ABSTRACT
Previously forgotten stories of gymnasts are only just being heard in research and public media alike. One group less narrated amongst these stories are the non-elite population who, whilst competing seriously, did not reach the lofty heights of international competition. One place to find these former gymnasts is in higher education: a career setting in which they are accompanied by their stories of gymnastics, as companions (as though they were living things). In this chapter, guided by Arthur Frank’s (2010) socio-narratology, we listen to and focus upon stories as actors in the lives of five former gymnasts as they are in sport-related higher education in the UK. We conduct a dialogical narrative analysis to understand the ways in which gymnasts reassemble embodied memories in stories of gymnastics, and consider how these stories perform as companions, to different ends, in their lives now. We conclude by suggesting what we can learn from studying stories in the world of gymnastics, and point towards further research which seeks more stories and new stories of gymnastics in an ethical endeavour to assist living well with them.
