MINNEAPOLIS — On the path to greatness, passion, precision, and some perfection sets the bar apart from the rest.
It’s a path Lexi Zeiss has positioned herself on.
“Seems a little bit crazy, but yes,” Zeiss said. “I train six days a week here. Around 30 hours a week. I do strength and conditioning on my own. Obviously PT and therapies are like crazy trying to keep your body feeling good. I am always on the move.”
The 18-year-old grew up playing a range of sports but fell in love with gymnastics.
That love turned into determination.
“I am definitely my hardest critic,” Zeiss said. “I watch videos of myself at night for like 10-15 minutes just to, like, check on details.”
Her family left Omaha when she was 15 to train with Twin City Twisters after hesitations from her dad.
“I was like, ‘Dad I need to do this to reach my dreams,’ and he was like, ‘OK.’ So we moved up here and within a few weeks he was like, ‘OK, this is the best decision we could have made,’” she recalled.
Her first impressions of Minnesota?
“It was cold and there was just a lot of traffic,” Zeiss said. “A lot of people here.”
Her gym was once home to other gymnastics greats: John Roethlisberger, Grace McCallum and Maggie Nichols, the last two coached by Sarah Jantzi, who now coaches Lexi.
“When she first came to TCT, you're coming off an Olympic year and it’s a lot of work and stress,” Jantzi said. “I think she joined a team, it kind of brought a lightness I guess. I don't know why I am crying, but it's just she brought a lightness and a joy back in a different way.”
Twists and turns along her journey, hopefully leading her to the gates of her dreams: the Olympics.
“I have already done more than I have ever dreamed of,” Zeiss said. “I think just kind of going with it and having fun while doing it is the main priority.”
Lexi Zeiss will join Gabby Douglas, Simone Biles and Suni Lee this Saturday for the last big meet before the Olympic trials, which start June 27 in Minneapolis.
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