Gymnasts have a graceful way of moving that puts us non-flexibles to shame. Thatโs why the whole world loves watching their fascinating performances at the Olympic Games.
But did you know that thereโs a less well-known offshoot of this popular sport that involves a giant wheel?
Acrobats in giant hamster wheels.
Thatโs what this looks like.
In 1925, a German railway worker named Otto Feick invented the giant wheel thatโs made up of two circular bars, six spokes, and hand and foot rails attached to the inside.
The wheel, called a โRhรถnrad,โ was mainly used in circus acts, but riding the wheel quickly became a competitive sport.
The โgymwheelโ was born.
Itโs called wheel gymnastics, and itโs absolutely mesmerizing to watch.
These contraptions may look like giant hamster wheels for humans, but being able to perform in one takes a lot of flexibility and core strength.
Combine the wheel with a gymnastโs acrobatics and you have a performance truly like no other.
Much like regular gymnastics, there are three main categories in this competitive sport
Straight line, spiral, and vault.
Sannah Boer loves wheel gymnastics, and she has a natural talent for it, too. She was introduced to the sport by a friend and, three weeks later, she was absolutely hooked.
Scouted for the nationals
Sannah was scouted out to join the national team and her career quickly took off from there. Thanks to this video, itโs easy to see why.
โI quickly grew to national and then international level. There are not many gymnasts who do wheel gymnastics in the Netherlands. There are far more abroad โ especially in Germany,โ Sannah told Resource Online. โI have to fund it all myself because the sport is not sponsored. I once started a crowdfunding campaign to be able to go to the World Championships.โ
Sheโs in it to win it.
Sannah was just 16 years old when she became the world champion of the spiral discipline. She bagged first place at the World Gymwheel Championships.
The video has received more than 11 million views to date.
It begins with Sannah climbing into the giant wheel and securing her feet into place with straps.
She tests that the straps are secure, then she begins to roll inside the wheel.
It only picks up from there.
Using her arms to gain momentum, Sannah is flipped completely upside down as the wheel continues to roll.
Once sheโs going fast enough, she pulls her feet out from the straps that are holding her in place.
Then she does the splits!
Itโs unbelievable that she can do all this while the wheel rolls with her in it.
Sannah says she loves gym wheel because itโs so much fun:
โI really do wheel gymnastics because itโs such fun but, partly because of aches and pains, I donโt know if I can go on doing this sport for very long,โ she told Resource Online. โAt the moment, sport comes first, but later I want to go on in the academic world.โ
Her performance is thrilling to watch.
After some stunning acrobatics, Sannah moves her legs to stabilize herself and the wheel begins to slow down until itโs perpendicular to the floor.
Then, she climbs onto the outer rail, flipping the wheel back into an upright position, and jumps off.
See Sannahโs graceful gymwheel performance in the video below!
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