Florida Gymnastics Student Manager Overcame Cancer to Become Gator
For senior Peyton Harbert, hair loss was one of the most emotionally challenging moments of cancer treatment. After three weeks of treatment, her family and friends took it upon themselves to make the transition to baldness easier by shaving her head to help celebrate her 17th birthday.
Harbert had been a gymnast since she was 2 years old, until she moved into coaching gymnastics in high school before her life changed forever.
After falling on the ice at a skating rink, she experienced discomfort for five days before a doctor’s visit revealed a diagnosis of Ewing sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, in the back of her pelvis at 16 years old.
Harbert aspired to become a Gator long before her diagnosis changed her path to get there. She began working as a student manager for Florida gymnastics as a freshman in the fall of 2022.
“Peyton’s been a pillar of strength on this team,” Gators coach Jenny Rowland said. “She truly shows what resilience, what a fighter actually looks like, and I know this team takes that to heart and are extremely supportive and grateful for everything that Peyton does in the gym.
“And there is so much that she does outside of the gym for this team. It’s shown and reciprocated for sure.”
Since her diagnosis, she has not competed in gymnastics but channeled that dream of being a Florida Gator to working for the team. She even flips in the practice gym to test her capabilities when the team goes to weight training.
“During my cancer diagnosis, one of the biggest things was I wanted to keep my life steady and just kind of keep it regular,” Harbert said. “I didn’t want to be treated any different than anybody else and gymnastics had always been a big part of my life, so that was something I knew I definitely did not want to give up.”
Harbert is now in remission, receiving the news of being cancer free months before graduating high school. According to the Instagram page “Pey_Strong,” which provides her health updates, she faced cardiac issues at the end of last year and seeked answers even after being cancer free.
“I think her story is just so amazing to see the fight that she went through, and it’s definitely something that pushes us every day,” junior gymnast Danie Ferris said.
Harbert was honored last week as part of National Student-Manager Appreciation Week. The SEC Network recognized her when Florida competed at Georgia on Friday along with two other Gators managers, Becca Thomas and Michelle Emmerman, who help set each event in the gym and on the competition floor.
“They put the team above themselves,” Rowland said. “It is not a glamorous job by any means, and yet they take so much pride and so much joy in what they do. I couldn’t be more thankful for all three of them.”
With graduation in May, Harbert has the opportunity to work with the team for a fifth year, while pursuing her master’s degree in the studies of law before going to physician assistant school. Her goal is to become an oncology physician assistant to help kids using what she learned as a survivor.
“Never give up,” Harbert said. “Lean on your people, lean on the community around you. You’re going to see how much good is in the world. That was one of the best things that cancer taught me was how much good is still out there in the world.”
The No. 4 Gators (7-2) travel to Denton, Texas for a quad meet featuring Arizona State and Fisk at Texas Woman’s University at 8 p.m. ET Friday.
Category: Gator Sports, Gators Gymnastics, Gymnastics
