At the ripe age of 15, Nokomis native Jakson Kurecki has already fulfilled a dream.
Last May, Kurecki was one of just four men’s United States gymnasts selected to take part in the 2024 Artistic Gymnastics Junior Pan American Championships in Santa Marta, Colombia.
It was Kurecki’s first opportunity to compete at the international level.
“It was definitely an amazing experience,” said Kurecki of competing in Colombia. “I loved it so much. Getting a chance to compete and travel with all of the coaches and other athletes who have been there before made it even more special.”
Not only did Kurecki compete, he left his mark, placing in three different events to help propel the United States to a first place finish ahead of the competition favorite, Colombia.
“That was really, really cool,” Kurecki said. “It was really awesome. We were neck-and-neck with Colombia, and we only ended up winning by less than a tenth [of a point].”
Now, an international gold medalist, Kurecki has likely only scratched the surface of what he’s capable of.
“I love this sport, and I haven’t ever done anything else,” said Kurecki of gymnastics. “Sticking to gymnastics for as long as I can is my goal into the future.”
BORN TO BE A GYMNASTKurecki has been tumbling up and down gym floors for almost as long as he can remember.
“I’ve been doing gymnastics for almost a decade,” Kurecki said. “I’ve been competing since I was seven years old.”
For a majority of that time, Kurecki has spent a countless amount of his mornings, afternoons and evenings at EVO Gymnastics in Sarasota.
The state-of-the-art gymnastics center boasts over 40,000 square feet of space, and with it comes some of the top gymnastics coaches in the country.
EVO’s general manager — Grant Brittain — is one of those award-winning coaches, and he’s been responsible for Kurecki’s growth since he started coaching him up nearly five years ago.
“Jakson’s grown a lot, he’s matured, and he’s battled a lot of adversity already to this point,” Brittain said. “He’s really kept his head down and stayed strong, and I think those are just some of the many reasons he’s had so much success. Jakson’s well-liked, he never complains, and I’d say he’s probably the hardest worker in the program.”
ONE OF THE COUNTRY’S BESTSince 2021, Kurecki has competed in the Development Program Gymnastics National Championships every year, qualifying for a spot on the US National Team twice during that span.
Kurecki earned national champion status in the floor event all four years he competed, being crowned the all-around national champion (winning first in floor, vault and high bar) in Daytona Beach, Florida, prior to his trip to Colombia this year.
“I honestly didn’t go into that competition expecting much,” Kurecki said. “After that first day, I was in first place in all-around, and it was a shock, because it was more than I had obviously expected to happen. I managed to stay solid on the second day, and I stayed in first the whole way. I was pretty stoked, because that’s what really qualified me for Colombia.”
A couple of weeks later, Kurecki found himself at his first-ever international event, competing alongside some of America’s best.
In addition to Kurecki, Hasan Aydogdu, Adam Lakomy and Xander Hong were all members of the gold-winning team from the US.
Even though Kurecki was the youngest competitor at the competition, the 15-year-old placed in three events (pommel horse, high bar and vault), which included a seventh-place finish in the finals of the high-bar event.
“You could tell it meant everything to him,” said Brittain of Kurecki’s overall performance in the Pan American Championships. “He’s not usually one that looks for the spotlight. He deserved it, and it was very inspiring to see him at his age competing on a team with gymnasts who were all three years older than him.”
The US won gold with a score of 229.802, narrowly edging out Colombia (229.767) and Mexico (223.867).
With all of the teams broken up into subdivisions and competing at different times of the day, Kurecki and his team got the chance to watch Colombia compete with the gold hanging in the balance.
“We were all just sitting there sweating bullets,” Kurecki said. “It was crazy for a second. Once we heard we won, we all started cheering, because we were just so happy for each other. It was an awesome moment.”
With his first international event now in the past, Kurecki hopes to compete in even more as he trains into the future.
If he keeps on his current path, he hopes a trip to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles awaits.
“For me, that’s the ultimate end goal,” said Kurecki of the Olympics. “I want to go compete in the Olympics for Team USA one day.”
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