INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Sept. 7, 2011 – Recently crowned U.S. national champions Danell Leyva of Homestead, Fla./Team Hilton HHonors, and Jordyn Wieber of DeWitt, Mich./Gedderts’ Twistars USA, have been nominated for Male and Female USOC Athletes of the Month for August, respectively. Fans can help determine the award winners by voting in a Twitter poll, which counts for 10 percent of the final award. To vote for Leyva, click here, and to vote for Wieber, click here.
At last month’s 2011 Visa Championships in Saint Paul, Minn., both Leyva and Wieber claimed the first senior national titles in the all-around of their careers. Leyva, who trains at Universal Gymnastics with his coach and stepfather Yin Alvarez, secured the title in the final rotation on the horizontal bar. His daring routine, which included a layout Kovacs and double twisting double layout dismount, earned him a 16.250 and the win.
Wieber, who is coached by John and Kathryn Geddert, cruised to victory, winning by more than six points. Her performance in Saint Paul, highlighted by individual event wins on the uneven bars and floor exercise, comes after an impressive win earlier this year at the 2011 AT&T American Cup. Wieber is expected to be named to U.S. team for 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, following a selection camp later this month.