After stumble at state, Amaya Troy qualifies for Level 7 national event
There is a comeback story behind every champion.
For 25 consecutive months, Amaya Troy of Morgan Hill experienced nothing but victory. Her name became synonymous with gold in statewide Level 4, 5 and 6 gymnastics as Troy strung together first-place finishes in 15 competitions.
Her final Level 6 event looked like a victory lap on paper. It was the Nov. 11-13 NorCal State Championships, and the 10-year-old, though recovering from illness, was ranked seventh nationally at Level 6 and positioned to wrap up a second straight unbeaten season. What’s more, Troy opened on one of her strongest disciplines, vault.
That’s when she had a great fall. A rare stumble on Troy’s landing dropped her to 12th place (8.575) in the event at Redwood City’s Red Morton Community Center. Troy rallied on her final three apparatuses, placing first on bars (9.575) and third on beam (9.575) and floor (9.425), but could not overtake the top spot.
She settled for third (37.15) all around.
“I wasn’t really happy at all,” the Nordstrom Elementary fifth-grader said. “I was hoping to go undefeated again, then I got sick and knew I couldn’t do my best.
“I was still really excited. I just went for it.”
It may have been the best thing that has happened to Troy as a gymnast. Her heart-breaking encounter at state left her more determined to make a strong Level 7 debut at the Dec. 11-12 Judges Cup Qualifier in San Jose State’s Spartan Gym.
After an intensive month of practice, Troy was back to her old self — sort of. She could not have been happier with the second-place effort (37.825) that landed her on the NorCal Level 7 team that will compete at the National Judges Cup in Phoenix beginning Jan. 8.
Out of more than 100 girls, Troy placed first on floor, second on vault, third on bars and 12th on the beam; she wobbled slightly upon landing.
“I did better than I thought I would. It was a lot of fun,” said Troy, who trains with Airborne Gymnastics in Santa Clara. “I felt a lot of pressure (during the past month) because I had to learn skills really fast, and it was hard to pick up the pace at Level 7. I wasn’t really nervous because I felt I was ready. I trained really hard.”
With newfound confidence, Troy has kept her nose to the grindstone this month, perfecting techniques that will help her compete for the top prize next week against some of the nation’s brightest up-and-coming gymnasts.
Troy, now ranked No. 19 in the nation at Level 6, expects to do her best.
“That’s what I hope for every meet,” she said. “I want to get better each time and get first place.”
