© John Cheng

Danell Leyva of Homestead, Fla., has been named this week’s USA Today Olympic Athlete of the Week after winning his first U.S. national title at last week’s 2011 Visa Championships in Saint Paul, Minn. Leyva, a member of Team Hilton HHonors, secured the all-around crown in the final rotation of the two-day event on the horizontal bar. Leyva, who trains at Universal Gymnastics with stepfather and coach Yin Alvarez, nearly stuck his double twisting double layout dismount for a 16.250 and the title. In celebration, Leyva embraced Alvarez, lifting him off the ground.

Senior women’s U.S. national champion, Jordyn Wieber of DeWitt, Mich./Gedderts’ Twistars USA, was also nominated for the honor. Wieber, who like Leyva claimed her first senior national title at last week’s Visa Championships, showed form that marks her as one to watch with the 2012 Olympic Games in London just 11 months away.

For more information, please visit http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2011-08-22-USA-TODAY-Olympic-Athlete-of-the-Week_n.htm.