Utah gymnast aims for German Olympic team

By Aubreyann Hansen

April 15, 2008 | Daria Bijak, 22, born and raised in Germany, fights through injuries to finish her second season at the University of Utah and hopefully go to the 2008 Olympics for Germany.

At age 6, Daria's physical education teacher saw athletic talent and suggested to the Bijak family that Daria should get involved with gymnastics.

"What's gymnastics?" was the Bijak family's response.

Daria said, "I tried it and the coaches said, ‘Hey she's talented,' so I kept doing it."

Bijak worked with a gymnastics club and started competing all-around half a year later. She started a sport she knew nothing about and excelled quickly.

For the early years of gymnastics, Bijak learned, practiced and perfected skills and competed in small meets in Germany.

Her gymnastics career took off as she placed 20th in the 2003 World Championship. But that was still the beginning.

Because she was doing so well and at the peak age for a gymnastics career, Bijak was preparing for the 2004 Olympics. However she hyper extended her knee on a vault performance which made her unable to compete and put Olympics far out of her reach, but she didn't give up.

"I had to keep going for myself," Bijak said.

Bijak took a break only long enough to heal and eased back into competitions. Her next big competition was in 2005 for the World Championships in Australia where she took 8th overall.

"I didn't expect it at all," Bijak said of the 2005 World Championship. "Like I knew I was in my best shape and I thought it would be pretty cool if I got in the finals." After the preliminaries, where judges advance the top 24 competitors, Daria stood in 12th place. The coaches told her to just do the same thing over again.

"I was scared, cause in the finals everyone competes even better. I thought ‘I can't even get in the 12th again,' then I was eighth," Bijak said. "I remember thinking ‘Whoa! How did that happen?' It wasn't expected at all. It was so cool."

Bijak also holds two all-around national titles, 2005 and 2006, for Germany. Bijak visited the United States while training in Utah for a couple weeks before the 2003 World Championships. She met the coaches from the college teams and kept in touch. Years later she was called and offered a scholarship for gymnastics at the University of Utah.

"In Germany I didn't know anything about college gymnastics," Bijak said.

Unlike in America, college is not a big part of life. Growing up Bijak said she didn't think of going to college. But when the offer was presented, Bijak became interested and looking for a good experience in school and gymnastics, she accepted.

When you are done with high school in Germany you already decide where to go from there. There isn't a four year university then graduate school. A lot of people go to work or get involved in different programs where people can work for a couple weeks then go to school for a couple weeks. So a university and college athletics were never before mentioned to Bijak.

"Coming to America for school was never in my mind ‘til they asked me," Bijak said.

Bijak's favorite part of being on the University of Utah's team is "having a really good team and not having to go through good and bad times by yourself."

In professional and/or elite gymnastics, which is a different system of gymnastics, training is more one on one than it is in college. Elite teams might train in a group, but it is never as a team. In college athletics the athletes may live together in the dorms, they train with each other, which is slightly less than 20 hours a week of just gymnastics, and they become sisters.

With her team in mind, Bijak pushed her way through the last home meet of the 2008 season. Bijak didn't land her vault and injured her knee. Yet 30 minutes later she did a double front, punch front in her floor routine, which is two rotations in a forward flip and then using the bounce from the landing to throw another front flip.

"I've been injured so many times that I can tell right away if it is serious or not," Daria said referring to the last home meet and previous surgeries from gymnastic injuries. "I knew it hurt and was going to be sore but it wasn't serious. I didn't want to just give up."

Bijak has had six surgeries from gymnastics related injuries. Her first surgery was in 2001. She has had two on her foot, two on her Achilles and two on her knees. Despite the injuries, Bijak always pulls through and comes back trying to hit perfection.

Daria, or Dari for short, is a favorite gymnast and friend of Cirbie Lee, 23, who is Utah gymnastics' biggest fan.

Lee said of Bijak: "She is truly an amazing gymnast to watch do skills on all four events. She is a true athlete that can fight through pain and injury and still perform at her high level. She is a person that isn't conceded about herself. She is always there when someone needs her."

Lee loves to watch Daria perform and has not missed a single meet. She even comes at least five hours early to the meets to save seats.

"I sit front row behind beam for every one of them. It feels like a sin to miss any," Lee said.

Bijak loves the atmosphere of the college competitions and fans like Lee, but still misses home.

"Oh man, I wish my mom was here," Bijak said. "Not just to be with me but also to see the competition ‘cause we don't have something like that in Germany. At the German championship we have maybe 150 people there. If she could see a meet like last night where it is sold out and people are crazy. I just want her to see that. That would be so cool."

The meet Daria refers to had a record breaking audience of 15,447 and the swim team showed up with "Utah Utes!" on their stomachs and "We [HEART] Daria!!" on their backs.

However many of those fans were there to see Ashley Postell, the nation's No. 1 ranked gymnast.

"I love to watch Ashley perform," Daria said. "She's the most consistent one. It's not going to be perfect all the time but she's not going to kill herself. She's interesting to watch."

Lee said, "Dari doesn't get the recognition she should at the level she is at right now. She is soft spoken and very humble. Just meeting Daria, you would never know she was a great gymnast without looking up her stats."

Last year she placed eighth at the NCAA Championship and was named All-American. Those stats and awards as a freshman might be what she needs to fulfill her dream and make it to the Olympics.

The German coach published a list of top 10 candidates for the gymnast team and Bijak's name was not part of the list. Bijak had injuries at the time and has since been reassured she is being looked into for the team depending on how this season finishes. So far this year Bijak is in the top 15 for the NCAA on beam (9th) and bars (11th).

Bijak will return to Germany to practice with the German national team and tryout for the Olympics in May and June. Her goal is closer than ever.

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