After a Scare, Gymnast Thompson Is Able to Vault His Way to the Top : Gymnastics: Once thought to have stress fractures in both legs, the 11-year-old has risen to become a nationally ranked competitor.

When he was 5 years old, Chris Thompson loved going to the gymnastics club where his older sister practiced.

“I would go down to the gym and watch my sister and thought it looked fun--flipping all around,” Chris said. “Watching all the events, it looked neat to do, so I wanted to do it.”

Chris’ wishes soon came true. When he was 6, his parents enrolled him at the now-defunct South Bay Academy of Gymnastics.

Today, as a member of the Studio West boys’ gymnastics team in Rolling Hills Estates, the 11-year-old Chris excels at the sport.

In March, the 4-foot-8, 70-pound boy won the individual all-around title to help lead the Studio West team to the 1992 United States Gymnastic Federation 3-A (10-12 age group) state championship in Redlands.

The title earned Chris a trip to San Jose to compete in the USGF Western Regional championship in April. Going against the top gymnasts from Northern and Southern California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii, Chris placed first in the all-around, parallel bars and still rings.

Chris also returned from San Jose with another honor: He was named the all-around champion in 3-A.

“He’s just a natural in the gym,” Coach Carl Cruz said.

But Chris had to overcome obstacles early in his career to get to where he is today.

Only five months after he started training, Chris complained about his legs hurting. His mother, Toni, took him to a doctor, who diagnosed Chris as having stress fractures in the tibia of both legs.

The doctor said Chris should be confined to a wheelchair.

“I didn’t like it,” Chris said. “It was really hard being in that wheelchair.”

Cruz was puzzled. He didn’t think Chris’ legs were that badly hurt.

“I wanted the parents to take him to a specialist,” Cruz said. “At first I was afraid to say anything to the parents because I didn’t want to insult them. But I sort of hinted to them that they should get a second and maybe a third opinion.”

The parents followed Cruz’s advice. And after visiting with an orthopedic surgeon and radiologist, they concluded that Chris had tendinitis in both knees.

And since his first step out of the wheelchair, to which he was confined for about a month, Chris has blossomed as a gymnast.

“To tell you the truth, I never thought he would become the athlete he is today,” Cruz said. “He’s so determined to learn.”

Chris’ parents are thrilled about his accomplishments.

“We are very proud of him,” said his father, Al. “His mother and I support him, but he does it all on his own. We don’t push him. He just has a lot of dedication.”

Chris had his best season this year, winning every meet in which he competed. In addition to winning the United States Western Regional, his all-around titles include California champion (his second), Southern Conference champion, state all-star champion and regional all-star champion.

“He’s improved so much with his perseverance,” Cruz said. “He never gives up. It’s sometimes hard to keep him out of the gym.”

Chris, who is ranked nationally and will train with the Junior Olympic national developmental team this summer at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, started competing when he was 7.

During his first year, he qualified for state. The next year, he improved from 72nd to 11th in the state and was second on the horizontal bars.

When he was 9, he won all-around titles at the Tucson Paint Classic and the state championship meet in Santa Barbara.

“When Chris was 9, he still had some stiff competition to go against,” Cruz said. “He kept getting beat (during the season). But he worked hard and peaked at the right moment (at the state championships).

“He was confident and hit all of his routines. He made a small name for himself at the time.”

When he was 10, Chris went undefeated in the pommel horse and was state champion in the event. Overall, he took eighth in the regional and fifth in the state.

“My favorite event is the pommel horse,” Chris said. “I work at it a lot. When my legs were sore, I worked on my upper body and it got strong. Now it has become one of my better events.”

Chris periodically has trouble with his knees, but that doesn’t keep him from training.

“We’ll just stop and ice his knees,” Cruz said. “He’s such a hard worker that he doesn’t let his knees bother him.”

According to Chris, Cruz has helped him achieve his goals.

“He’s always supporting me and he makes me work harder to help me become a better gymnast,” Chris said. “He won’t let me slack off.”

Chris is hopeful of making the Junior National team when he turns 12 in December but realizes that is a more realistic goal when he is 14.

“I would like maybe to do it when I’m 13, but it all depends on the competition that year,” he said.