NORMAN — Genki Suzuki’s memories of growing up in Japan are fleeting.
He remembers fishing in the waters off Okinawa, the island where Suzuki spent his first eight years. He remembers catching grasshoppers in his backyard there.
Then there’s the gymnastics.
Suzuki started the sport when he was 3 or 4, getting serious about it when he was about 6.
“I remember … faces of my teammates a little bit,” Suzuki said. “They’re kind of just starting to fade.”
Almost 13 years later, Suzuki is not only a senior all-around gymnast for No. 1-ranked Oklahoma, but he became a United States citizen last year and earned a spot on the national team.