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Gymnasts Shine at Pan Am Youth Champs
Jamaica’s level one team to the Pan American Youth Gymnastics (Hope) Championships in Colombia ended the meet with an impressive silver medal in the team event while the level two team just missed out on a bronze medal and finished fourth in the competition which ended yesterday.
Jamaica pocketed one gold medal, three silver and two individual bronze medals at the championships.
The only gold medal was secured by Sukhuri-Shay Smith who copped first place on the level one uneven bars.
Smith also had a silver on uneven bars while Christiyana Martin had two second-place finishes in uneven bars and vault in the level two competition.
Savanna Adams captured both bronze medals on uneven bars.
Jamaica Amateur Gymnastics Association president Nicole Grant-Brown said it was an awesome performance by the young ladies and she was thoroughly impressed with their composure during their routines.
She noted also that third place was up for grabs between Jamaica and Puerto Rico but they had an unfortunate fall from the uneven bars and along with the lack of artistry on floor, the level two team had to settle for fourth.
She also made special mention of Mariah Gordon who performed with an injury to earn her team valuable points.
“The girls did really awesome, and we are very amazed at how fantastic and well composed they performed. We are indeed super excited that we have come this far in our gymnastics development. These performances by our elite juniors are very promising,” Grant-Brown said.
“Mariah Gordon was the gymnast of the team championships for us. She displayed such strong mental and physical strength while in pain from a back injury. She pushed through with almost flawless routines and contributed scores on three of the four apparatuses.
“All in all, we are super proud of our girls and the entire contingent of coaches and parents who worked together as a family,” she commented.
Meanwhile, with the competition completed the athletes now head into a three-day camp, which is scheduled to end tomorrow. The team is due to arrive home on Friday.
