The Bahamas Gymnastics Federation (BGF) looks to add to an already historic year for the sport locally by fielding two athletes to compete at the upcoming World Gymnastic Championships, set for Glasgow, Scotland. Kianna Dean and Simone Hall will represent The Bahamas at the championships that begin October 23. The global event will feature over 1,000 gymnasts from 84 nations around the world. Trevor Ramsey will serve as the team's head coach for the week-long tournament.
Dean made history in July when she became the first Bahamian gymnast to ever participate in the Pan American Games, and Hall competed in the New Jersey Regional Championships in March. Both were a part of the trio who competed for The Bahamas at last year's Sr. Pan American Championships in Mississauga, Canada. Toneka Johnson was the third member of that team.
Dean is currently training out of Park Avenue Gymnastics in Cooper City, Florida, and Hall trains out of Arena Gymnastics in New Jersey.
"I am greatly honored and humbled to have my gymnastics career blossom and grow in the way that it has, and I truly take pride in raising the bar for gymnastics in The Bahamas," said Dean. "My dream came true when I represented The Bahamas at the Sr. Pan American Championships in 2014, and then again as I became the first Bahamian gymnast in history to compete at the Pan American Games in July. Currently, my training week ranges from 23-25 hours of work."
Hall, who was forced to miss this summer's Pan Am Games due to a knee injury, revealed that she's excited to get back out there and represent her country. She expects to have a solid performance at the upcoming world championships.
"I am not fully recovered from my injury but I owe it to my country and myself to represent to the best of my ability. I have been doing gymnastics for 14 years and I owe it to myself to at least have something to show for it," she said. "I refuse to go about in life regretting anything because there are so many opportunities out there. With the help of God, my coaches, and the support of my country, family and friends, I'm going to give it my all and perform to the best of my ability at this year's games. No matter what happens, I will always be thankful that I was given the opportunity to make it this far and be able to represent my country."
At the Pan Am Games, Dean competed in the artistic gymnastics competition for women and had an all-around performance of 32.600 points. On the vault, she collected 12.250 points, she had 2.550 on the uneven bars, 8.150 on the balance beam and 9.650 on the floor.
At the New Jersey regionals, Hall was able to win a medal in several events, and record a number of personal bests. She finished with an overall total of 37.100 points, scoring a 9.575 on the vault, 9.400 on the bars, 8.900 on the beam and 9.275 on the floor.
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