Danell Leyva has been named to the U.S. Men’s Olympic Gymnastics Team after John Orozco injured his knee.
The 25-year-old gymnast, who was named as an alternate, will take the fifth spot on the team in Rio alongside Sam Mikulak, Alex Naddour, Jacob Dalton, and Chris Brooks.
John, 23, tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus after a horizontal bar dismount during the men’s Olympic Team Training Camp. This is the same injury he had back in October 2012.
“It’s hard either way. I guess it was bittersweet in a way because now I’m going to train as if I was named on the competitive team because you never know what’s going to happen. But I don’t wish anything on anybody,” Danell recently shared after being picked as an alternate for the Olympics.
He added, “I want everyone to stay as healthy as they possibly can because it’s a great group of guys; not only as gymnasts or athletes, but as people. But yeah, I’m going to train as if I’m named on the team because if they say, ‘You’re on the team,’ I’m going to say, ‘All right, here we go.’”
