Cuban gymnast Gretel Mendoza, who trained for the competition season at the Alina Kabaeva Sky Grace Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy, won a bronze medal in the ribbon exercise at the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador.
“Today I showed who I am, what I am capable of. My coach tells me: ‘You can do everything much better. You should strive to give more of yourself every time.’ There is nothing more pleasant than to feel how the audience is standing up and shouting that the gold medal is mine. It made me very happy. The greatest happiness that I have ever experienced,” Gretel said.
The head of the Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation Yainet Villalta Pena emphasized the role of our Academy in the athlete’s success. “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for contributing to the success of our gymnast Gretel Mendoza at the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador! We are happy, because this is the first medal for Cuban gymnastics in international competitions.”
Olympic champion Alina Kabaeva has already congratulated Gretel Mendoza and expressed her gratitude to the Academy coaches who took part in preparing the athlete.
“We are very excited about Gretel's first prize at an international competition! We are proud that our Academy has contributed to her success at the Games and that our training has not been in vain. Thank you to all the coaches and the Academy choreographer who were involved in preparing Gretel for the competition season. This medal is a well-deserved result of our joint work. We wish Gretel Mendoza new victories and look forward to seeing her in Sochi,” the Olympic champion said.
Gretel Mendoza trained at the Academy from February through April of this year.