View source for Kyle Shewfelt

{{short description|Canadian artistic gymnast}}
{{Infobox gymnast
| name            = Kyle Shewfelt
| image           = Kyle Shewfelt (1) (5239535148).jpg
| imagesize       =
| caption         = Shewfelt at [[Canada's Sports Hall of Fame]] Induction Dinner, November 10, 2010, Calgary, Alberta
| fullname        = Kyle Keith Shewfelt
| altname         = 
| nickname        = 
| country         = {{CAN}}
| formercountry   = 
| birth_date      = {{Birth date and age|1982|05|06}}
| birth_place     = [[Calgary]], Alberta, Canada
| death_date      = 
| death_place     = 
| height          = 5 ft 5 in
| discipline      = MAG
| natlteam        = 
| club            = Altadore Gymnastics Club
| gym             = 
| collegeteam     = 
| headcoach       = 
| assistcoach     = 
| formercoach     = 
| choreographer   = 
| music           = 
| eponymousskills = 
| retired         = May 21, 2009
| medaltemplates  = <!-- see [[Template:MedalRelatedTemplates]] -->
{{MedalSport | Men's [[gymnastics]]}}
{{MedalCountry | {{flagicon|Canada}} [[Canada]] }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[2004 Summer Olympics|2004 Athens]]|[[Gymnastics at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's floor|Floor]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|World Championship]]}}
{{MedalBronze|[[2003 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|2003 Anaheim]]|Floor}}
{{MedalBronze|2003 Anaheim|Vault}}
{{MedalBronze|[[2006 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|2006 Aarhus]]|Floor}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Commonwealth Games]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[2002 Commonwealth Games|2002 Manchester]]|Floor}}
{{MedalGold|2002 Manchester|Vault}}
{{MedalGold|2006 Melbourne|Team}}
{{MedalGold|2006 Melbourne|Vault}}
{{MedalSilver|2002 Manchester|Team}}
{{MedalBronze|[[2006 Commonwealth Games|2006 Melbourne]]|[[Gymnastics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Floor]]}} 
}}

'''Kyle Keith Shewfelt''' (born May 6, 1982 in [[Calgary, Alberta|Calgary]], [[Alberta]]) is a [[Canadians|Canadian]] [[gymnast]].  His gold medal in the men's floor exercise competition at the [[2004 Athens Olympics]] was the first-ever medal for a Canadian in an artistic gymnastics event and was the first Canadian gold of the 2004 Olympics. He also has a vault named after him.

Shewfelt was considered a medal threat in advance of the Athens games. In the end, Shewfelt finished first on floor and fourth on vault.

==Gymnastics career==
Born in Calgary, he first began practicing gymnastics in 1988 influenced by a neighbour.  His father was also an athlete playing for the [[Brandon Wheat Kings]] [[ice hockey|hockey]] team.  While Shewfelt was a skilled hockey player he turned to gymnastics at an early age.   He attended Calgary's [[National Sport School (Canada)|National Sport School]] in order to complete his high school education, while pursuing his Olympic plans with fellow athletes at the school <ref>{{cite web|url=http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b830/ |title=National Sport School |access-date=14 February 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060211053041/http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b830/ |archive-date=11 February 2006 }}</ref>  Kyle trained at Altadore Gymnastic Club under coach [[Kelly Manjak]], from age six up until the 2004 Olympics. Manjak married in 2004 and moved following the Olympics to Ontario. Shewfelt stayed in Calgary, training with coach Tony Smith at the University of Calgary.

In 2000 Kyle was unexpectedly, due to his young age, selected for the Sydney Olympics.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gymn.ca/athletes/men/shewfelt.shtml|title=Gymn.ca: Kyle Shewfelt|website=www.gymn.ca|access-date=2017-07-18}}</ref> He competed in the individual floor and vault event qualifications in ranks of 12 and 26, respectively, and did not qualify to the finals in either.

