USA Gymnastics

Kayla Williams wasn't even a blip on the USA gymnastics radar a few months ago.

Now the 16-year-old Nitro native and Huntington High School junior is one of the rising stars.

Williams won a gold medal in vault at the world championships in London this past weekend and nearly qualified for the finals in the floor exercise a mere five months after making the jump to the elite level.

The world championships gave gymnasts an idea of who may be medal threats in three years and Williams certainly made her case last week. She became the first U.S. woman to win a Junior National championship and a world title in the same year.

"She is definitely a star,'' said Hrabrina Spencer, Williams' coach at Bozhi's Gym Nest in Huntington. "She has proven she is capable. She's an excellent gymnast [and] everybody knows it now.''

The Americans left London with five medals, second only to China, serving notice that they will again be a force in this Olympic cycle. Bridget Sloan and Rebecca Bross went 1-2 in the all-around, gymnastics' glamour event, and each of the four women won a medal.

"I'm very pleased,'' said Martha Karolyi, coordinator of the women's national team. "Finishing 1-2 in the all-around, it just shows the level of the USA.''

Williams will return to the Mountain State tonight after a summer and autumn that has been packed with one triumph after another. Williams was the first West Virginian since Mary Lou Retton in 1984 to compete in the worlds and U.S. national championships.

"That is a large leap,'' added Spencer, who competed for Bulgaria in the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics. "Everybody who has competed on that big of a stage needs a mental and physical break.''

Williams won the all-around title at the Junior Olympic Nationals in May. After that, she received an exclusive invitation to a developmental camp at Marta and Bela Karolyi's training ranch in New Waverly, Texas, after Steve Penny, the president of USA Gymnastics, saw Williams' performance on the floor exercise and vault.

She earned her elite status, the level at which Olympic gymnasts compete, in June and earned a trip to the U.S. nationals by posting a qualifying score at the CoverGirl Classic the last weekend of July, her first meet at the elite level.

Williams won the vault and placed seventh in the all-around at U.S. nationals, then attended two selection camps at the USA Gymnastics Women's National Team Training Center in Huntsville, Texas. She was one of 10 gymnasts invited to the second and final camp and was among four chosen to represent the U.S. at the world championships.

"At this point, she is a solid member of the national team,'' said Spencer. "She will be looked at in a different light from here on.

"It doesn't matter who you have been in the past, you still have to fight to earn your spot again. From this point on, she just needs to get better and keep it up. Three years is a long time in gymnastics, but hopefully she's still healthy to make the Olympic team.''

Williams, who maintains a 3.8 grade-point average, is also drawing attention from the top colleges around the country. Her mother said that for now, she will concentrate on refining her skills.

"It's been a pretty long season for her,'' said Elizabeth Williams. "I can't imagine she'll be competing any more until after the first of the year. They'll give her a few months off to rest her body.''

Elizabeth said Kayla will attend a training camp at the Karolyi ranch at the end of November and compete with the Gym Nest in two meets in February. The American Cup in March is the next big meet for the U.S. national team.

AP photo

Kayla Williams will attend a training camp at Martha and Bela Karolyi's ranch at the end of November.

Reach Tommy R. Atkinson at tatkinson@wvgazette.com or 304-348-4811.