Katelyn Ohashi's smile is more important than the score.
On Jan. 12, both were perfect.
In a bedazzled blue leotard, on a worn blue mat, the Newcastle, Wash., native shimmied and shined. She vaulted through the air like an ax somersaulting toward its target. She swung her arms and flipped her hips, dancing to the music as her teammates mimicked her every move. She clapped along to "The Jackson Five," snapping her fingers before turning to fly. She whipped her curly brown hair and stuck out her tongue; she contorted and careened and spun and smiled.
The talent has always been there.
That smile? Not so much.
At the Collegiate Challenge inside the Anaheim Convention Center Arena, Ohashi earned a perfect 10 for her jarringly joyful floor routine. The 21-year-old UCLA gymnast added to an already extensive athletic resume. She hugged and high-fived her teammates as the crowd erupted in a standing ovation.
In less than two minutes on the mat, she transcended gymnastics. Her smile jumped right out of the gym.
"I don't want to sound pompous, but anybody else could do that routine, and it wouldn't be the same," said Katelyn's mother, Diana Ohashi, who was in the audience that day. "She just has this crazy personality that really draws in the crowd _ just so much joy. I just feel like we need that right now."
Maybe that's why Ohashi's perfect floor routine from January has been viewed more than 113 million times and counting on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, combined. Maybe it's why Good Morning America flew the family from Los Angeles to New York for an appearance on national television. Maybe it's why a senior gender studies major at UCLA has suddenly evolved into a role model for the next generation of gymnasts.
In a sport waylaid by the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal, Ohashi somehow managed to infuse a little fun.
"In the Olympics the culture is so different," Katelyn Ohashi said. "You have young girls that haven't completely stepped into themselves, and have been coached and taught to be one way, which is the cookie-cutter gymnastics (mentality). You have to be serious in order to be successful. It's all these things we're told at that age.
"So when you see college gymnastics that produces results while having fun and having supportive teammates and all this stuff, I think that's something that's really refreshing."
The routine was plenty refreshing ... and the aftermath was overwhelming.
"That night I saw it on the Huffington Post and I was freaking out," Diana Ohashi said. "I (said to my husband), 'Richard! Do you know how big this is?' He's like, 'What's the Huffington Post?'
"I was so excited I couldn't go to sleep until 4 in the morning. Then it just went ka-boom. We just couldn't even believe it. I just kept saying, 'Can you believe this? That's our baby!' "
Katelyn is the baby of the family, the youngest of four Ohashi kids and the only girl in the group. And on Monday morning after the event, Diana and Richard Ohashi's baby girl was driving her parents to the airport when they abruptly decided to turn around.
"(Richard) had to go back to work," Diana Ohashi said, "and I'm like, 'You can't go back! This is happening right now! Just let me call your boss.' "
When your baby becomes an overnight viral sensation, work probably has to wait. Richard's boss obliged.
"Both my parents had never been to New York, so when they got to go out with me for Good Morning America they were so happy," Katelyn Ohashi said. "My mom was probably peeing herself, she was so happy."
Added Diana: "It was such a whirlwind. You're almost in shock, like, is this really happening? I lived back east for a while and never made it to New York, so that was my birthday present from my daughter."
In the weeks since, the whirlwind has not subsided. More than 10,000 fans attended UCLA's first meet after the suddenly famous floor routine. The defending NCAA champion Bruin gymnasts have won five consecutive events.
On Sunday, Ohashi returned to her home state for a meet at the University of Washington, where she performed the routine again.
Katelyn Ohashi will enjoy gymnastics, which is not something she could always say.
