Freshman Feature: Sydney Saturnino

AMES, Iowa – Sydney Saturnino never thought that she would be a collegiate gymnast in the United States. In 2018 she retired due to an injury, but after being approached about her level of interest in NCAA gymnastics, she decided to give the sport another chance.

Despite being an accomplished international gymnast and a member of the Italian national team, Saturnino is only the third Italian gymnast to compete in the NCAA.

"It's a responsibility but I'm proud of it," said Saturnino. "It means that this is the start of something new. I'm proud to represent my country here and I hope it can be a motivation for other girls in Italy."

Saturnino brings a high level of success with her to Ames. At the Italian Gold Championships in 2017, she won the Junior 3 division all-around, winning gold on bars, beam and floor and a silver on vault. She also won gold medals on bars, floor and all-around at the 2017 FIT Challenge. Even with all her success, Saturnino says that the thing that was always missing was a fun team atmosphere, which is what she is most excited to experience this season.

"We don't have college gymnastics in Italy, only elite," noted Saturnino. "Everything that I am doing here is impossible back home. We don't have this type of gymnastics where you can work hard but at the same time have so much fun."

Although she looked at many colleges, Saturnino chose to come to Iowa State because she felt like she was part of the family even while being more than 5,000 miles away.

"The first feeling that I had was just really different," said Saturnino. "They made me feel like I was family. I love everything about Iowa State, especially the atmosphere and environment we have in the gym."

Iowa State University Athletics

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