Katelyn is a former artistic gymnast and blogger, who was a key member of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) gymnastics team.
Age, Early Life, and Education Background
Katelyn Michelle Ohashi was born in Seattle, Washington State, under the Aries zodiac sign on 12 April 1997, which makes her 26 years old as of 2023. She is the daughter of the mental health advocate and retired high school gymnast, Diana Ohashi, and the businessman, Richard Ohashi, and is of German and Japanese roots – her siblings are Ryan, Kyle and Kalen. Her mother introduced her to gymnastics when she was very young; she began training at Gymnastics East in Bellevue when she was three years old and could easily do a back handspring by the time she was four. In 2006, she relocated to Kansas City, Missouri, with her mom and began training at the Great American Gymnastics Express under the guidance of the famous American gymnastics coach, Al Fong, who boasts of coaching the Olympic silver medalists Terin Humprey and Courtney McCool.
In 2009, Ohashi’s family relocated to Plano, Texas, where she joined Spring Creek Academy. The Seattle native later joined Plano Senior High School, and matriculated in 2015. Thereafter, she enrolled into the prestigious UCLA, from where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Gender Studies in 2019.
Hobbies and Interest
Body-shaming is one of Ohashi’s favorite topics, and she’s committed to encouraging women to be confident about their bodies. She is also on the front line when it comes to empowering student-athletes, and supported the Fair Pay to Play Act bill, which permits student-athletes to receive payments for endorsements, and was signed in California in 2019.
She is an outdoorsy person who likes going for hikes and sun-tanning at the beach.
The former gymnast is a shopaholic, and also a big fan of photography.
She is keen on donating to homeless shelters, and supporting other humanitarian causes.
In her spare time, Ohashi enjoys writing blogs and poems.
Her most admired athlete is Mohammed Ali.
Career as a junior
Ohashi first competed in the Junior Olympic National Championships when she was 12 years old in 2009, placing first in the floor exercise, second on uneven bars, and seventh on vault. Later that year she made her elite meet debut at US Classic in Des Moines, Iowa, and placed fourth, fifth, and ninth on the floor, balance beam, and all-around respectively. With these results, Ohashi qualified for the National Championships, which were held in Dallas, where she won silver in floor exercise.
In 2010, Ohashi competed in the U.S. Classic junior division, where she won silver medals on bars, floor, beam, and in the all-around. In the year that followed, she helped the US junior squad win the team competition, and she scooped the gold medal on the floor exercise, tied for second on bars, and placed third in the all-around. At the August 2011 National Championships, Ohashi was crowned the junior all-around champion after she beat defending champion Kyla Ross.
As a Senior
In 2013, Ohashi beat the defending champion, Simone Biles at the American Cup, formerly known as AT&T American Cup. She later suffered a shoulder injury in April 2013, and could not compete for the rest of that year. Unfortunately, she shortly afterwards suffered another injury, which left her with a damaged spine and torn shoulder muscle, and was unable to compete until 2015. Katelyn then dropped from elite competition to compete in Level 10. After enrolling into college, she joined the UCLA Bruins gymnastics squad for the 2015-2016 season, and subsequently earned two perfect 10s, and was crowned the winner in the 2016-2017 season. In the following season, Ohashi received three perfect 10s and was crowned the PAC-12 Specialist of the Year after setting career highs on the vault, uneven bars, and all-around. Moreover, she received perfect 10s on the floor exercise at the 2019 Collegiate Challenges.
New Toyota Yaris Advert
The all-new Toyota Yaris Hybrid TV advert broadcasted for the first time on television on Saturday 5 September during Britain’s Got Talent. Including a spectacular performance from gymnast Katelyn Ohashi, somersaulting along a city street through the traffic. Did you see it?
Posted by Listers Toyota Boston on Thursday, September 10, 2020
Ohashi starred in the September 2020 Toyota GR Yaris commercial, and in it is seen performing spins, somersaults and cartwheels down Riebeek Street, Cape Town. She participated in Gold Over America Tour (by Simone Biles) in 2021, and was featured alongside Liz Cambage, Brooks Koepka and Myles Garrett in ESPN’s The Body Issue magazine. She currently works as a blogger, and manages the website Behind the Madness together with her friend, Maria Caire, on which the duo addresses a wide array of topics including health, physical and mental wellness, and lifestyle.
Katelyn is active on Instagram (@katelyn_ohashi) with over 1.1 million followers. She joined Twitter in March 2012, and is currently followed by almost 170,000 fans under her handle @katelyn_ohashi. She has populated her social media accounts with her photos competing in various events, and uses the platforms to connect with her fans and promote her blog.
Personal Life
Ohashi is very secretive when it comes to her dating life. She hasn’t introduced anyone as her boyfriend and is seemingly single as of 2023. She doesn’t have children.
Height, Weight, and Physical Appearance
Ohashi is of Asian ethnicity and has brown eyes and brown hair. She stands 4ft 10ins (1.47m) tall and weighs around 105lbs (48kgs). The former gymnast wears shoe size 5(US).
some shots i like that the gram may never see🧐🤷🏻♀️ pic.twitter.com/CUvKlZhsjD
— Katelyn Ohashi (@katelyn_ohashi) March 26, 2018
Body-Shaming Issues
Ohashi became a victim of bullying and body-shaming during her career in gymnastics. She put on weight after she took a break from exercises to recover following a back injury, then revealed during a 2018 interview with The Players’ Tribune that people mocked her, telling her how embarrassing it was that she had grown big with some ‘fans’ comparing her with a bird that couldn’t fly. She confessed how she hated everything about herself to the extent of starving herself in an attempt to lose weight. Luckily, a combination of mental health counseling, and vigorous exercises helped her regain her normal weight.
The Seattle native has also been mocked for failing to wear make-up to conceal dark spots on her face. She has granuloma annulare, which is a rare skin condition characterized by dark spots and rashes resembling a ring of small pink bumps.
Net Worth
Ohashi is worth approximately $1 million as of 2023, accumulated largely from her former career in gymnastics.