He caught the attention of judges performing a new vault, a Yurchenko with two and one half twists. The new move was ratified by the judges and subsequently named the [[Amanar|'''''Shewfelt''''']] vault.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/in-conversation-with-kyle-shewfelt/|title=In Conversation with Kyle Shewfelt|last=Freeborn|first=Jeremy|encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia|access-date=2017-07-18|language=en}}</ref>

Shewfelt's long-held goal of Olympic gold was endangered when he severely bruised the talus bone in his ankle in March 2004, but he made a full recovery in time for Athens.  Before the Olympics, Shewfelt speculated on moving to [[Cirque du Soleil]] after his athletic career is over.

At the [[2004 Summer Olympics]] in [[Athens]], there was some controversy when Shewfelt was marginally edged out by [[Marian Drăgulescu]] of [[Romania]] with an average combined score of 9.612 to the bronze medal in the individual vault final by 0.013 points despite [[Marian Drăgulescu|Drăgulescu]] falling in his second vault and Shewfelt completing two comparatively well-executed vaults with an average combined score of 9.599.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2004-09-16 |title=Canada's Shewfelt appeals 4th-place finish in Athens |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/canada-s-shewfelt-appeals-4th-place-finish-in-athens-1.511681 |access-date=2025-01-24 |work=CBC Sports}}</ref>

In 2005 Shewfelt played Kelly Manjak in the [[Hungary|Hungarian]] made film [[White Palms (film)|White Palms]].

In 2006 Shewfelt made a comeback to the international scene, leading the Canadian team to a gold medal at the [[2006 Commonwealth Games|Commonwealth Games in Australia]], collecting bronze on Floor and gold on Vault for himself.

That same year, Shewfelt helped his team to a second-place finish at the Pacific Alliance competition. In the individual events, Shewfelt placed first on vault and floor.

Next was the world championships in Denmark where Shewfelt led his team to a best ever team ranking (6th) and where he collected another world championship medal (bronze on floor exercise).

In August 2007, Kyle fractured both of his tibias in a fluke landing training for floor exercise just prior to the world championships in Germany.  Withdrawing from the event, Kyle hoped to heal and get back into training in sufficient time to make a bid for the 2008 Summer Olympic team.<ref>[http://www.canada.com/topics/sports/story.html?id=1372bd5e-8ed3-41ec-bdbb-e96130c43e84&k=2189 Shewfelt will have long road back from broken knees<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

After 11 months of intense rehab and recovery, Kyle was named to his third Canadian Olympic team. He was selected to represent Canada in Beijing after proving that he was in top form at a test competition capping a week-long training camp in Calgary.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/2.720/shewfelt-tops-canadian-gymnastics-selections-1.696412 |title=Shewfelt tops Canadian gymnastics selections |website=CBC Sports |date = 7 July 2008 }}</ref>

At the [[2008 Beijing Olympics]], Kyle competed in the preliminary artistic gymnastics round. Shewfelt was unable to reach the top eight in either of his specialties (the cut-off for admission to the Olympic finals), finishing ninth in vault and 11th in floor.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=5b2bd975-42b3-4222-bb04-97f0dabe2cf7| title = Canada.Com {{!}} Homepage {{!}} Canada.Com}}</ref>  Shewfelt received the highest execution score (B score) for the two vaults he  performed  (9.75). After his exit from the Olympics, Kyle became a guest commentator on artistic gymnastics for [[CBC Television]]'s Olympic coverage.<ref>CBC Television, ''Olympic Prime'', 15 Aug 2008</ref>

On May 21, 2009, Shewfelt announced on his blog that he was retiring from competition.

