Injury after injury, Victoria Nguyen was losing faith in herself. After competing all-around just once during her freshman year at Georgia, Nguyen injured her ankle early in the season, keeping her out of the vault and floor lineups for the rest of the year. The following year she injured her other ankle, once again hampering her ability to contribute. Following her sophomore season at Georgia, Nguyen entered the transfer portal and was picked up by a strong Florida team. Unbeknownst to her, this move started her journey of returning to her all-around potential and regaining the confidence she had lost during her time with the GymDogs.
Heading into her junior year at Florida, Nguyen was recovering from her injuries. The mental stress that came with the physical setbacks kept thoughts of self-doubt in the back of her mind. But with more competitive lineups to make, Nguyen knew she had to spend time during the summer rehabbing not only to get stronger but also to have a real chance of seeing competition time.
Even in her elite gymnastics days, Nguyen described herself as “fragile” and wanted to make sure she could be physically prepared for the season. She made a plan and worked closely with her strength coach and athletic trainer to do extra physical therapy and…
