Daphne High student Gabrielle ‘Brie’ Clark is a natural at gymnastics, having recently finished in the Top 25 of Eastern Championships and first place all-around for her age group, after having come in fifth all-around at Regionals.
Clark was born on August 12, 2003, in Mobile to Terrence and Tonya Clark, and she has a younger brother, Noah.
Currently, Brie is an honor student at Daphne High School where she holds a 4.5 GPA. She will graduate from high school in 2021 with plans to do competitive college gymnastics.
She is a member of First Priority and the Peer Helper Organization at her school, and she volunteers with the Out of the Darkness Walk/Suicide Prevention program. She is a member of Mt. Hebron Ministries under the leadership of Pastor Joe Johnson. During Brie's spare time, she enjoys running and reading Archie comics.
Brie started gymnastics by taking recreational classes at a local gym at the age of 6. One day, a coach noticed Brie’s potential and told her and her mom that she should join the competitive team at Planet Gymnastics in Mobile. She has been training there ever since. She trains and competes in all four events including vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. Brie fell in love with gymnastics because of its challenges and the sisterhood that is formed between her and her teammates.
To date, Brie trains 22 hours per week at Planet Gymnastics under coaches Vladimir Novikov and Melanie Fuller. With their help and guidance, she is working to be the best gymnast she can be with future aspirations to be a Division 1 college gymnast. With their encouragement and supreme coaching she hopes to go far in this sport. Her coaches and teammates view her as a leader, role model, and mentor. Though mild mannered and softly spoken, Brie has become a fierce competitor and team motivator.
After joining the Planet Gymnastics competitive team, Brie’s natural talent and hard work began to pay off as a level 7 gymnast in 2014 when she placed eighth in the all-around, first on vault and fifth on floor at the Alabama State Championships. She qualified to the Region 8 Championships (which includes multiple competitors from eight different states) where she placed twelfth overall and ninth on vault. Brie moved up to level 8 for the 2015 season. At the State Championships, she placed sixth in the all-around and sixth on vault, bars and floor. She again qualified to the Region 8 Championships, finishing 11th in the all-around with a score of 37.000, 5th on vault and 7th on floor.
While Brie has experienced much success in her gymnastics career, these successes are not without struggles. She missed nearly two full competition seasons due to injuries and recovery, but this never stopped her from training. After overcoming injuries and surgeries associated with the sport, Brie has relied on her faith to help her persevere, stay positive, and reach for her goals. Through her faith, drive, and dedication to gymnastics, she was able to bounce back and even surpass her previous accomplishments. She is simply resilient.
Currently at level 9, Brie is first in the state on floor, second on vault and beam, and sixth on bars. She again qualified for Regionals and made the Alabama State Team. She represented Alabama and competed against the seven other states in the region including Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. She finished fifth all-around, fourth on floor, sixth on vault, seventh on bars, and tied for ninth on beam.
She was one of only seven gymnasts to qualify to Level 9 Eastern Championships which was held in Rochester, New York on May 4-6 at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She and the six other girls represented the Region 8 Team and competed against the teams from Region 5 (Illinois, Indiana , Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio), Region 6 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode island, Vermont), and Region 7(Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia).
At the biggest meet of her career thus far, Brie finished first in the all-around at the Eastern Championships in the Senior 1 age group. She also finished first on floor, fifth on beam and vault, and ninth on bars.
Out of 448 gymnasts in the Eastern Championships, she finished 24th. She has come a long way in a short time. She has overcome struggles and persevered throughout all situations.
Brie Clark truly has the heart of a champion.
