Big send-off for local gymnast reaching Olympic dream

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — The little town of Hamlet, North Carolina, is two hours from Huntersville, but Huntersville is where 18-year-old Ashton Locklear has trained to be an Olympic gymnast for most of her life.

"It’s the best gym.  This is the place to be," she said.

Her family basically lives in Huntersville during the week and they pretty much have to.

Locklear has trained six days a week, five hours a day since she was 7 years old. She's been doing gymnastics since she was 2.

"I was always very competitive when I was little, and I liked working hard," Locklear said.

That hard work has paid off.  Locklear leaves Sunday for a pre-Olympic training camp in Houston.  Then, 10 days later she's on a plane to Rio with the women's U.S. Olympic team.

"I was totally shocked when I made it.  When she called my last name, I was like, wait. What?’ Locklear said.

No one is happier than her mother, Carrie.  She knows the effort it took to get here.

"It’s difficult. It's very difficult.  I work here at the gym to try and keep up with it," she said.

Friday at Everest Gymnastics, dozens of aspiring gymnasts, gave Locklear a big send-off. They cheered for her, waved American flags and carried signs wishing her luck in the games.

All those well wishes are somewhat bittersweet for Locklear. She is going to Rio as an alternate. That means if one of the top five gymnasts isn't able to perform, then Locklear gets her chance in the spotlight.Otherwise, she will train, and watch her teammates compete. It's not an easy place for a competitive girl to be.

"Everything happens for a reason. So if someone does get hurt, or can't go, I’m ready," she said. "I’m training just like I’m one of the five.  You still have to be in perfect shape."

The girls here don't care if she's an alternate or not. To them, she's a star.

Haleigh Bryant, 14, and Meredith Robinson, 16, already have full college scholarships thanks to gymnastics. Robinson will attend N.C. State University and Bryant will attend Louisiana State University.

They are thrilled to see one of their own heading to the summer games, where gymnastics is the signature event.

"All her hard work has paid off and dreams come true," Bryant said.

"It’s very exciting and we're all very proud of her," Robinson said.

Locklear said her parents and a few other family members are packing their bags to go with her for two weeks.

Her mother Carrie told Channel 9 it's an extremely expensive trip that she was paying for herself. They are holding fundraisers to try and get the money to go along.

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