta’s reach, but
progress to the vault final is certainly within her capabilities, as is
qualification for the 24- gymnast All-Around final.