(Chelsea Update would like to thank Erika Daman for the information and photos in this story.)
Last weekend in Battle Creek at Cereal City Gymnastics Meet, Gym America gymnast Angelia Daman, an 8th grader at Beach Middle School, made her all-around debut an Xcel Platinum after having elbow surgery in November.
She hadn’t planned on competing bars as she only recently started practicing on the apparatus. However, when one of her teammates was injured on floor and the team didn’t have enough competitors on bars for a team score (you have to have 3 gymnasts compete an event for a team score), she told her coach she would try to compete.
She competed on bars and scored an 8.75, and placed fourth in the event.
On the balance beam, she scored a 9.475, and was crowned beam champion. She also scored a 9.075 on vault and was named vault champion. She scored a 9.175 in the floor exercise and placed third.
With a 36.475 all-around score, she took the all-around title and she and her team finished third.
This followed her first meet of the season, which was Athlete Warrior Challenge in Warren on Feb. 1. Daman only competed in two events in that meet. On her first event back, the beam, she scored a 9.5 and she was the beam champion. She scored a 9.375 on floor and placed 5th.
This is her second successful return from a major injury. Three years ago, she fractured a vertebrae in two places.
She is a hard worker and her parents, Jeff and Erika Daman, couldn’t be more proud of her.
Congrats on your return to this great sport.