Conqu'ring Heroes: Wilson Using National Championship Platform to Influence Change
2/3/2022 11:38:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics, Features
It's great to catch up with Gabby Wilson from Michigan women's gymnastics this week. She discusses the start of the season for the defending national champions, details the meaning of competing at a high level in her home state, shares the meaning of the program's "Educate Us" initiative, and breaks down her role on the Big Ten's Equality Coalition.
By Conor Stemme
Having grown up in nearby Ypsilanti, Mich., junior Gabby Wilson of the national champion University of Michigan women's gymnastics team was inspired by the many Wolverine gymnasts she got to watch over the years. Now she is contributing on all four events for the Maize and Blue and making a bigger social impact on her team and Michigan Athletics at large.
After ending last season winning the NCAA championship, this season has brought her and the team a lot of attention. The Wolverines are No. 1 in the country with Wilson being a major contributor to the lineup as she ranks in the top 16 nationally on three events. Wilson and the Wolverines are not focused on their competitors, but rather themselves and giving their attention to each other.
"(Head coach) Bev (Plocki) talks a lot about putting all of our energy into the one person that's on the apparatus at the time," she said on this week's edition of the Conqu'ring Heroes podcast. "So, just carrying that momentum for each person and giving everyone kind of that same opportunity and that same energy has been really, really key for us."
The high scores and the accolades are not Wilson's focus. She just wants to compete for team success and is more focused on consistency. Wilson made her all-around debut last season and has been competing in all four events since the third meet of last season.
"I think part of that transition into all-around last year was being just a dependable and strong rock for the team on all four events," she said. "You know, that might not mean getting 9.95s on every single event, but being able to consistently count solid scores is what I consider to be my role on the team. Also, of course, being able to support the younger girls."
Wilson has not only taught the younger gymnasts on the team what it means to be a Michigan Wolverine, but has educated the whole team and staff as well as the community as a whole on the important issues of race and equality.
"Over 2020 in quarantine, we stayed really close to the team. We had weekly Zoom calls, checking in about how everyone was doing," she said. "With all of the civil unrest going on at the time and also having that first year under my belt, they said to really use my platform."
Wilson started with her small community within the team and then has since branched out to more ambitious positions, including serving on the Big Ten Equity Coalition. This group includes students from all the Big Ten universities from a variety of different sports and allows these student-athletes to learn from each other and from other speakers.
"We are enacting change by changing the cultures of our teams, if that's what needs to happen," Wilson said. "That's really where it starts, just from having people who are willing to penetrate these systems of inequities and call them out when they see them."
In addition to her team, Wilson has started to educate the fans with "Educate Us," using her voice and platform to teach others how to be anti-racist and about how to carry themselves, and uphold the ideals that the Michigan women's gymnastics squad has bought into.
"If you are going to come to our meets, if you're going to be a Michigan gymnastics fan, then that means that you're also going to be anti-racist, or at least hear about how to be anti-racist and how important that that is to our team."
Wilson and the Wolverines will take these ideals and their No. 1 ranking to Piscataway, N.J., on Friday (Feb. 4) at 7 p.m. against Rutgers, where the team hopes to continue having fun, focusing on themselves, and staying healthy, while representing the block "M" proudly.
"We always have that support system everywhere, and it's just so easy to buy into the pride of the block "M" because we just have so many amazing people that have come through here."
Players Mentioned
