Hard work translates into gymnastic glory for this 'monkey boy'
By Ryan Pierce
for CBC Sports Online

For as long as Alexander Sehatzadeh can remember, he has always loved climbing and tumbling around.

Now the 11-year-old is taking part in his first Games as one of the youngest athletes. Alex is an artistic gymnast on Team Nova Scotia.

"People around my street call me 'monkey boy' because I always walk around on my hands and I climb trees," he says. "It's fun."

Alex's mom Adrienne says it started when he was just six months old.

"He would tumble off the couch and he would literally climb the walls. He used to make me nervous with some of the things he'd do around the house so I decided that I would put him in gymnastics. I anticipated he would fall but at least this way he wouldn't hurt himself when he fell."

Alex's mom was also a gymnast, competing in the first-ever Canada Games in Quebec in 1967. Ever since she spotted Alex's talent, he's been attending gymnastic practice four nights a week.

Alex has other interests too: he plays piano, he skateboards and he wrestles with his friends. But his first love is gymnastics.

Last fall, Alex learned there was room for other competitors on Team Nova Scotia. He made it his goal to compete at the Canada Games.

"I really worked hard and I used to be just this little guy, but then I became really a lot better."

Alex competes in the vault, floor exercises, parallel bars, high bar and rings.

After his 16 hours a week of practice, he still has lots of energy to spare. He says it's easy to do well in gymnastics and have fun with all the help he gets from friends and family.

"I've come this far because my mom and my dad. When I can't do anything they say 'go try it, come on. Nothing bad is going to happen.'"

All that hard work is paying off. His coach, Mary Kikuchi, says Alex is becoming quite a competitor. While she doesn't anticipate he'll win his events at the Games, she says he'll probably exceed people's expectations.

"He tends to do better in competitions than in practice -- which is lucky. Some guys are better in practice."

Alex dreams of competing in the Olympics when he's 16 years old, and maybe winning a gold.

But first he has to get through the Canada Games. While he competes, Adrienne will be cheering from the stands.

"In his head, gymnastics is really a long-term sport for him and so he wants to get a view for what it will be like in four years when he's a serious competitor," she says.

Alex doesn't plan on winning any medals this time. But he has his sights set on some friendly competition with two of the other boys in his gymnastics club.

"I'm competing against a lot of guys. I'm probably not as good as any of them," he says. "I want to have fun at the Canada Games."