Sign up for Meridian’s Free Newsletter, please CLICK HERE
Lundyn VanderToolen, a 10-year-old LDS gymnast from Utah, was named International Gymnast Magazine’s Junior Olympic Gymnast of the Year. She is the first gymnast from Utah to win the award.
https://youtu.be/Q1aEudsRr9g
“It’s a huge honor,” said Ryan Kirkham, Lundyn’s coach, in a video posted on her YouTube channel. “It’s a huge honor for her, it’s a huge honor for the gym. We’re super excited. She deserves it, for sure.”
Lundyn started doing gymnastics when she was just 5 years old.
“I started watching the Olympics and I just wanted to do it,” Lundyn said about her inspiration to start doing gymnastics.
Kirkham said that Lundyn ’s talent was obvious from the start, and she was placed in an accelerated class. By the age of 6, she was already at Level 4 and competing in gymnastic meets. To advance to each level, gymnasts must master skills established by USA Gymnastics, the organization in charge of setting the standards, rules and regulations for gymnastics in the United States. Levels 1-3 are not competitive levels, but meant to help gymnasts prepare for competitions. Level 4, however, is the first competitive level, and to advance to Level 5, gymnasts must get a certain “mobility score” to show they have mastered the necessary skills to progress to the next level.
To read the full article on the Deseret News, click here.
