The 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships will get underway this Friday in Glasgow, Scotland, but Bahamian gymnast Kianna Dean is already a winner.
Dean, 18, secured the 'outstanding achievement in gymnastics' award from The Bahamas' National Youth Recognition Awards Ceremony at the Melia Resort last night. Currently, Dean is in Glasgow as a part of a two-member Bahamian team, set to compete at the gymnastics worlds, so her mother Dr. Anita Brown-Dean received the award on her behalf. The other member of the team in Glasgow is Simone Hall, and they are being coached by national coach Trevor Ramsey.
Gymnastics Federation of The Bahamas' (GFB) President Barbara Thompson is also in Glasgow as a part of the historic delegation. This will be the first time that Bahamians are partaking in the International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG) World Championships. Thompson said from Glasgow that she is very proud of Dean's accomplishments, and looks forward to spirited performances from both her and Hall at the gymnastics worlds.
"The federation is very proud to see Kianna receiving this distinction, as it demonstrates where years of hard work and perseverance can take you," said Thompson. "She truly has a promising future in this sport. We will do all we can to continue to support Kianna's efforts as she remains a leading contender while representing The Bahamas in gymnastics at high level international competitions."
This week, Dean has been engaging in training sessions in Glasgow prior to the start of the world championships. Both Dean and Hall will compete on Friday. The Bahamian duo will compete out of mixed group number two along with three Colombians and one athlete from Algeria as the team competition of the gymnastics worlds get underway. The event, the biggest gymnastics meet in the world, will feature over 1,000 gymnasts from 84 nations vying for the respective world titles in the 10-day competition at The SSE Hydro arena in Glasgow - the same venue which hosted the gymnastics competition of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
The event, which will run until November 1, will also serve as a qualifying tournament for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Dean and Hall will compete in the evening session of the women's team qualifying competition on Friday. Their sub division, which will also include Poland, Germany and another mixed team of three Croatians and three Slovakians, will begin at 8:50 p.m. local time, 3:50 p.m. here in The Bahamas.
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