SAN JOSE, Calif. — Danell Leyva and his family had little besides hope and determination when they arrived from Cuba almost 20 years ago.
On Saturday night, he stood in the center of the arena, a U.S. Olympian.
With his mother and stepfather by his side, Leyva completed his family’s incredible journey, beating John Orozco to win the Olympic trials and clinch an automatic spot on the men’s gymnastics team. As he climbed off the podium after his last event, his stepfather and coach, Yin Alvarez, greeted him with a bow and Leyva picked him up in a bear hug.
“It’s big,” said Alvarez, who fled Cuba a year before Leyva. “It’s big because I wanted to be an Olympian, and (Leyva) represents me. And all Cuban immigrants who came to this country for a better life and to make something (of themselves).”
Leyva finished almost a point ahead of Orozco in an entertaining game of “Can you top this?”
Because both finished in the top three in at least three events, they automatically qualified for the Olympic team. The remaining three members will be chosen by a five-person selection committee, and the team will be announced Sunday.
One of those spots is almost certain to go to Jonathon Horton, a double medalist at the Beijing Olympics and the backbone of the U.S. squad. The other two spots are up for grabs after Samuel Mikulak, who began Saturday in third place in the combined standings from nationals and the first day of trials, was only able to compete on pommel horse after spraining his ankle Thursday.
His 14.4 was two-tenths below what he usually scores, but was still fifth-best of the day on the Americans’ weakest event.
“All I can do is wait,” Mikulak said “It’s going to be the longest night ever.”
For Orozco, it’s going to be a night unlike any other in the past decade.
Gymnastics has been Orozco’s ticket out of the rough Bronx neighborhood where his parents still live, and he’s gone to bed every night the last 10 years imagining what it would be like to hear his name announced as an Olympian.
“Now it’s not a dream anymore,” said Orozco, who lives and trains at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. “Now it’s a memory.”
Orozco was second and Leyva third behind three-time world champion Kohei Uchimura in qualifying at last year’s world championships, and have spent the last six months playing leapfrog at U.S. meets. Orozco got the better of Leyva earlier this month at the U.S. championships, but Leyva took the lead in Thursday’s prelims and threw down the first challenge Saturday on high bar, their first event.
Leyva’s high bar routine
score of 16.3 — including a massive 7.2 start value — opened a 1.3-point gap on Orozco.
But Leyva gave it right back with an uncharacteristically sloppy routine on floor exercise, including a fall on a strength pose, something he probably hasn’t done since grade school.
That opened the way for Orozco, and he took full advantage of it.
Orozco may not be as flashy as Leyva’s, but he’s no less effective. On still rings, he hung upside down, batlike, for several moments. Having all that blood rush to your head would make most people wobble like a Weeble, but he coolly swung into a handstand, the cables that support the rings staying perfectly still. Orozco’s 15.35 on rings moved him ahead of Leyva ever so slightly — 0.15 — and they went into the last event with Leyva trailing by about a half-point.
But Orozco struggled on parallel bars while Leyva dazzled.
