Marc Cihlar
Clarendon Hills
How did get started in gymnastics?
I started when I was really young, maybe 4 years old, because my older brother was doing it and I thought it was cool.
What do you enjoy most about the sport?
I think it’s everything a sport should have. There’s a team aspect. There’s an individual aspect.
What is your favorite event?
Horizontal bar. I think it’s the most fun event where you can just do as many flips as possible. It might be the highest risk event, but I think it’s just the most fun because it’s the highest risk.
What is your most challenging event?
Probably pommel horse. It’s very hard.
How have you improved since your freshman year?
In sixth grade I stopped doing gymnastics, so my freshman year was me just getting back into it. It was pretty hard to get back into it, but I had some great coaches and they helped me improve a lot.
Do you have any pre-meet rituals or routines?
I usually pray before every meet. Sometimes I envision me doing the skills on each event. That usually works well.
What is the best advice you’ve gotten from a coach?
Don’t take it too seriously. In gymnastics, you fall a lot, and if you fall in an event and you take it way too seriously, then you are going to do really bad on the rest of the events.
What is your goal for the season?
My goal for the season is probably to place on high bar in state, because I was close last year.
How would your teammates describe you?
Probably as a positive person that likes to cheer on our team and other teams and someone that jokes around a lot and tries to help.
Any other athletic accomplishments?
I used to do karate when I was younger, and I got my black belt when I was 12 or 13.
Why does coach CJ Johnson like having Cihlar on the team?
In my opinion, Marc Cihlar is a talented gymnast. He continues to show so much promise. He scores at the state level for us on several events, which is an inspiration to his team.
— profile by Pamela Lannom, photo by Jim Slonoff
