AUSTIN, Texas — Colt Walker has been doing flips since he was five years old. A technique that started off of a couch was quickly transferred over to a gym, a safer area to flip according to Walker's parents.
AcroTex Gymnastics is where Walker realized he had a enact for the sport.
"I've been coaching for 30 years now and I've never had anyone with quite his talent and ability," said coach Glenn Morris.
Morris has worked with Walker for years, and throughout that time Walker has won three national championships, several state championships and has represented the United States in three different international competitions.
"Whenever you're on the floor with the guys that I've known my entire life with the United States on my chest, I can't describe the feeling," said Walker. "It's something you have to live to understand."
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Now, as Walker graduates high school, he's looking to compete at the next level, college.
"I love Texas so I'd rather stay here for college," he said. "But if that's not an opportunity, I have to start looking outside the state for better opportunities."
Unfortunately, it's not an opportunity. While schools in the state offer male gymnastics as a club sport, there are no D1 programs in Texas. The closest D1 program is up north at The University of Oklahoma.
"To watch all of our best guys be sent off to Oklahoma, you know, I think there's something wrong with that," said Morris.
Walker, however, doesn't plan on becoming a Sooner. Instead, he will be attending Stanford. Its men’s gymnastics team just ended Oklahoma's five-year winning streak in 2019.
"Honestly, gymnastics is the best thing that's ever happened in my life," said Walker.
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