Katelyn Ohashi Says At Body-Shaming Worst She Had to ‘Measure Her Legs’

UCLA gymnast Katelyn Ohashi became a viral sensation earlier this month after she pulled off a jaw-dropping routine complete with a flying split, earning her a perfect score from the judges and millions of views on social media.

But, the body-shaming that the 21-year-old athlete had to endure while rising to success is still fresh in her mind.

In an exclusive interview with Access’ Kit Hoover, Katelyn opened up about her journey.

“[They said] that I looked like I swallowed an elephant or a pig,” she recalled.

Katelyn revealed that the “harsh” shaming began when she was only 14 years old – and her teammates also fell victim to the bullying.

“It was definitely something that a lot of us had experienced. But we were all so young , we would make little games out of it, like sick games like, ‘Let’s see who can eat the least amount of calories,'” she explained. “We would go in and measure our legs and stop eating if we couldn’t [fit our hands] around.”

Katelyn said the lack of eating noticeably slowed down her momentum at the gym.

“You feel so light but you don’t have any energy,” she said.

Adding, “I definitely had to develop a really good relationship with food after everything I experienced.”

When Katelyn joined the UCLA team, she began to work with a nutritionist to get her eating habits back on track.

Now stronger than ever, there’s nothing stopping Katelyn from landing another perfect 10!

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