Helen Hu, who once embraced life away from gymnastics while living in Ecuador, has returned to become a top collegiate beam performer in the U.S. After taking a break from gymnastics and embarking on an 11-month backpacking journey around the world with her sister, Hu has unexpectedly rejoined the sport. Now ranked No. 2 in the nation on the balance beam and the SEC champion in that event, she expresses joy in competing differently this time, enhancing her experience as she approaches NCAA regional competitions and aims for her team's historic accomplishment.
"If someone had told me last year I would be back on the team, I probably would have laughed in their face," Hu, 23, told ESPN last week. "I was done, I was happy with my life. I had accomplished enough and closed that chapter."
"I'm just in such a better place [than I was] to just have the most amount of fun with it now and actually enjoy my senior season in a way I couldn't the first time around."
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