Guelph man achieved national gymnastic success

Quinlan Perron finished first in his age group in vault at the 2023 Canadian Gymnastics Championships

Guelph native Quinlan Perron had much to look for.

The 22-year-old player just competed in the second round Canadian Gymnastics Championships last month in Richmond, BC. He qualified for two events in the senior 21+ division, and found some success, finishing in top spot in the vault competition with a score of 27.350.

“It was quite the (overall) experience,” said the John F. Ross High School graduate. “We got to compete with the guys who are on Team Canada, and they’re going to the Pan Am Games right now. It’s really cool to watch their gymnastics and I feel like I’m pretty close to their level.

“Everything went well, and to be honest I was very surprised at what I did, but not really surprised.”

Warming up, he admitted, did not go well. But Perron said he was able to pull himself together for the effort, while his fellow competitors cheered him on.

He came a long way after discovering the sport as a high energy kid in Guelph.

“I was doing flips and stuff all over the place, my parents were afraid I was going to hurt myself, so they wanted to put me in something where I could do it and not hurt myself,” Perron said.

Naturally, he also had a trampoline in his backyard, which helped him hone his craft.

Since then, he’s trained at clubs in Burlington and Oakville.

Now living in Waterloo, she practices Kitchener-Waterloo Gymnastics four hours a day, five days a week.

“Normally we’d do three events a day,” Perron said. “Typically at each event, we do about three skills plus that sort of thing, and we’ll do a big warm-up at the start, like a half-hour warm-up.”

There is also the conditioning aspect for the last hour, which according to him is different from the day.

There’s a lot of work to be done, but Conestoga College graduates still find time to work in stone on the side.

“My mom and I went to different colleges, and it was one of the few programs that interested me,” he says. “I’ve always loved doing physical work.”

And while she does her day job, Perron is aiming for the next level in her gymnastics career.

“I really want to compete internationally,” he said. “So one day competing in the world or the Pan Am Games or something. That would be great.”

How about the Olympics?

“Probably, yes,” he replied. “That would be the coolest thing.

“But (there is) a lot of work to be done before then.”

Hadwin Floyd

"Coffee enthusiast. Hipster-friendly social media fanatic. Certified zombie expert. Problem solver."

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *