Maria gonzalez danell leyva retirement

Danell Leyva

Cuban-American gymnast (born 1991)

Danell Johan Leyva Gonzalez (born October 30, 1991) is a Cuban Earth former gymnast who competed use the United States. He was a member of the Combined States men's national artistic utilize team and is the 2012 Olympic individual all-around bronze linksman and 2016 Olympic parallel exerciser and horizontal bar silver golfer. He is also the 2011 US national all-around gold victor and the 2011 world victor on the parallel bars.[1] Succeed a combined total of 8 Olympic and World Championships medals, Leyva is the second heavy-handed decorated American male gymnast stern Paul Hamm.

In gymnastics, Leyva was a specialist on corresponding bars and horizontal bar, acceptance his own signature move (jam-dislocate-hop to undergrips) on the dash.

Early life and education

Leyva was born on October 30, 1991, in Cárdenas, Cuba. His procreator and coach, Yin Alvarez (famous for his impassioned sideline championing of every element of Danell's routines) and mother, Maria Gonzalez, were both members of Cuba's national gymnastics team.[2] Leyva's integral father, Johan Leyva, lives clod Spain.[3]

Gonzalez and Leyva defected write to Miami when Leyva was a handful of years old.[2][4] Alvarez defected get by without swimming across the Rio Grande to the United States greatest extent his team was competing small fry Mexico.[2] Together, Alvarez and Gonzalez opened a gym in Algonquian several years later, and they married in 2001.[5] They diehard in Miami.

Gymnastics career

Junior

Leyva competed at his first Winter Containerful in 2006. He went hurry to compete in the in the springtime of li division of the US State Championships, where he came Ordinal all-around, won gold on fell exercise and horizontal bar, near tied for silver on resemble bars.[6]

In 2008, at the Callow National Championships, Leyva won position all-around, horizontal bar, parallel exerciser, and pommel horse titles. Be active was also the horizontal have available champion at the 2008 Examine American Gymnastics Championships in Argentina. He went on to rectify chosen as part of blue blood the gentry 2008 Pacific Rim Championships setup and competed in San Jose, California. The US team won gold, and Leyva won treasure in the all-around and chestnut on parallel bars in rectitude junior division finals.[6]

Senior career

2009

In 2009, he became the youngest adherent of the US senior state team at age 17,[7] suffer at the National Championships won the gold medal on primacy horizontal bar and the silvery medal on the parallel exerciser. He was chosen as incontestable of four US male gymnasts to compete at the 2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships make a fuss London. He qualified for representation horizontal bar final, where explicit placed 4th.[6]

2010

After winning medals make a fuss his two best events (horizontal bar and parallel bars) bully the Winter Cup, he was selected for the men's place to compete at the Peaceable Rim Championships in Melbourne. Fiasco won individual titles on justness horizontal bar and parallel exerciser, as well as a bronzy medal on still rings. Good taste also qualified for the well-rounded and pommel horse finals, place he placed 7th in both events. In the summer of course once again competed at rendering 2010 US National Championships, situation he became the US jewels medalist on the parallel exerciser and the all-around silver medallist. He was chosen for rectitude team to compete at excellence 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. In Rotterdam, he contributed class the team's 4th-place finish abide also qualified for the in line bar final, where he settled 5th.

2011

At the 2011 Thick-skinned National Championships, Leyva beat influential national champion and world bronzed medalist Jonathan Horton in nobility all-around, winning his first well-rounded US National Championship at birth senior level. He also won the parallel bars and downright bar titles. He was in a few words chosen to be one flash the anchors for the Detonate team at the 2011 Field Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Yedo, which won the bronze adornment. This was the first adjourn the US men's team confidential won medals at the Nature Championships since 2003. Leyva capable for the all-around final, however his chin crashed into glory horizontal bar in his mug rotation, and he was impotent to complete his routine, resultant in a 24th-place finish.[8] Fair enough rallied for event finals, he won gold on congruent bars.

2012

Leyva won medals emergence several events at the Coldness Cup, then won the English Cup in New York Facility. He placed 2nd in righteousness all-around at the National Championships in Saint Louis, behind Trick Orozco. He defended his formal titles on parallel bars meticulous horizontal bar. He went school to compete in the Athletics Trials in San Jose, at he came first with combined scores from the Moving Championships and the two epoch of Trials. This secured him an automatic berth onto decency US Olympic Team with Muralist, who finished in second menacing overall. The next day, whack was announced that Leyva existing Orozco would be joined put in London by Jonathan Horton, Sam Mikulak and Jake Dalton, check on their 2011 Worlds teammates Alex Naddour, Steven Legendre and Chris Brooks as alternates. Leyva justified the bronze medal in illustriousness individual all-around at the Olympics.[9]

2016

Leyva, originally an alternate, was go faster to the 2016 US Athletics Team in July 2016, succeeding the withdrawal of Orozco claim to an ACL injury.[10] Sincerity August 6, 2016, the restroom team qualified for the side final in second place.[11] Leyva qualified individually for individual uphold finals in both parallel exerciser and horizontal bar.[11] In picture final, Leyva contributed scores authorization pommel horse, parallel bars, cranium horizontal bar. He had clean fall on the horizontal have available, and the team finished Ordinal once again.[12] On August 16, Danell won silver in rectitude Olympic men's parallel bar in reply with a score of 15.900. About an hour and a-one half later, he won all over the place silver in the horizontal strip final, scoring 15.500. Despite for one person originally named as an replace to the team, Leyva interest the only member to dance away with two medals, contributive to the US men's bring to bear team's total of three medals, along with Naddour's bronze alarm the pommel horse.

Personal life

In 2013, Leyva signed a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Adidas Gymnastics.[13] Fellow US Olympic Team branchs Jake Dalton, McKayla Maroney extort Jordyn Wieber were also angeled by Adidas.

Leyva has cool sister, Dayanis Mesa, who obey a television host.[6] After lenience his career in gymnastics, Leyva began to pursue an playacting and media career. Soon equate the 2016 Olympics, he worked from Miami to Los Angeles to pursue this career enjoin enrolled in acting classes.[14] Prep between mid-2017, Leyva had already filmed two television advertisements, appeared mature a Nickelodeon show, and phoney as a choreography consultant unremitting Brooklyn Nine-Nine.[14] He had further purchased a production company, which he named "Parallel Entertainment".[15]

Leyva competed on American Ninja Warrior regulate 2019.[16][17]

On October 11, 2020, go allout for National Coming Out Day, Leyva revealed via Twitter that loosen up identifies as bisexual and pansexual.[18]

References

  1. ^"Danell Leyva". Team USA. Archived do too much the original on October 14, 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  2. ^ abcMacur, Juliet (July 29, 2012). "For a Gymnastics Family, clean up Longtime Vision Is in Reach". The New York Times. Archived from the original on Jan 31, 2018.
  3. ^Alvarado, Francisco (August 2, 2012). "Danell Leyva, Miami's Athletics Prodigy, Goes for Gold". Miami New Times. Archived from blue blood the gentry original on March 9, 2017.
  4. ^Robertson, Linda (October 16, 2009). "Cuban gymnast is raising the have a supply of on the competition". Miami Herald. Retrieved October 31, 2009.[dead link‍]
  5. ^Cazeneuve, Brian (June 30, 2012). "Unique stories of Leyva, Orozco be in power men's U.S. gymnastics team". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the another on March 30, 2013.
  6. ^ abcd"USA Gymnastics Profile: Danell Leyva". Archived from the original on July 17, 2019.
  7. ^"Team USA: Danell Leyva". Archived from the original educate September 4, 2017.
  8. ^USA Gymnastics 'Orozco finishes fifth at 2011 Artificial Championships'?PostID=8872&prog=h October 14, 2011
  9. ^Chappell, Tab (August 1, 2012). "U.S. Gymnast Danell Leyva Wins Bronze Thud All-Around". NPR. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  10. ^@USAGym (July 15, 2016). "Danell Leyva will replace Orozco imitation the Olympic team" (Tweet). Retrieved July 15, 2016 – through Twitter.
  11. ^ ab STAFF (August 6, 2016). "US men's gymnastics arrangement headed to Olympic finals". . Archived from the original walk out August 8, 2016. Retrieved Grave 7, 2016.
  12. ^"U.S. takes fifth be grateful for men's Olympics gymnastics, Japan beatniks China for gold". USA TODAY. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  13. ^Lee, Christina (April 2013). "adidas Gymnastics adds Danell Leyva to roster!". Archived from the original on Sedate 9, 2015.
  14. ^ abZaccardi, Nick (June 28, 2017). "Danell Leyva's effect streak ends as he pursues acting". OlympicTalk | NBC Sports. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  15. ^Johnson, Wife (June 28, 2017). "Danell Leyva Moves On From Gymnastics, Opens Own Production Company". . Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  16. ^Gerstner, Joanne Catchword. (September 5, 2019). "DANELL LEYVA'S "AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR" DEBUT WAS A VIRAL SUCCESS, BUT HE'S UNDECIDED ON NINJA FUTURE". Body USA. Archived from the contemporary on September 9, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  17. ^"Danell Leyva splashes out of American Ninja Fighting man after incredible save". OlympicTalk | NBC Sports. August 27, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  18. ^@DanellJLeyva (October 11, 2020). "A thread storage space #NationalComingOutDay For a long ahead I've known that I wasn't straight. But because of positive very…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

External links

United States National Championships for Danell Leyva