Boise State gymnast Emma Loyim’s passion for gymnastics sparked by the time she could barely walk.
At two years old, Emma and her identical twin sister, Hannah were doing flips off furniture any chance they got, so their parents put them in “Mommy and Me” classes as a way to let their energy out.
Now 20 years laters and 1,400 miles apart, the twins continue to serve as each other’s biggest role models in the sport.
“We’ve been through it all together,” said Emma Loyim. “Having someone to motivate me to work harder and have healthy competition within the gym and at meets gave me an extra push to always give my 100%. She’s definitely the hardest worker that I know and I’ve always looked up to her.”
Although the dynamic duo have been attached at the hip since birth, they decided to go their separate ways in college to grow in their individuality.
Growing Up
The Loyim sisters were adopted from China at one and a half years old and grew up in New York.
Since taking classes at two years old, the twins never looked back. By age five they started doing gymnastics at the competitive level.
At 13 they were reaching level 10 (highest level), so they took the opportunity to move to New Jersey to train at a better gym and get some more advanced coaching.
By that point, Emma and Hannah homeschooled to get more hours in the gym and develop in the sport as best they could.
Taking Separate Paths
After having been teammates for almost 16 years, the duo split up for college. Hannah committed to Iowa State University and Emma to Boise State University.
“Even though we love being twins and we couldn’t imagine life without each other, we decided that we’re gonna have to split up eventually and we wanted to find who we are without each other,” Loyim said. “We know we’re always going to be there for each other, but since this is a new chapter of our life, we took this big step to try and do it on our own.”
Emma struggled with the transition to college without her sister by her side because she viewed Hannah as the leader in their relationship.
“She was just more outspoken and bold than I was,” said Loyim. “Whenever we would meet people, she would do most of the talking. I would just kind of stand back, so when I came to college, I realized I really need to start being independent and have the confidence to do that myself.”
Although it wasn’t easy at first, Emma found sisters through her teammates at Boise State.
Transition to College
Loyim kept her options open during the recruiting process and looked at about 20 schools before committing to Boise State.
“Everyone says that when you step into the right college for you, you’ll just know,” said Loyim. “I got that feeling. And every single day since being recruited, I’ve fallen more and more in love with Boise.”
The senior has truly left her mark on Boise State gymnastics, competing in all four events and earning countless awards in floor and beam.
Loyim finished third on floor with a score of 9.875 and earned Mountain West Floor Specialist of the Week, which is awarded to the highest-scoring athlete in each event. This was her sixth-career weekly award.
On Jan. 20, 2025, Loyim had the opportunity to compete against her sister in the Wasatch Classic for their final competition against each other.
“While I was waiting for my turn to compete, I got to watch my sister stick a bar dismount and hit a floor routine and it was just everything,” Loyim said. “I cherished every moment and I was glad that both of my parents were there to see it too. It was a really great end to our last competition together.”
Through her time at Boise State, Loyim overcame mental blocks by learning how to shift her mindset.
“I remind myself to stay in the moment and not to think ahead of myself,” said Loyim. “I need to switch my thinking from ‘What if I mess up?’ to ‘What if I hit this perfect’ or ‘What if I stick the landing like I just did in practice?’”
What’s Next
As Loyim enters her final season as a Bronco, she is working toward the opportunity to score her first 10 and help lead her team to another conference championship.
After graduation, Emma and Hannah plan to bring their gymnastics chapter to a close and go to PA (physician assistant) school.
“I’m definitely interested in the medical field and all my classes have put me on the path to go to PA school,” Loyim said. “But I definitely want to explore other options and continue to see what’s out there.”
Look out for Loyim at Boise State’s next home meet on Feb. 14 against San Jose State University.
