Local gymnast to join touring Gymnastics Superstars
What a whirlwind this Olympic year has been for gymnast Marc Janovics, 29, of Mount Prospect.
He thought he had reached the pinnacle when he won three silver medals - all-around, floor exercise and rings - and three bronze medals - horizontal bar, pommel horse and parallel bars - at the 2007 Special Olympics World Games in Shanghai, China.
Turns out that was just the beginning.
In August, he was invited along with 175 Olympic athletes to attend the taping of the Oprah show, to promote Chicago's chances of landing the 2016 Olympic Summer Games.
While there, Janovics wore all of his medals, and eagerly drew interest of the other Olympians, who wanted to compare hardware.
Just last week, Janovics received an invitation to another high profile gig: to perform on Wednesday with the 2008 Tour of Gymnastics Superstars, starring Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin, at Allstate Arena in Rosemont.
Glen Marks, his longtime coach at the Elk Grove Gymnastics School, fielded the call from show manager, Ken Neal.
Janovics will perform on his signature event - the rings - right after intermission at the show. He's one of two local gymnasts asked to perform. Mackenzie Caquatto, 17, who trains at Naperville Gymnastics and is on the U.S. Senior National gymnastics team, also will perform after intermission, on the floor exercise.
"It's pretty exciting," said Janovics simply, who is a senior at Elmhurst College, completing its Life Skills Academy.
While there will be men's and women's gymnastics on display at the evening event, including performances by former Olympians Paul and Morgan Hamm, Janovics says his favorite is Johnson. "She's my size," he says.
Janovics met Johnson at the Oprah taping, and posed for pictures with her, along with Liukin. Little did he dream that one day he would be sharing the stage with them.
And what a stage it is. Officials with the Allstate Arena expect to sell nearly 10,000 tickets to the highly anticipated one-day event.
His coach, Marks, says nothing surprises him anymore, but adds Janovics' talent and devotion to the sport earn him these rare opportunities.
"He's an elite gymnast," Marks says, "and one of the best I've seen."
Janovics began taking gymnastics lessons at the age of 6, and he has competed in both mainstream and Special Olympics events. He was a member of the Rolling Meadows High School gymnastics team, where his teammates acknowledged his prowess on the rings, dubbed him, "the ring god."