Kyla Ross: U.S Gymnasts Snatch the Gold, 16-Year-Old Helps Bring It Home
Nicknamed the "Mighty Mouse," Kyla Ross is a two-time U.S junior all-around champion and ranked second at the Olympic trials in scoring for the uneven bars, Team USA's weakest part of the competition, according to NBC. This is the first Olympics that Ross qualifies for senior eligibility now that she's 16.
She might be young, but Ross should not be underestimated. After finishing second in the all-around competition at the Pacific Rim Championships in March of 2012, only two weeks later she defeated fellow American teammates Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney but winning for herself the gold at a competition in Italy.
Born in Honolulu and currently the youngest on USA's women's gymnastics team, the gymnast now lives in Aliso Viejo, CA, where she trains hard for her sport. She is known to be the strongest on the balance beam but, according to NBC's official site for the 2012 Olympics, she has highly improved her uneven bars routine and is working on mastering the difficult Amanar vault.
Ross got her start at a young start - practicing gymnastics since she was three because she was so energetic, to which she mother confirmed caused her to once break her arm. Now seen as a senior and a contender among gymnastics much older than her, Ross plans to stick around for a while and show off her skills.
"I am really excited to finally compete as a senior now and to compete in front of a bigger audience and show myself and my gymnastics," Ross said. "I've been a junior for a long time."
