Cape middle schooler one of nation’s top rated young gymnasts
A local middle school student is making his mark in the sport of gymnastics and recently placed in the top percentile in his age group on the national stage.
Colin Silko, a 14-year-old Challenger Middle School 8th grade student, recently competed at the U.S.A. Development Program Men’s Gymnastics Eastern National Championships in Michigan, where more than 100 gymnasts in his age group took to the mat. At the high-profile meet, Colin placed 12th overall on parallel bars and high bars, 13th overall on floor and still rings, and 21st overall in his grouping.
“Competing at nationals was a great experience and I felt lucky to be there,” Colin said. “Once the initial nerves wore off and I got to compete, I felt I had a good performance overall.”
His parents agreed. “He had a great showing for his first time ever going to a national competition,” said Colin’s father Josh Silko.
Colin, while maintaining his status on the A/B honor roll in school, puts in no less than 14 hours each week at Southern Stars gym in Cape Coral.
Though he excelled in sports such as hockey and soccer early on, Colin got involved in gymnastics at the age of 7 through his younger sister, who was taken to classes by his parents. Josh recalls after their first time at the gym, his son said, “I can do that.” And the rest as they say is history.
From there, classes turned into dedicated training at the gym. While they trained together for a bit, his sister eventually found another passion in soccer. Colin fell in love with the sport and has excelled to become one of the top young gymnasts in the state and beyond.
“He’s just continued and has stuck with it,” Josh said. “It’s been really interesting to see him excel. He is the only boy at his gym, so he’s kind of a one-man show working on everything with his coach. To see all of the work he’s put in to get to this point has been pretty amazing.”
Over the past seven years, Colin has worked through all of the conditioning, flying, falling, ups and downs, scratching and clawing his way up the ranks. Today, he stands proudly as a national Level 8 gymnast. Colin competed in the men’s Region 8 Championships on April 2 where he earned his spot to compete in the Eastern National Championships. He is one of only 13 men’s Level 8 gymnasts from Florida to earn this opportunity and showed he can hang with the top gymnasts in the Eastern half of the United States.
“To watch him excel has been absolutely phenomenal and a great experience,” said Colin’s mother Jen Silko, who has a gymnastics background in her own right. “It makes us very proud.”
Colin is not just a specialist in one apparatus or area of gymnastics, but is a jack-of-all-trades. He competes in all six events, but says he enjoys competing in the floor exercise, rings and parallel bars the most.
“He’s just done really well on floor throughout his entire time competing,” Josh said.
Overall, Colin has competed in 29 gymnastics meets; has earned seven all-around medals for first, second or third place; was the Florida State Floor Champion in 2017, 2019 and 2022; was the Regional Floor Champion in 2017, and has persevered through an approximate 3,857 falls during his training.
Colin has no plans of slowing down, either.
“I feel like my gymnastics journey is starting a new chapter,” Colin said. “I’m beginning to do the work to start to get bigger and better skills as I work towards higher levels. I’m really looking forward to the next few years and what I’m able to accomplish.”
“He’s expressed a desire to continue doing this through high school and hopefully work his way to competing in college,” Josh added.
With the national championship ending this part of the season, Colin will continue to refine his training and work to improve his repertoire through camps and hopes to be classified as an “elite” gymnast.
He has goals to become a part of the national development group going forward.
His parents said while his successes have been bountiful, Colin stays humble and levelheaded. He can often be found helping out the younger groups at his gym, passing along his knowledge to the next generation of gymnasts.
Jen said, “He’s proud of what he’s done and wants to go further, but he’s very down to earth and goes with the flow.”
— Connect with this reporter on Twitter: @haddad_cj