From St. Francis, Minn., to Rio: It's been quite the journey for Kiana Eide and her family

RIO DE JANEIRO – Kiana Eide says she got into rhythmic gymnastics by accident. Her parents thought they were enrolling their 4-year-old daughter in an artistic gymnastics program — the flipping, twisting brand most people know — but when they got to the gym, she was more interested in playing with the ribbon used in rhythmic routines.

Her path since then has been very deliberate. The St. Francis native rose through the national ranks in this dancelike sport of hoops, clubs, ribbons and balls, to a point where she could no longer stay in Minnesota. To pursue an Olympic berth in the group competition, Eide had to join the rest of the senior national team in Northbrook, Ill., where she spent the past three years working toward a place in the Rio Games.

Eide moved to suburban Chicago with her father, Troy, and trained eight hours a day. She will receive the ultimate payoff Saturday, when she competes for the U.S. in the group all-around qualifications.

The five-person American group is among 14 teams seeking to move on to Sunday's final, where the top eight from the qualification stage will compete for medals. The U.S. group already has made history by earning its place in the Olympic field for the first time. The only other time the Americans competed in group rhythmic gymnastics was at the 1996 Atlanta Games, when they got an automatic spot as the host nation.

"It was hard to leave home, but I was so positive, and I felt so blessed," said Eide, 17. "I wasn't really sad. I was excited, because it was my dream to make the senior national team.

"Now, dreams are coming true. It's so crazy."

She ended up at Twin Cities Rhythmic in Spring Lake Park, under the direction of Margarita Mamzina, a former coach of the Russian national team. By the time Eide was in seventh grade, she was spending most of her time in the gym — and it was molding her into a national-caliber athlete. She was a member of the junior national team for three years, then reached an age where she was too old for that group but too young for the senior national team.

Eide was told she had a 25 percent chance of making the senior group if she spent one interim year competing as an individual. She took the chance, made the senior group at age 14 and relocated to its training base at North Shore Rhythmic Gymnastics Center.

Troy moved with her into a one-bedroom apartment. He got a job as a UPS driver, while Kiana's mother, Lolita, and sister, Celine, stayed at home in St. Francis to run the family's Chinese restaurant, Hong Kong Delight.

"I only see my mom about three times a year," said Eide. "And I only get to Minnesota once or twice a year. It's hard for my parents, but they have such faith in me, and they know I'm doing what I love."

Eide said the U.S. group didn't expect to qualify directly to the Olympics when it competed at the world championships last September. The group won gold and silver medals at the Pan Am Games last summer.

At the world championships, their goal was to earn a personal-best score. They did, and it landed them in 13th place overall. Because the U.S. was the highest-placed team outside of Europe and Asia, it qualified for the group competition at the Olympics for the first time since it received the host-country berth in 1996.

The aim in Rio is to score another personal best, and perhaps to gain a little more recognition for the sport in America.

"To qualify for the Olympics straightaway was unreal," said Eide, who expects to retire after the Olympics to concentrate on her senior year of high school. "I feel like we've made a huge step in rhythmic gymnastics for the U.S. It would be great to get more girls involved."