Alaina Johnson has always been one of UF’s most talented athletes, but she is also its most physically fragile all-around competitor.
Throughout her gymnastics career, Johnson, a 5-foot-1 sophomore, has battled numerous injuries, including stress fractures in her ribs and shins and nagging soreness in her right elbow. Florida’s coaching staff learned last season that her body type could not withstand competing in all four events in back-to-back meets.
“It’s tough to compete every single weekend, and that’s something I wasn’t used to,” Johnson said. “It’s hard on your body.”
Near the end of last year, Johnson’s body began to slowly break down. She eventually experienced pain in her shins due to repeated pounding on vault and floor exercise.
After she hurt her ribs, she struggled on balance beam. At the NCAA Championships last April, she posted a low all-around total of 38.90 after erring on her beam routine (9.2).
Johnson came to Florida with the elbow injury, which popped up about six years ago when she overused it at the elite level. She said she plans on getting it checked out again once the season finishes.
“It wasn’t a certain skill I hurt it on,” she said. “My elbow has always been a problem and I just kind of deal with it. It’s still giving me problems.”
To keep Johnson at optimal health, the coaching staff has monitored her more closely this season. She has rested from five events in 2012, as the Gators’ other three all-arounders have only sat out a combined nine events.
“She is very honest and I love that,” coach Rhonda Faehn said. “She tells us if something’s sore. It’s easier for us to manage her if she’s open about what she’s dealing with.”
While the rest has been beneficial for Johnson, it has hurt her rhythm on floor exercise this year.
Johnson earned All-America first-team honors for floor her freshman year, but she currently ranks No. 129 in the country on floor, and averaged a 9.796 before last Friday night.
But in No. 1 Florida’s 197.900-196.475 victory against No. 7 Utah, Johnson posted a season-high floor score of 9.9 and attacked the mat with a newfound charisma.
“After having that weekend off (because of the bye week), my body felt re-energized,” Johnson said.
That night, Johnson also recorded an all-around total of 39.675, tying her career best. For her performance, she earned Southeastern Conference Gymnast of the Week honors for the second time this year and the third of her career.
“On any given day, she can challenge to win any title on any event at any meet,” Faehn said. “She performs with such great execution and the appearance (of her performances) is just really pleasing to the eye. That’s really an advantage for her.”
With the SEC Championships in Duluth, Ga., this Saturday, Johnson and the Gators will face a highly competitive field as they find themselves peaking at the right time. All seven teams in the competition currently rank in the top 25.
“It’s a huge meet because the best teams are out there competing,” Johnson said. “Because of that, you have a little extra energy and adrenaline that pumps you up.”
