Now graduated from the University of Alabama and looking to pursue a career in communications and/or coaching, Shallon Olsen isn't yet sure if she'll aim to return to Olympic competition in three years, when the 2028 Games will be held in Los Angeles.
The Surrey-raised artistic gymnast, 24, competed in Paris last summer and, before that, Tokyo during the pandemic-paused 2020 Games and also Rio in 2016, when she was Team Canada's youngest competitor in her first year of senior eligibility.
In France in 2024, she finished eighth in vault, fifth as a team.
Dating back to 2016, Olsen has been the Canadian champion on vault every year including the 2024 Canadian Championships.
Last year's performance in the gym was enough to earn the lifelong Fraser Heights resident a nomination as Sport BC's Senior Female Athlete of the Year, in March.
"I was just honoured to be among the three finalists," Olsen told the Now-Leader in a mid-March phone call. "I think Camryn (Rogers, of Richmond, award-winner for hammer throw excellence) and Caileigh (Filmer, of Victoria, a rower) are two incredible athletes who use their voice and express what we as athletes feel like we need. I just feel like we're progressing in the right direction."
Asked to rate her experience at Games attended, Olsen says Paris was best of the three.
"I felt like my role changes at every Olympics, and last summer I felt a lot more at ease, was a lot more calm and not as stressed out," she revealed.
"Obviously at the Olympics you want it to be fun but you also have a goal you want to achieve for yourself," Olsen continued. "Sometimes, for me, I was so stressed out on doing well and doing my best that I wouldn't actually have fun with the sport."
Last time around, she aimed to have more fun at the Games, with just one event (vault) to compete in.
"I didn't have to worry about doing all-around, which is a lot of weight off of my shoulders, and I was just able to kind of sit back and cheer on my teammates, having their backs, and they had mine," Olsen said. "I felt like an ultimate cheerleader for the younger girls on the team was something really special to me, and I hold that very close to my heart."
In Paris, she joined a small, distinguished group of international gymnasts who've qualified for an event final at three consecutive Olympics.
On the road there, Olsen competed in the NCAA with the University of Alabama from 2018 to 2023, helping the team win the 2021 SEC Championship.
Post-university and post-Paris, she's been training in North Vancouver three to four times a week while looking for jobs.
"Honestly, I just take it day by day," Olsen said about the possibility of competing in Los Angeles three years from now, at age 27.
"I mean, I just love doing gymnastics, something that I enjoy doing. Right now I'm just training to, you know, keep up with my physical health, and like I said, I do enjoy it, so that makes it three times better.
"There is no clear-cut goal right now as to whether or not if I want to go to the next Games, but it's definitely not something that I've cut out of the picture. It would be nice to go again, but if I go again I want to give it 110 per cent of my effort, as always, give it everything I've got."
