At the young age of 19, gymnast Courtney Kupets has stood where few UGA freshmen have stood before – on an Olympics medal stand. 

In 2004, Kupets joined the USA Olympic gymnastics team in Athens, Greece, where she competed in team competition on two events – bars and floor – and individual competition in the all-around, uneven bars and balance beam. In addition to winning a silver medal for the team competition, Kupets also brought home a bronze medal for the uneven bars.

“Going to the Olympics was an experience that I will never forget,” Kupets said. “Being involved in a competition where top athletes all over the world can come and compete, and all be located in the Olympic Village together was amazing. I will always give thanks to God for his strength to get me there.”

Kupets has continued her gymnastics success since arriving at UGA and has racked up more titles, including being named SEC Freshman of the Year.

Participating in Olympic competitions helped prepare Kupets for competing at the collegiate level. At the collegiate level, because of NCAA rules, Kupets and other gymnasts can train no more than 20 hours a week – 16 fewer hours than she devoted to club gymnastics training. That change has been a positive one for Kupets, who said it allows her more time to keep her body healthy.

“It has been quite a change in the transition from elite/club gymnastics to college gymnastics, but I have loved every minute of it,” Kupets said. “One of the major differences coming to college gymnastics is the huge amount of support you get from your teammates and coaches. Gymnastics is no longer an individual sport for me – it’s all about the team. At meets there is so much energy between the team that only makes the competitions more exciting.”

A freshman from Gaithersburg, Md., Kupets has had the advantage of having older sister, Ashley, who is also an all-American gymnast at UGA, to encourage her in collegiate-level gymnastics practice and competition.

“I truly love competing and being on the same team as my sister. In the gym we are just like any other two teammates but with something a little extra special. Since we have trained in gymnastics together for many years before she came to college we learned over time how the other

worked out and learned when the other needed a little extra help or encouragement,” Kupets said. “But the interesting part about it is that you probably wouldn’t be able to tell the small gestures we make to each other or just a certain eye contact that we have developed to help each other out. They are just noticeable to us and make a big difference.”

Kupets has also had the support of her parents, who moved to Athens shortly before she started school at UGA. The move, Kupets said, wasn’t just based on her parents wanting to be closer to their Gymdog daughters, but also on enrolling their son, Chris, in a high school that would strengthen his future in basketball.

“Collectively as a family, we made the decision to move and that decision was definitely led by God. We had faith at that point in our lives it was the right decision,” Kupets said. “It just goes to show what my parents will do for our athletic dreams. They have always been there and are nothing but supportive of our hopes, dreams and futures, and they have moved at least once for each of us kids – and there are four of us!”

While at UGA, Kupets plans to major in furnishings and interiors – an area that has interested her since she was a young child redecorating her bedroom. Her goal is to be an interior designer and own her own company.

“I would love to figure out what other people would like to see in their homes and their rooms and help them to bring more originality and flavor to what they envision,” Kupets said.

It’s that innate creative energy and yearning for new experiences that helps motivate Kupets to follow her dreams and her love of gymnastics.

“I became a gymnast to be like my older sister, Ashley. But I stayed in gymnastics because of the outlet it gave me and the excitement I got from accomplishing a new skill,” she said. “I have gotten to travel all over the United States and to other countries and I’ve experienced so many things that wouldn’t have been possible without my involvement in gymnastics. One thing I know for sure is that my life definitely would not have been the same without it!”