Hershey Giant Center Welcomes 2016 Olympic Gymnasts

Tori Moss, Reporter
October 27, 2016

From Rio De Janeiro to Hershey, Pennsylvania, Olympic gymnasts leave a mark wherever they go.

Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Danell Leyva, Jake Dalton, and many more famous Olympic gymnasts performed on Tuesday, October 25th, 2016 at 7:00 pm at the Hershey Giant Center. However, the Olympic gymnasts weren’t the only performers, the U.S. rhythmic gymnasts performed as well. Before the show began, there was a “Chalk Talk”, a question and answer session with gymnasts, led by Nastia Liukin, 2008 champion. This show was two hours long and was a real “get out of your seat and move” kind of show.

Starting the show was an opening dance number with more than a 100 local gymnasts that performed alongside the best in the world. During this number, all the olympians were announced and applauded.

Biles, a world-all around champion, was the main attraction for the show when she performed her famous floor routine. A video played before she started the routine. In the video Biles said, “I started [gymnastics] when I was six years old by accident on a class field trip.”

Although Biles and a few other olympians had their moment to shine, there was no pause throughout the rest of the show. With multiple bars, beams, rings, and trampolines, there was always something happening.

As a finale, the Kellogg’s Tour of Gymnastics Champions played a video of many famous gymnasts speaking the Star Spangled Banner in honor of the country they represented in the Olympics.

Hershey welcomed the 2016 Olympic gymnasts for one night, and their chalk wasn’t the only thing that left a mark.

The male olympians of 2016 hanging from Olympic rings. These men rode on the rings all the way to the top of the Giant Center. (The Broadcaster/ Tori Moss)
The male olympians of 2016 hanging from Olympic rings. These men rode on the rings all the way to the top of the Giant Center. (The Broadcaster/ Tori Moss)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A member of the rhythmic gymnastics team sits in a split at the top of the Giant Center while other gymnasts dance beneath her. She rode down to the ground and then flipped off the strings. (The Broadcaster/ Tori Moss)
A member of the rhythmic gymnastics team sits in a split at the top of the Giant Center while other gymnasts dance beneath her. She rode down to the ground and then flipped off the strings. (The Broadcaster/ Tori Moss)

 

This video screen presents a picture of the American Flag and airplanes from the Air Force. The video played after the National Anthem at the end of the show. (The Broadcaster/ Tori Moss)
This video screen presents a picture of the American Flag and airplanes from the Air Force. The video played after the National Anthem at the end of the show. (The Broadcaster/ Tori Moss)