Editor's Note: These two boys embody the American Dream. One, an immigrant from Cuba, and the other, a kid from the Bronx. You gotta love this country. Go USA!
"The new face of USA Gymnastics could finally take a bow on Saturday. Danell Leyva, the Olympic trials champion this weekend, and No. 2 John Orozco were announced to the crowd after Saturday's events as the top two gymnasts for the five-man team that will be finalized on Sunday morning."
"On the floor, Leyva signaled a thumbs-up to Yin Alvarez, his stepfather and coach who came from Cuba when Danell was one-year old to make a new life for the family. The normally calm and controlled Orozco looked into the stands and found his parents, William and Damaris, who raised the African-American son in the sometimes unfriendly New York borough of the Bronx. The roles reversed. The often emotional Leyva was exhaling and calm. By his own admission, a teary Orozco was about to have 'a mini-meltdown. You know, kid from the Bronx, it doesn't happen every day.'"
"They are the new melting pot that has graced the surging U.S. program with talent, diligence and two great stories. 'Look at this team,' the gregarious Alvarez said after Saturday's competition. "This is opportunity. This is America right here.'"
"Two decades ago, Alvarez had swum across the Rio Grande to reach the States while his Cuban team was performing in Mexico City. His former gymnastics teammate and current wife, Maria Gonzalez, had fled Fidel Castro's Cuba looking for something better. Gonzalez made her way to Peru and Venezuela before she reached U.S. soil to try to help Danell, her 18-month old who was born in Cardenas, Metanzas, Cuba and was an asthmatic boy with more medical restrictions than physical prowess for anything when she came with him."
The rest of the article is here.
Wow!
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