Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebekah Bean Ripley.
Hi Rebekah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I was put into gymnastics when I was only 3 years old! As I got older my love for the sport only grew stronger and stronger. My parents have always been supportive and never forced me into the sport and I never felt a lot of pressure. I fell in love with gymnastics simply because I loved doing it!
I came from a small gym in St. George Utah called Champion Gymnastics. This gym was small and did not yet have a reputation for getting gymnasts to the collegiate level. The gym did not even have a foam pit to train in, so any new skills I learned were basically on the competitive surfaces. Learning new things was always fun for me, but also difficult because there were no older and higher-level gymnasts that I could learn from.
Progressing in gymnastics was a learning experience for me and my coaches and I absolutely loved it. I thrived off trying new things and pushing myself. I was always known for being fearless and for being fun to coach. If my coaches believed I could do something, then I did too. As I got older, I was one of the only high-level gymnasts in the gym and was the first gymnast from Champion to receive a college scholarship. I also went on to win the All-Around at level 9 Westerns.
In my senior year of high school, I found out that new coaches and gymnasts at my level were moving to a gym close to me. That gym is Barefoot Gymnastics. It was one of the hardest decisions I had ever had to make at that age. But I eventually decided to transfer gyms and do what was ultimately best for me and my gymnastics.
That year I achieved a goal I had had almost my whole life. I qualified for level 10 Nationals. My club gymnastics experiences were unique and filled with amazing memories that I will never forget. Following that year, I moved to BYU to start my collegiate career.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My experiences at BYU have been anything but a smooth road. When I first arrived at BYU, I was not cleared to train for the whole summer. In fact, I was told that my gymnastics career was over. The BYU doctors thought it was unsafe for me to practice because of a previous back injury. But I know my body and knew that I was safe to train.
After many doctor appointments that took place over the whole summer, BYU cleared me and allowed me to train. I learn fast and adapted to the culture of college gymnastics. I was one of the few freshmen to make lineups and start competing. I competed in both floor and vault for the first half of my freshman season.
On February 15th, 2019 I competed in the best vault I had ever done. With one caveat, I had just torn my ACL. I hit the springboard in the right position and flipped through the air like I always trained in practice. I landed perfectly, chest up and knees bent. But even with a perfect landing, I felt a big pop in my left knee. My optimistic self told me it was nothing and that I’d be fine shortly.
Weirdly enough, for the next 2 weeks, I had no bruising, no swelling, and no pain. Yet my MRI results showed a full ACL tear. I knew I needed surgery and a full year of recovery. My season was over and my heart was crushed. After a long and hard year of rehab and physical therapy, I made a full recovery back to gymnastics. My heart was happy again and I felt like myself. My recovery timeline was not exactly ideal for our season.
Once I was fully recovered, it was already mid-season and I ultimately did not get the chance to compete that year. I trained long and hard that whole next summer. I even had to train at my home gym because of Covid-19. I was also dealing with a lack of trust and belief from my head coaches. They asked me to try out to stay on the team. Because of this I was crushed and started to doubt myself.
A few weeks later, I did a simple dismount off the bars and felt another big pop in my left knee. This time was different. I had felt this before and knew that I had to do it all over again. All the rehab, physical therapy, icing, and worst of all, not doing gymnastics again. After another year and a half of grueling recovery both physically and mentally, I made another full recovery.
But again, it was not ideal timing with gymnastics season. I could not start training routines until about a month before our first competition. I had to work extra hard and at a faster pace than the other girls with the hope of making it into a lineup. After a few months, it was looking like my dreams of competing again would come true. I got to exhibit my floor routine and my vault. I felt incredible and like myself again.
I remember not being able to stop crying tears of joy. I was so proud of myself and happy that I was getting to do what I loved again. With just a few more weeks of practice and exhibition opportunities, I knew I could make a lineup. Unfortunately, the next week I went on to tear my meniscus. This was the lowest I have ever been in my life. I felt defeated and ready to give up. I felt that all my hard work had been for nothing.
Fast forward to now. I did not give up. I felt that I had come this far, so I might as well keep trying for my senior season. I have now competed on the floor and vaulted at every competition this season. Along with this, I compete for a Barbie-themed floor routine that went viral with over 20 million views on tik tok and Instagram! I have had amazing opportunities to be interviewed and to share my story.
The support I’ve felt from friends and family and even proud strangers brings me to tears. It is incredibly rewarding to hear young athletes tell me that I have brought them hope and peace. It makes me so happy to feel that I have made an impact on so many people and that I have been able to help other struggling athletes. I feel so blessed for the opportunities I have been given throughout my college career and am so excited for what the future has to offer.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am creative! In every aspect of life! I am an advertising major with hopes to get a job as an Art Director in an advertising agency. I also love to paint and draw and use my artistic talent in all areas of my life!
I also have fallen in love with photography and production design. I am very proud to be an athlete with artistic talent because it isn’t something that is very common. I believe that that is something that sets me apart.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://rebekahbean.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebekahbean/
- Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rebekahbean
