Gymnastics Take Young Athletes To Germany

Lane Morgan was featured last month in a photograph in a German newspaper that ran with a headline proclaiming, “9855 Flugkilometer nur fur das Landesturnfest.”

The 9-year-old Valley resident was part of a group of nine gymnasts and three adults from Spokane who had flown nearly 10,000 kilometers - that’s 5,350 miles - to Ulm, Germany, for a state gymnastics celebration.

The group was invited by German instructor Alfred Bauser, who spent a month in Spokane last year.

They became part of an event, which, according to the newspaper story, brought Ulm “millions of Deutsch Marks, thousands of visitors, unaccountable participants and an endless supply of jam for breakfast.”

If that sounds chaotic, said Morgan’s mother, Sandy, it’s only because it was.

“The festival had to house 17,000 people in a city of 99,000,” she said. “We stayed in schools and were fed breakfast there.”

They slept on classroom floors with blankets borrowed from Bauser’s mother and were fed bread and rolls with jam. Lane, who was joined on the trip by his 12-year-old sister, Megan, said the rolls were bad and that he opted for fruit for his breakfast whenever possible.

The Morgans spent June 3-19 in Germany, touring its southern portions, visiting relatives and participating in two gymnastics competitions.

“We were allowed in because Alfred is important in gymnastics in the country,” said Sandy.

They tolerated heat, humidity and unfamiliar food. Refrigeration and ice are at a premium everywhere except at McDonald’s, where they occasionally sought refuge.

“There was weird food and disgusting milk,” said Megan.

The sights and scenery, however, were spectacular.

The entourage spent four nights in a ski lodge in the German Alps, visited the Black Forest and toured famous castles. Monkey Mountain was Lane’s favorite.

“There were hundreds and hundreds of monkeys,” said Lane. “They eat popcorn out of your hands.”

Despite being the youngest by more than four years among the gymnastics competitors, Lane finished 49th out of 245 participants.

In a regional qualifying meet later in Rottweil, he finished second in his age and experience level.

“I think they are a level lower than here,” he said. “I do level 6 and it’s harder here.”

It was there his friends taught him to swim in a huge pool complex that included one that was 16 feet deep. His sister jumped from 1- and 3-meter diving platforms.

The exchange came about because Bauser, a sport and English student, visited here and worked for three weeks with the athletes of Marvel’s Mini Gym in Spokane.

Megan and Lane were among them. Their mother, a former gymnast, encouraged them because of the strength, coordination and discipline it developed. Megan was born without hip sockets and her injury-prone career has been limited.

Lane said he wanted to take gymnastics as far as he could, “but I also want to do baseball.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 photos