Eleven talented young athletes are hard at work at the North Shore Rhythmic Gymnastics Center with hopes of being chosen for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. It’s the third Olympic team to be trained at the Center, which is located in the Deerfield Park District’s Sachs Recreation Center. The North Shore Rhythmic Gymnastics Center was cofounded in 2006 by Directors Natasha Klimouk and Dani Takova.
“I do gymnastics all my life,” said Klimouk, who was born in Belarus. “I have physical education in this sport and I’m a two-time Olympic coach. This is my love, passion, my hobby, and my work.
” USA’s Evita Griskenas thanks supporters alongside her coach, Natalia Klimouk, after competing on the clubs in the rhythmic gymnastics individual all-around, Aug. 8, 2024, at La Chapelle Arena during the Paris Olympics. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) Takova, who is from Bulgaria, was the Bulgarian National Team Coach and has over 25 years’ experience training young people in rhythmic gymnasts.
Klimouk noted that children as young as 4 train at the Center. That includes two-time Olympian Evita Griskenas, who started at the Center when she was 4, and became an Olympian 15 years later. The North Shore Rhythmic Gymnastics Center first had a team that qualified for the Olympics in 2016 in Brazil.
They also qualified in Tokyo in 2020. There are currently 11 gymnasts from the Olympic Squad Team who have been training at the Center since September for the 2028 Olympics in Los Ang.