"After much thought and consideration, I have come to the decision that it's time to hang up the grips, put away the stinky gym shoes, remove the singlet, take my hands out of the chalk bucket and start embarking on new journeys," Shewfelt wrote. He would take on an ambassador role with Gymnastics Canada to promote this sport.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2009-05-21 |title=Kyle Shewfelt retires from gymnastics |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/kyle-shewfelt-retires-from-gymnastics-1.793212 |access-date=2025-01-24 |work=CBC Sports}}</ref>

==Later life==
During the [[2012 Summer Olympics|2012 London Olympics]], he served as a gymnastics analyst for the [[CTV Television Network]]-led [[Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium|Canadian Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium]].<ref>{{cite web|title=CTV announces first names of London 2012 broadcast team|url=http://www.canadiansportcentre.com/news/newsletter-archives/47-july-26-2011/364-ctv-announces-first-names-of-london-2012-broadcast-team|publisher=Canadian Sport Centre Calgary|access-date=11 August 2012|date=26 July 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119113921/http://www.canadiansportcentre.com/news/newsletter-archives/47-july-26-2011/364-ctv-announces-first-names-of-london-2012-broadcast-team|archive-date=19 January 2013}}</ref>

In 2018, he was working as a gymnastics coach.<ref>{{cite news |first=Devin |last=Heroux |title= Coach's sex-assault trial shows Canadian gymnastics culture needs to change, says Kyle Shewfelt |date=25 October 2018 |website= CBC Sports |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/gymnastics/kyle-shewfelt-gymnastics-abuse-1.4876814 |access-date=31 January 2023}}</ref>

In 2021, he published an autobiography, ''Make it Happen''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Shewfelt Shares Soul In New Autobiography, 'Make It Happen' |url=https://www.intlgymnast.com/interviews/shewfelt-shares-soul-in-new-autobiography-make-it-happen/ |access-date=31 January 2023 |work=International Gymnast Magazine Online |date=12 June 2021}}</ref>

==Routine skills==
*[[Vault (gymnastics)|Vault]]: 2½-Twisting Yurchenko (The ''Shewfelt''); Double-Twisting Tsukahara
*[[Floor (gymnastics)|Floor]]: (2004) 1½ Whip, Full Twist, Rudi; 2½ Twist, Front Layout, 1¾ Front; Full Twisting Back handspring; Layout Arabian with Full Twist; Double Twisting Double Back (2008) Arabian Double Piked Front; 1½ Twist to a Full Twist, Front Layout with 1¾ Front Dive; 2½ Twist to a 1.5 Twist, Layout Arabian with Full Twist, Double Twisting Double Back
*[[Horizontal Bar]]: Deff, Tkatchev, piked stalder, Full pirouette, Double Twisting Double Layout

==Competitive history==

===2000 season===

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Year
! Competition
! Location
! Event
! Final-Rank
! Final-Score
! Qualifying Rank
! Qualifying Score
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2000
| rowspan="5" | [[2000 Summer Olympics]]
| rowspan="5" | [[Sydney]]
|Floor Exercise
|DNQ
|N/A
|12
|9.575
|-
|Vault
|DNQ
|N/A
|26
|9.575
|-
|}

===2004 season===

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Year
! Competition
! Location
! Event
! Final-Rank
! Final-Score
! Qualifying Rank
! Qualifying Score
|-
| rowspan="9" | 2004
| rowspan="5" | [[2004 Summer Olympics]]
| rowspan="5" | [[Athens]]
|Team
|DNQ
|N/A
|11
|221.905
|-
|Floor Exercise
|bgcolor="gold" | 1
|9.787
|3
|9.737
|-
|Still Rings
|DNQ
|N/A
|76
|8.112
|-
|Vault
|4
|9.599
|5
|9.687
|-
|Horizontal Bar
|DNQ
|N/A
|57
|9.212
|-
| rowspan="4" | Olympic Trials
| rowspan="4" | Calgary
|Floor Exercise
|bgcolor="silver" | 2
|9.600
|2
|9.500
|-
|Pommel Horse
|8
|7.800
|7
|8.450
|-
|Vault
|bgcolor="gold" | 1
|9.700
|1
|9.800
|-
|Horizontal Bar
|bgcolor="silver" | 2
|9.200
|2
|9.500
|-
|}

