Gymnasts can do some amazing things – but they also have one of the highest rates of injuries in girl’s sports. That’s no surprise considering the amount of tumbling, twisting, and landing they do.

Most of us would pull a muscle just attempting a split!

With over 20,000 injuries a year, it’s fair to worry about the safety of boys and girls who undertake the sport (of course, you can hurt yourself doing just about anything).

But we’re happy to say that 9-year-old Cherrish Remy didn’t have to become one of those statistics earlier this year.

Thanks to her quick-thinking and fast-acting coach Chad Buzek, a vault that almost ended in disaster was just another day at the gym.

A video of her near-accident went viral earlier this month after Inside Edition caught wind of footage from a gymnastics meet in which Remy’s coach caught her before she could hit the floor.

Their interview has now been viewed over 1.8 million times in just a few weeks.

Buzek is not only a coach but also the owner of Metro South Gymnastics in Canton, Ohio where Remy trains. But his coaching duties mean he’s used to keeping his eye on his trainees – and this isn’t his first lucky catch.

A former NCAA college gymnast himself, he’s been involved in the sport for over 20 years and knows how to spot the signs of danger.

The video in question was taken at a competition in Nashville, Tennessee. Remy was airborne after her vault and ended up off-center.

By the time her hands hit the mat, she was dangerously crooked and as her feet landed at the sides, she slipped from the mats. If she had continued to tumble, she could have landed on her tailbone or upper back.

There were cushions all around, but we all know that landing the wrong way can still do some serious damage.

Many who watched the video insisted that, even at her age, she was trained well enough to make an adjustment mid-air and would have landed on her feet. Still, a twisted ankle could still be a risk.

Luckily, we’ll never know.

That’s because her coach noticed something was off even before she even went airborne and was ready to step in.

In the video (which appears to have been taken by the gymnast’s mother – or at least next to her), you can hear Remy’s mother Justine Ramos gasp as her daughter slips.

“I instantly broke out into a sweat,” said Ramos. “It’s definitely not the first time he’s saved her.”

You can also hear her relief when Buzek comes out of nowhere to catch her mid-air.

“A reliable coach is a great coach. You can tell how much the mom appreciates and respects the guy. He’s doing some great work,” said one YouTube viewer.

While mother and daughter were understandably grateful, Buzek says it’s in a day’s work – he actually spends a lot of time catching kids.

One commenter summed it up perfectly:

“She may have landed just fine, but also may have rolled an ankle or broken a leg landing sideways on one of them. Either way, no matter what the outcome could have been, he was still there to catch her.”

Cherrish Remy’s hero is fellow gymnast Simone Biles – and she now has a career ahead of her in which to potentially emulate Biles thanks to Buzek!

Be sure to scroll down to watch the dramatic video.

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Source: Inside Edition via YouTube, Patch.com, Pediatrics