Hinsdale Central gymnasts Nick Altandush and Zhiyi Zhu grew up about 1,000 miles apart, a long way from Hinsdale on the other side of the world.
As fate would have it, they arrived in the United State about the same time and wound end up helping each other adjust to a strange new land while competing in a sport they had never dreamed of trying.
Altandush moved from Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia, while Zhu grew up in Zhengzhou, China. Zhu and Altandush arrived here in March of 2013, after their families made a decision to move to the suburbs of Chicago to pursue the American dream.
That’s when Altandush and Zhu met, in an eighth grade class at Westview Hills Middle School in Willowbrook. A few months later, they made the transition to being freshmen in high school, an event makes even long-time American teenagers feel nervous.
Altandush’s mom was an English teacher in Mongolia, so he grew up knowing how to read and write English and could speak it a little, as well.
“If I made friends, I would invite [Zhu] and we would try to hang out with the same people,” Altandush said. “Still, my first summer here was pretty horrible. I would stutter a lot and I couldn’t understand what people were saying, so I’d stay home. It wasn’t a good experience, but after school started again, I made new friends.”
Zhu knew no English, but Altandush helped him when both joined the gymnastics team their freshman year at Hinsdale Central.
“I was pretty nervous because I came here with absolutely zero English and I had to learn how to talk and how to act,” Zhu said. “It’s so different here and Nick and gymnastics definitely helped me a lot. They taught me how to communicate with people, how to behave properly.”
While neither had any experience with gymnastics, each had talents that made the sport a good fit.
Altandush embraced parkour, an acrobatic method of navigating obstacles by jumping, rolling or vaulting.
Zhu played baseball and basketball in China and joined track when he first came here. He started doing gymnastics because his new friend, Altandush, had been doing preseason training with the team and talked Zhue into trying it.
Hinsdale Central coach Mark Wanner was amazed how rapidly both learned the sport. Zhu and Altandush spent their freshman seasons on JV and were elevated to varsity this year.
More Top Picks Avulux Vs Fl 41 How The Lenses Differ
“I’m surprised they picked it up so quickly, but they love it and their committed to it,” Wanner said. “They spend a lot of time in the gym. They’re progressing so fast and they’re going to be our second and third scorers on a lot of events.”
Both sophomores feel they’re ready because of their dedication during the offseason, when they pushed each other to get better.
“We worked so hard and trained throughout the year,” Zhu said. “As a freshman I thought there was no way I could beat anyone. I thought it would take four years to be like [other varsity gymnasts], but we’re getting closer and closer.”
Competing in the Canino Invitational at Hinsdale Central on Friday night, Altandush was the team’s top all-arounder, taking 13th (39.6), while Zhu finished 16th (37.5).
“When he gets a new trick I try to get that same trick,” Altandush said. “We’ve always been competitive in school and we’re always trying to beat each other in gymnastics too. That motivates us a lot.”
Valentin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.