Inside Gymnastics Magazine | “It was always Oklahoma for me.” OU’s Elle Mueller Reflects and Looks Forward

Oklahoma’s Elle Mueller put on a SHOW every time she stepped on the floor during her freshman debut. Her musical interpretation, storytelling, larger-than-life choreography, and performance quality were stellar—creative, artistic, passionate—and it seems she’s got the college game very much in the palm of her hand. 

The choreography and the music, “You Don’t Own Me” performed by Harley Quinn, suited Mueller perfectly. And together with OU head coach KJ Kindler, who gave her the confidence to embrace every note of music and perform, Mueller, like many of us, isn’t quite ready to let this routine go. 

“I guess I need to start looking for new music!” she told us. 

The routine was the one she’s waited for her entire career so far to perform, she said. So it’s totally understandable that while she’s excited to top it, she’ll always remember it as very special, beginning with the first moments she worked with Kindler to create it and discovering a different side of herself as an artist.

“Going back to Twin City Twisters, we had a dance coach that we would work with two, three times a week, and she was super chill. She would just bring out different dances in us, have us work on our facial expressions,” Mueller said. “I think that opened me up to the artistry.

“You’ve always seen KJ’s floor routines, and you’re like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I want one of my own!’ Just seeing her embody that character and who she wanted me to be allowed me to perform it. I embodied Harley Quinn because that’s where my music is from. It’s a routine style I’ve always wanted to do, so I took the chance and ran with it.”

Having her teammates just feet away and living every step of the routine with her week after week brought Mueller joy and confidence. Along the way, she grew from rookie to veteran overnight. 

“It was incredible,” Mueller said of her teammates’ support during her routine and throughout the season. “It really allowed me to get into my routine more and just do it for them because those are the people that I’m doing it for. You no longer do it for yourself; you do it for your team. That just gave me a little reminder of just how much support I really have.”

Described by Aly Raisman on air as “breathtaking,” our photographer, Lloyd Smith, captured Mueller’s routine during Four On the Floor, where she once again captivated the audience—her teammates included. 

See below for more of our chat with Mueller following the NCAA Championships in April, where OU took its seventh national title.