SOUTH BRUNSWICK – A local teenager won gold and silver medals at the USA Gymnastics Championships.
Ava DeHanes, 13, won the medals in two separate events in trampoline at the USA Gymnastics National Championships, held in St. Louis, Missouri, in June.
Ava has placed on the 2021-22 USA Junior National Team in two different disciplines, and has qualified for the 2021 FIG-sponsored World Age Group international competition taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan, this November, according to information provided about her accomplishments.
DeHanes shares these honors with four of her teammates from the Elite Trampoline Academy (ETA) in Red Bank. At ETA, Ava trains under the guidance of coaches who have won multiple world championships, according to the statement.
“I couldn’t be happier for Ava. She’s done it again,” her mother, Donna DePinto, said in the statement. “Since the age of 5, Ava has excelled at trampoline. It gives me so much joy to watch her compete and achieve among the greatest gymnasts in the country, and the world.”
DeHanes knows that hard work pays off.
“I love trampoline, but it takes a lot of practice every day to get my routines right,” she said in the statement. “I also go to school full-time, so I have to balance my homework with practice and travel events. I’m really happy that I can compete, and I know it takes a lot to support even the younger athletes like me. My heart is filled with joy knowing you’re all there for me.”
To sponsor DeHanes, to send letters or to make a donation, mail D’Bella Salon, 3110 Route 27, Kendall Park 08824.