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Who is Danell Leyva?
Danell Leyva used to be a gymnast. Danell Leyva is a Cuban-American gymnast who has represented the United States in the Olympics and other international competitions. Similarly, Leyva is much more than a typical gymnast.
The perfection in movements that he has displayed throughout his career, together with all of his accomplishments, make him a remarkable athlete.
Furthermore, Leyva won a bronze medal in men’s artistic individual all-around at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Similarly, he took silver in the men’s parallel bars category in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Danell also earned a silver medal in the men’s horizontal bars category at the 2016 Olympics.
On the horizontal bar, Leyva has his own signature maneuver known as “jam-dislocate-hop to under grips.”
He is also an expert on parallel bars in gymnastics.
This page will tell all of the wonderful stories from Leyva’s personal and professional life.
Make sure to read all the way through!
Childhood and Family
Gymnast Danell Leyva was born on October 30, 1991, in Matanzas, Cuba.
Johann Leyva and Maria Gonzalez were his parents.
Leyva also has an older sister, Dayanis Mesa Forero, who works as a television host.
Similarly, Leyva’s biological parents divorced when he was a child.
His biological father lives in Spain, and the rest of his family lives in Miami, Florida.
Danell also speaks frequently on the phone with his biological father.
He is quite close to his biological father.
Similarly, he adores and cherishes his stepfather.
The Early Years of Danell Leyva
Leyva is hailed from Cuba, where youngsters are typically chosen for athletics academics.
When we see Leyva today, we immediately presume that he was one of those Cuban youth who won medals in every sport imaginable.
Leyva, on the other hand, had a different experience.
He was an asthmatic, obese toddler who was passed over for sports.
Maria Gonzalez arrived in the United States with her two children after traveling through Peru and Venezuela.
Leyva’s grandparents were already in the United States at the time.
Maria was also a gymnast in the past. In the United States, she married her childhood friend and fellow former gymnast, Yin Alvarez.
The National Gymnastics Team of Cuba
Both Maria and Yin competed for Cuba’s national gymnastics team.
They went on to open a gym in Miami.
Maria and Yin have both had a significant impact on Leyva’s life, particularly in the gymnastics aspect.
Yin, in fact, professionally coached Leyva and prepared him for the finals.
Leyva previously stated that his parents taught him the value of money and everything else in life.
He went on to say that he had the best childhood someone could hope for.
Dreams, ambitions, and hard work
Leyva has a large imagination.
Everyone knows about his gymnastics desire, but not everyone knows about his passions for acting, music, and literature.
Like every other gymnast, he hoped to earn Olympic gold as well as Emmy, Grammy, and Tony honors.
It’s inspiring to see someone thinking so big and pursuing each of their goals.
Similarly, Danell Leyva is now a well-known and accomplished gymnast who also dabbles in acting, media, and business.
Leyva began taking acting classes after the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Sports Contribution
Within 1-1.5 years, he had recorded two television commercials, appeared in a Nickelodeon show, and served as a choreography consultant for the series Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Similarly, he purchased Parallel Entertainment, a producing firm.
In 2019, he was also spotted competing in the sports entertainment competition ‘American Ninja Warrior.’
The second portion of his career has only just begun.
Junior Career of Danell Leyva
Leyva competed in the Winter Cup for the first time in 2006.
He then competed in the junior division of the US National Championships.
He received gold medals in the floor exercise, horizontal bar, and artistic all-around events.
Leyva also competed in the 2008 Junior National Championships.
He took first place in the artistic all-around, parallel bars, high bars, and pommel horse events.
He also won the horizontal bar in the 2008 Pan American Gymnastics Championships in Argentina.
Leyva was then chosen for the Pacific Rim Championships team in 2008.
Following that, he competed for the United States team in San Jose, California, where they won gold as a team.
In the junior division finals, he also won the gold medal in the artistic all-around and the bronze medal on parallel bars.
Danell Leyva – As a senior in Gymnastics
– Danell Leyva In 2009, as a senior in gymnastics, Leyva became the youngest member of the US senior national team. He was only 19 at the time.
Similarly, at the National Championships, Danell earned a gold medal on the horizontal bar and a silver medal on the parallel bar.
Leyva was thus chosen as one of four American male gymnasts to compete in the 2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in London.
Leyva qualified for the horizontal bar final and finished fourth.
Furthermore, the young gymnasts were chosen for the men’s team in the 2010 Pacific Rim Championships in Melbourne.
At the tournament, Leyva won individual titles on the horizontal and parallel bars.
Similarly, he took bronze in still rings.
Levya was also qualified for the all-around and pommel horse finals.
He finished seventh in both competitions.
Similarly, he competed in the 2010 US National Championships, winning gold on the parallel bars.
He also earned a silver medal in the artistic men’s all-around competition.
Leyva was thus chosen to compete in the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in 2010.
The team made it to the finals but did not win any medals.
2011 and Later
Leyva later competed in the 2011 US National Championships.
There, he also won his first all-around US National Championship.
He also won titles in the parallel and horizontal bars.
Similarly, he was chosen as one of the anchors for the US team at the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Tokyo. The US team took third place.
Leyva also won several medals in the Winter Cup. He went on to win the American Cup in New York City.
Olympics – Danell Leyva
Leyva placed first in the Olympic Trials in San Jose.
He also had points from the Visa Championships and two lengthy days of Trials.
He was then named to the US Olympic Team alongside Orozco.
He was, nevertheless, chosen as an alternate.
Similarly, Danell earned a bronze medal in men’s artistic solo all-around at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
He had a total of 90.698 points.
Leyva was then chosen as an alternate for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
When Orozco was injured, he was able to join the team.
Leyva also won two medals at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
There, he won two silver medals: men’s parallel bars (15.900 points) and men’s horizontal bars (15.500 points).
Danell Leyva’s Coming Out Story
Leyva is a member of the LGBTQ community.
He enthusiastically announced it on Twitter on October 12, 2020.
He is bisexual as well as pansexual.
Furthermore, Danell stated in an interview that he was always aware of it but rejected the emotion inside due to the way children are often raised.
It was also difficult for him because he came from a Hispanic household.
Furthermore, the stereotyping that occurs in his sport made things even more difficult for him.
Things became simpler for him after he began to accept himself, and he recognized how natural it was.
Danell Leyva – Girlfriends and Relationships
The current relationship status of Danell Leyva is unknown.
He did, however, date Giulianna Pino for a few years.
Pino is a gymnast from Florida as well.
Unfortunately, the couple divorced in April 2020.
Danell Leyva’s Salary and Sponsorships
Leyva rose to prominence not only via gymnastics but also through media appearances.
Similarly, he leads a quite comfortable life in his Miami property.
Danell also earns a nice living via his sponsorships.
In 2013, he inked a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Adidas Gymnastics.
Also, read Napheesa Collier, Juliet Richardson, Luka Doncic
Danell Leyva – Online Presence
Leyva is very active on his social media accounts. You can follow him using the following links:
