Prior to the accident, Robbi was planning on coming to Florida for the event, and though he wasn’t there in body, he was there in spirit to see his daughter shine. Knowing that her dad would have wanted to see her compete kept Kluck going, even though it was hard. “It was awesome, but it was sad knowing that her dad wasn’t there,” Woosley said. Seeing Kluck compete in the competition was important to her family members, just like McClish said, and Amiya’s grandmother, Kim Woosley, said being there to see her compete and win was very meaningful to her. “I’d say it was a pretty great experience to have with her team and with her family too.” She had a lot of mental roadblocks to get there, so overcoming those proved how strong willed she was, how determined she is,” McClish said. McClish said Kluck’s teammates stood behind her and supported her, making the national competition even more meaningful. Just did what she wanted to do.”Īlong with Kluck, seven other MAT Tumbling gymnasts competed in the national championship in June, and Brooks said they also fared quite well. I can’t imagine what’s associated with that and she was able to maintain that, do that and do it at a high level. Had to deal with a lot in a short span and still try to prepare for nationals and maintain focus and discipline and a good work ethic, you know, everything. There’s not a lot of people in the world who can handle what she did to the level of which she handled it,” Brooks said. “It’s really important in those kinds of situations, where she could feel safe, where she could just not - she didn’t have to cry, she doesn’t have to talk to anybody about it, she can just be who she was and continue to work on her skills.”īrooks, who has been coaching Kluck for about a year now, said her resilience and resolve was impressive to see, and he is proud to be her coach and see her take home two national championships despite the heartbreaking circumstances. Just kind of clear her mind,” McClish said. “We want to give props to the gym, because it really was just like a place where she could go, to just kind of, not forget, but just like put it on the back burner for a second. Kluck attended the competition with the Marshalltown gym MAT Tumbling, and Gym Owner and Coach Ron Brooks was extremely supportive and helpful before and during the competition according to McClish, especially after Kluck suffered the loss of her dad. “There’s not that many people (in Marshalltown), so it was kind of weird.” Kluck said winning felt good, but the experience was a little intimidating too. She competed in two different categories: Double-Mini, which had 45 contestants, and Rod Floor, which had 62 contestants - she took home national championships in both. This is Kluck’s fourth year as a gymnast, and while she went to nationals last year, she placed lower, which made this competition even more special. “Just being able to go and kind of pull that off for her dad meant a lot,” Amiya’s mom Brandi McClish said. All of Amiya’s hard work and drive paid off in the end. While Amiya had qualified for nationals, given the circumstances, she and her family weren’t sure if they would be able to attend the competition, but they were able to make the trip work nonetheless. Though Robbi passed away, because he was an organ donor, he saved five other lives in the process. The competition in Florida came just three weeks after the tragic death of her father, Robbi Kluck, who was killed in a motorcycle accident near JBS on May 16. This win at the United States Tumbling and Trampoline Association (USTA) National Championships meant a lot to Kluck this year, because she wasn’t just doing it for herself.
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