What if people overlook talent, and uncertainty lines the road to greatness? For one of the Oklahoma Sooners men’s gymnastics team’s top performers, the road to NCAA greatness was far from linear. As he approaches a possible third NCAA title in 2025, this gymnast’s tale brings to light a less glamorous aspect of the sport—a story of rejection, determination, and an improbable redemption that nearly didn’t occur. Now a cornerstone of the Sooners’ roster, this athlete’s story sheds light on a harsh truth in gymnastics.
While talking to Inside Gymnastics, Oklahoma’s Emre Dodnali revealed the dark truth about gymnastics. “No one responded to me,” he said with a shake of his head. “No one. I was in terrible shape. I wasn’t even doing gymnastics. No one was interested, but then Mark (Williams) took a chance on me.” Dodnali was born in Turkey and raised in Ontario, Canada, reared by parents who had emigrated there when he was a toddler. The five-time all-American gymnast’s journey to Oklahoma was as unlikely as it was heartwarming. He had never even visited the state—much less heard of it—prior to inking his National Letter of Intent. It was a faith-based decision, driven by a coach, Mark (Williams), who could see potential in him where everyone else saw only a lost cause.
But even once he’d gotten there, the battle wasn’t over yet. “It was tough,” he remembers. “Really tough.“. I didn‘t know if I was going to survive, and I think my coaches didn’t know that, either. I showed up not able to do most of my skills because I had been out of the gym for so long. I essentially had to relearn everything, and it took a long time.” Yet, that struggle has paid off. Today, Dodanli stands at the heart of a Sooners squad chasing history.
The story is developing…
The post “No One Responded”: Oklahoma Sooners’ Star Athlete Opens Up Dark About Gymnastics Career’s Truth While Closing In on 3x NCAA Championship appeared first on EssentiallySports.