Cody Farabee of Queen Creek, Arizona, keeps plenty busy.
Between college English and honors Trigonometry and Calculus, spending time with friends, and at least two and a half hours of gymnastics training daily, it’s a wonder that he excels at anything — let alone everything. Add to that his status as the top U.S. junior gymnast for double mini trampoline and tumbling events and you’ve got the makings of a pretty impressive resume. (Oh, and he’s state champion for diving in his high school division.)
Cody doesn’t pretend he can do it alone. “It’s hard,” he said. “My parents do a really good job of picking up my slack. I have to have a constant support around me — friends, parents, my brother and sisters help out quite a bit. When I’m not able to do my chores, they’ll do my chores for me; when I’m not able to do my homework, I have one of my buddies come in and give me a tutor, when I’ve been absent or something. It’s cool.”
“He’s really an amazing guy,” said his mother, Michele. “He has to balance so much — he has such a full load. Maybe from competing, he has to be mature for his age, and just to accomplish everything he’s done [is amazing].”
Cody, 17, began gymnastics at age 3 then quit at age 9 because the load was too much; he started up again at 14. That was when he started trampoline and tumbling. “That’s just where my strengths are,” he said.
Even from the time he was young, Cody has had a keen natural air sense (knowing where his body is, even when doing difficult twists and turns in the air), which, along with his perfect physical type, led him to his status as the top U.S. gymnast is double mini and tumbling. He earned this title at the Las Vegas World Qualifiers, where he won tumbling by 5.5 points and double mini by 1.1 points—both unheard of margins in gymnastics.
This result earned Cody a spot on the U.S. delegation to the World Age Group Championships in St. Petersburg, Russia, which he attended with his parents in St. Petersburg, Russia, between November 14 and 22. The competition included 940 gymnasts ages 11-18 from 32 countries. Cody competed in the 17-18 age level.
As this was first international competition, the opportunity to compete at such a level was incomparable for Cody; but that wasn’t all that impressed him. “Honestly, [the best part] was just seeing all the different cultures and seeing you know forty-plus countries get together in one place and compete,” Cody said. “You really can’t top a world championship competition — one so eye-opening. It was really cool.”
Michele and her husband, Richard, were even able to celebrate their 20th anniversary while they were there. This, on top of being able to see their son compete with other world-class gymnasts, made for the experience of a lifetime. “It was fun to go watch him. He took fourth in double mini and seventh in the tumbling — in the world!” she said in a voice brimming with pride. “It’s really amazing.”
Though Cody is taking a little break to recover from jet lag, he has his sights set on some big goals. First there’s world championships next year then there’s the 2012 Olympics, where tumbling may be included for men for the first time (the Olympic committee has accepted a bid to include the event, but it must still go through approval). Somewhere in there he’d like to work in a mission, college, and a family. “But that’s not till later,” he said. “As of this point, I’m going to continue training.”
“He takes his gymnastics very seriously, and he’s driven. And he’s just a great kid!” said Michele. “He’s knows what’s right, and he wants to do what’s right.”
Wow!! I thought my kids had busy schedules just juggling church, school, homework, chores & so forth. After reading this article, I was truly AMAZED. What a GREAT & UPLIFTING read. :D We're definitely getting the girls back into their different recreational activities. :D So exciting. :D
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