Cathy Giancaspro was one of Quebec’s finest gymnasts of her time. She is the 7th child of eight siblings. At the age of five, Cathy watched one of her older sisters, Giovanna, practicing cartwheels and started doing them on her own.  Giovanna was amazed by Cathy’s ability to mold her body like a human pretzel, and decided to bring her to the local gymnastics club, Gymnix.

Cathy’s career began in 1976, shortly after the Montreal Olympics which we all relate to today with Nadia Comaneci.  At that time, there were many little girls wanting to become Nadia.  The Gymnix club received hundreds of young girls, but had to sort out the wave of aspiring gymnasts through an entrance test that Cathy surpassed.

From the very beginning Cathy showed the will and natural ability to succeed.  With the help of her supportive Italian family, and gymnastics coaches, Cathy continued for a twelve year career, as her mother drove her to practice five days a week every week.   Apart from taking care of the 10-member household and assisting Cathy’s father with the family real estate and construction business, her mother was constantly at her side.  Cathy’s mother was also an amazing seamstress and personally made all of Cathy’s gymsuits, totaling over 200!  Her mother sewed for others as well. Recently, a girl told her how exciting it was to have had a gymsuit made from Cathy’s mother!

Cathy won many provincial championships, and at the age of 9, she competed at her first National Championships. She competed at the 1983 Canada Games against girls who were two years older than her. By the age of thirteen, she was competing internationally, representing Canada. At fourteen she was competing at the 1985 World Championships which were held in her home town of Montreal. As an athlete, how often is a sporting World Championships held in your own backyard?  With the added pressure of being in her home town, having her whole family and group of fans attending, Cathy continued to please her fans.  Cathy was a sure fire crowd-pleaser with her break-dancing movements and moon walk amongst the top gymnasts in the world.

As a member of the Canadian National Gymnastics team for the years to follow, Cathy represented Canada competing at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Scotland. In 1987, she competed in the next World Championships in Holland. Cathy then concluded her gymnastics career being the first female gymnast in the history of Quebec to have competed in the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.

In 1997, almost a decade after retiring from competitive gymnastics, Cathy Giancaspro continued to inspire and help others, as a motivational speaker and personal trainer. To further motivate her clients, Cathy entered Fitness competitions, involving body physique, femininity, symmetry, and poise, as well as choreography routines.  Cathy won the Miss Fitness Canada, Miss Fitness Quebec, and a Fitness America Pageant.

Cathy also produced the “Cathy’s Kids” exercise video, an educational and fun program for children up to the age of 8 introducing them to exercise, which was used in schools and daycares.

Cathy Giancaspro presently continues guiding people in a healthy lifestyle which she is passionate about!