As an elite artistic gymnast, Félix Dolci recently competed at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, having made his Commonwealth debut for Team Canada in 2022 in Birmingham. Félix became a four-time Commonwealth champion in Glasgow, winning Gold in the Team event and individually on Rings, Vault and Horizontal Bar, and in the All-Around final, after having two falls on pommel horse, Félix finished strongly on his final four apparatus and came away with the Silver medal. At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Félix made his senior Olympic debut for Team Canada, qualifying for the Team and All-Around finals, and earlier this year, away from gymnastics, he finished third on Big Brother Célébrités. Currently, Félix is preparing for more competitions, including the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, which will be held in Rotterdam in October. Recently, Félix told us about becoming a four-time Commonwealth champion in Glasgow, representing Canada for his Olympic debut at Paris 2024 and his time on reality show Big Brother Célébrités in Quebec.
How was your time competing in Glasgow for your second Commonwealth Games, and how different was it this year compared to your debut in 2022 in Birmingham?
The biggest difference for me was the goals and expectations I had going into these Games, both personally and as a team. This time around, I was much more focused on results and on reaching the podium, whether in the Team competition, the All-Around or the individual event finals.
Compared to my first Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, I came into Glasgow with much higher expectations for myself and a stronger determination to turn those expectations into results. I think I had a much clearer understanding of what I was capable of achieving, and I was there to compete for medals.
You came away as a four-time Commonwealth champion this year, winning Gold in the Team event and individually on Rings, Vault and Horizontal Bar; what did these medals mean to you, and how did you feel hearing the Canadian anthem?
Every one of those medals means a lot to me, but ultimately, I think the Team Gold was the most rewarding because it was the hardest one to achieve. Winning together and accomplishing something as a team makes that medal particularly special.
Hearing the Canadian anthem is always an incredible feeling. To me, when you hear your anthem, it means the job is done. The work you put in has been rewarded, and you’ve accomplished what you came there to do.
And, more often than not, while I’m standing there listening to it, I’m already thinking about when the next time will be that I can hear it again.
During the All-Around final, you unfortunately had two falls on pommel horse; how did you reset, compete on the final four apparatus and ultimately come back to win the Silver medal?
I stayed true to my values and to the athlete I know I am. I never stop in the middle of a competition. Whether the result still seems possible or you’re so far behind that it doesn’t, I don’t believe in giving up.
Having the opportunity to compete in front of thousands of people while representing Canada is an honour, but it also comes with a responsibility that I don’t take lightly. I never want my teammates, the people supporting me at home or the people who have helped me throughout my career to see me give up because a competition isn’t going my way.
I think one of my biggest strengths is my mental strength. After those two falls, I relied heavily on that and reminded myself who I am and why I was there. I also knew that, in those specific circumstances, coming back was still possible.
So I decided to bet on myself and go all in.
What was it like qualifying for six individual finals, and how do you stay focused during such a busy competition schedule?
Recovery becomes extremely important during a competition schedule like that. I try to get as much sleep as possible, focus on good nutrition, stay hydrated and make sure my body gets the treatment it needs.
I’m also very fortunate to have a great team around me. Having people who take care of me, have my back and genuinely want to see me succeed gives me a lot of strength during those long competition days.
Mentally, visualisation is also a big part of my preparation. Before almost every routine, I visualise myself going through it successfully. I see and feel the skills, the positions and the specific things I need to execute on the apparatus. By the time I actually compete, it almost feels like I’ve already successfully done the routine two or three times in my head. That gives me a lot of confidence when it’s time to perform.
What was it like making your senior Olympic debut at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and qualifying for the Team and All-Around finals?
It was a dream come true.
The Olympic Games had been the goal I had worked towards for so many years, so finally being there, representing Canada and competing on the Olympic stage was the realisation of a dream I had carried with me since I was a kid.
Where does your love of artistic gymnastics come from, and how did you originally get started in the sport?
When I was a young kid, I was extremely energetic, excited and already very competitive when it came to sports. Seeing how much energy I had, my mom suggested gymnastics because she had also been a gymnast when she was a teenager.
I started very young and quickly fell in love with the sport. But I think I fell in love even more with the competitive side of gymnastics. I loved the idea that there was always another level I could reach, another score I could improve and another version of myself I could work towards becoming.
Being able to constantly compete against myself while also competing against other athletes really drove me to keep getting better.
What do you find most rewarding, and most challenging, about being an elite artistic gymnast?
The most rewarding part is being able to see yourself grow and evolve into a better, more complete gymnast, especially when you start accomplishing goals you set for yourself years earlier.
There’s something incredibly rewarding about watching something you planned and worked towards so meticulously finally become a reality.
As for the sacrifices, I would actually rather call them choices, because “sacrifice” can make them sound negative. Gymnastics requires you to commit yourself completely – your mind, your body and your time. My entire life has been organised around being a gymnast and pursuing the Olympic dream I had as a kid.
Every major decision I’ve made has had that goal somewhere in the equation. There is physical pain, mental difficulty and an enormous investment of time and energy, but those are choices I’ve been willing to make because of what I want to accomplish.
Earlier this year, you finished third on Big Brother Célébrités, what was it like going from elite sport into reality television?
It was definitely a very interesting experience. Even inside the Big Brother house, I could see my competitive nature coming out much stronger and much faster than I expected!
At the same time, I really enjoyed getting to experience something completely new and different from my everyday life. I had the opportunity to meet some extraordinary people and work in an environment that was completely outside of my usual world.
We don’t often get opportunities to step completely outside of what we know and experience something like that, so looking back, I feel overwhelmingly grateful that I had the chance to do it.
Do you have any competitions coming up that you can tell us about or that you are targeting?
Definitely. The World Championships are right around the corner in October, and that’s where my focus is now.
My goal going into those Championships is pretty simple: I want to be the best gymnast I’ve ever been when I step onto that competition floor.
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