Finding Balance: Emma Malewski’s Story

Finding Balance – Emma Malewski’s Gymnastics Story

Written by: Jeff Kallin

Orange: The Experience Magazine | V17 , Issue 2

 

A gymnastics beam is sixteen feet, five inches long and four inches wide. And yet, for Emma Malewski, it’s enough to connect two intimate worlds — one as an experienced international competitor and European champion from Hamburg, Germany, and the other as a freshman student-athlete at Clemson University.

Top-level gymnastics has been a goal for Malewski since she was young, and she has dedicated most of her life to the sport, moving five hours from home to a boarding school at the age of 12 to begin training more than 30 hours per week.

“I grew up in a very athletic family,” said Malewski. “Both of my parents did sports at a high level. Because of this, I tried many different sports when I was younger. I was a very active kid. I found gymnastics, and that was the sport I stuck with. I started gymnastics when I was six years old, and pretty early on I had very high standards for myself. I wanted to be one of the best, so I trained extremely hard.”

Malewski’s engagement with the Federation of International Gymnastics and Team Germany has led to opportunities all over the world, especially after finding significant success at a young age. After earning silver in the junior European all-around at 13 years old in 2017, she won gold in beam, bars and floor at the 2019 Junior German Championships and began competing at the senior national level for Germany at 17, participating in the European Championships three times.

In 2022, one of her major breakthroughs came as she won gold on beam over 118 other competitors, helping Germany earn a bronze medal, and finishing 13th in the all-around at the European Championships. She began training for the 2023 World Championships and the 2024 Olympic Games, but suffered separate injuries in each case that held her out of competition.

“My entire life was about being the best and achieving more and more and more,” Malewski said. “And I loved it, and I love it now, but I wanted something new — getting my smile back and having fun with what I am doing. There was a time I had my injuries, and I didn’t want to come back to the gym.”

“I wanted to quit gymnastics,” she continued. “I wanted to find something where I can say — because I love the sport — that I want to do gymnastics, and have fun doing it, and I’m happy.” She worked diligently to recover and continued her decorated competitive career right up until her enrollment at Clemson, reaching the medal stand at the World University Games in August 2025.

Clemson is in a unique place. The program is in just its third competitive season, yet the Tigers earned NCAA bids in each of their first two seasons and won a play-in dual to reach the Regional Quarterfinal meet in 2025. They practice in a sparkling 21,000-squarefoot dedicated gymnastics facility and compete in Littlejohn Coliseum, averaging more than 8,000 fans per meet in each of the first two seasons, placing the team among the top ten nationally.

In May 2025, Clemson made gymnastics headlines by bringing in former Team USA member Elisabeth “Liz” Crandall-Howell and Justin Howell as co-head coaches. The duo joined Clemson after 13 seasons at Cal, during which the Golden Bears reached 12 NCAA Championships, recorded seven top-ten finishes and earned a national runnerup finish in 2024. They coached dozens of All-Americans and were named National Coaches of the Year in 2024 and ACC Coaches of the Year in 2025 in their first year in the league, among numerous other conference and national honors.

The pair are well known for their emphasis on including international competitors on their rosters and have also signed prominent Romanian gymnast Ella Oprea for the 2026 freshman class. Their keen eye for technical instruction and nationally renowned reputation are already paying dividends for a program that has experienced rapid success. Additionally, Liz’s experience as a seven-time competitor for the U.S. National Team, an American champion, and a brevet-level judge offers instant credibility.

Clemson has built a strong gymnastics foundation. Paired with the Howells’ national reputation, robust support system, and elite infrastructure, the program is well-positioned to attract gymnasts competing at the highest levels of the sport.

College athletics offers a team-centered approach that is completely different from the largely individual nature of international competition. At a place like Clemson, which boasts some of the nation’s finest facilities for training, health, and recovery, student-athletes like Malewski can continue to train at the highest levels with elite coaching

Until recent changes to NIL legislation, many elite gymnasts had to choose between college and their sport. An increasing number of international gymnasts have instead chosen the collegiate route, making it common to see Olympic champions, international stars, and elite hopefuls competing in sold-out arenas and on national television.

During her time on the German National Team, Malewski got to know Pauline Tratz, who competed at UCLA from 2018 until 2021, winning an NCAA title as a freshman and a pair of Pac-12 titles against the Howells’ Cal teams. It was then that the idea of competing in college began to take hold for Malewski.

But the process was a new challenge altogether. While she had been a high-level student academically, the college application process was foreign. It was Justin Howell who first reached out in early 2025 while still at Cal. After taking the position at Clemson, he and Liz reconnected with Malewski that summer, and things moved quickly.

“I talked to Justin and Liz, I really felt that Clemson could be like my team, because they’re really looking for people who are individuals, but also are good for a team, and it’s always about the team,” Malewski explained. “You’re not just a gymnast — you’re more than a gymnast. You’re a person. And I really like what they want to achieve, and I want to achieve a lot with the team the next four years.”

Once she identified her place with the coaching staff, she committed and signed without having visited campus. From the infrastructure in place, she quickly learned Clemson offered top-level academics and athletics

“There’s nothing like Clemson — the resources the University has,” she said. “The ability to get treatment and recover after practice is really big here. And the gym? The gym is incredible.” Malewski made the decision to attend Clemson sight unseen. Her trust in the program infrastructure and the Howells’ leadership is evident.

Malewski’s impact in the gym was immediate, and her upside in collegiate gymnastics is significant.

“Her form, artistry, and execution are advanced from her time with the German National Team,” said Justin Howell. “The artistry is something we really look for in the routines, and she came in polished.”

She figures to be a staple in the beam and bars lineups as she rounds back into form, and she will undoubtedly make waves in the sport. But her goals for her own performance and her team are far simpler now. In the offseason, the program placed its new values on the wall in the practice gym — Respect, Empower, Growth, Purpose, and in the middle: Joy.

“College was the best decision, and I don’t regret anything,” Malewski said. “I’m really happy to be here, and I’m excited to achieve something with this team. It’s so much fun.”

Balance is one of the most critical elements of gymnastics. For Malewski, it has come to mean far more than staying on the beam.