===2006 season===

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Year
! Competition
! Location
! Event
! Final-Rank
! Final-Score
! Qualifying Rank
! Qualifying Score
|-
| rowspan="13" | 2006
| rowspan="5" | World Championships
| rowspan="5" | [[Aarhus]]
|Team
|6
|270.350
|5
|361.975
|-
|[[2006 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships – Men's floor exercise|Floor Exercise]]
|bgcolor=cc9966 | 3
|15.700
|
|15.475
|-
|Still Rings
|DNQ
|N/A
|
|13.950
|-
|Vault
|DNQ
|N/A
|
|15.750
|-
|Horizontal Bar
|DNQ
|N/A
|
|14.800
|-
| rowspan="4" | Pacific Alliance Championships
| rowspan="4" | Honolulu
|Team
|bgcolor="silver" | 2
|268.600
|
|
|-
|Floor Exercise
|bgcolor="gold" | 1
|15.600
|
|
|-
|Vault
|bgcolor="gold" | 1
|16.375
|
|
|-
|Horizontal Bar
|5
|15.050
|
|
|-
| rowspan="4" | Commonwealth Games
| rowspan="4" | Melbourne
|Team
|bgcolor="gold" | 1
|269.750
|1
|269.750
|-
|Floor Exercise
|bgcolor="cc9966" | 3
|14.700
|1
|15.500
|-
|Vault
|bgcolor="gold" | 1
|16.337
|1
|16.600
|-
|Horizontal Bar
|7
|14.525
|2
|14.700
|-
|}

===2008 season===

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Year
! Competition
! Location
! Event
! Final-Rank
! Final-Score
! Qualifying Rank
! Qualifying Score
|-
| rowspan="13" | 2008
| rowspan="5" | [[2008 Summer Olympics]]
| rowspan="5" | [[Beijing]]
|Team
|DNQ
|N/A
|9
|358.975
|-
|Floor Exercise
|DNQ
|N/A
|11
|15.525
|-
|Still Rings
|DNQ
|N/A
|62
|13.925
|-
|Vault
|DNQ
|N/A
|9
|16.350
|-
|Horizontal Bar
|DNQ
|N/A
|52
|14.250
|-
| rowspan="4" | Olympic Trials #3/4
| rowspan="4" | Calgary
|Floor Exercise
|bgcolor="gold" | 1
|15.500
|2
|15.600
|-
|Still Rings
|5
|13.900
|6
|13.700
|-
|Vault
|bgcolor="gold" | 1
|16.400
|1
|16.300
|-
|Horizontal Bar
|4
|15.400
|3
|14.600
|-
| rowspan="4" | Olympic Trials #1/2
| rowspan="4" | Edmonton
|Floor Exercise
|bgcolor="silver" | 2
|15.600
|2
|15.500
|-
|Still Rings
|6
|13.900
|6
|13.700
|-
|Vault
|bgcolor="gold" | 1
|16.400
|1
|16.500
|-
|Horizontal Bar
|bgcolor="silver" | 2
|14.700
|3
|14.600
|-
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Sports links}}

{{Footer Olympic Champions Floor Men}}
{{Footer Commonwealth Champions Artistic Gymnastics Team Men|2006}}
{{Footer Commonwealth Champions Artistic Gymnastics Vault Men}}
{{Footer Commonwealth Champions Artistic Gymnastics Floor Men}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shewfelt, Kyle}}
[[Category:1982 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Canadian male artistic gymnasts]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada]]
[[Category:Gymnasts at the 2000 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Gymnasts at the 2004 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Gymnasts at the 2008 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for Canada]]
[[Category:Olympic gymnasts for Canada]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Calgary]]
[[Category:Gymnasts at the 2002 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Gymnasts at the 2006 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Olympic medalists in gymnastics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada]]
[[Category:Originators of elements in artistic gymnastics]]
[[Category:Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian sportsmen]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists in gymnastics]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in gymnastics]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games gymnasts for Canada]]