Sunisa Lee rose to the occasion at a time when fan-favorite Simone Biles, who was considered locked for an all-around gold win, couldn’t. Publicly stating that her goal was to win silver, Lee came out to the other side of 2021 Olympics stage with the fifth consecutive title for Team USA and becoming the first Asian American to win the crown. Soon after, she was diagnosed with a kidney ailment. Yet, come 2023, she posed strong competition to Biles at US Core Hydration Classic but opted out of Xfinity Gymnastics Championships, citing medical reasons.

Like Lee, who has defied all odds to perform magic on the beam, 9-year-old Ava James from Tampa, Florida, is fighting her battle to overcome a cardiovascular ailment.

Ava James’ penchant for gymnastics and her heart problem

From childhood, Ava James showed her unparalleled affinity and love for gymnastics. Like every gymnast, her dream is also to compete in the Olympics and official USA gymnastics events across the USA. But beneath this budding gymnastics star’s love for gymnastics, a formidable health challenge lurked.

When she was five, doctors diagnosed Ava with a congenital heart condition that left her with a weakened heart and limited endurance. A hole in Ava’s heart used to slow down her heart rate significantly at night. This posed a grave risk to her overall health.

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“Every warm-up is a blessing” to Ava. “At the age of five, the doctors were like… this is not getting any better. And at night her heart rate would slow down to a very dangerous low rate,” Ava’s mother said in an interview with ABC Action News.

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To save the then-5-year-old from this serious heart disorder, Ava’s family had her undergo an open heart surgery. Doctors installed a pacemaker in her heart. “I feel like really really lucky, like most people don’t get through open heart surgery and able to do the sport,” Ava said. 

Ava aims to compete across the country and in the Olympics

Despite her heart issue, Ava’s passion for gymnastics remained unwavering. With the guidance of coach Elizabeth Saunders, she embarked on a modified training regimen. She balanced her gymnastic aspirations with her fragile health. Saunders expressed she was initially unaware of Ava’s heart disorder.

“We said, hey we gotta have her on our team. It was later actually found out that she had this condition. And I was like what… I was shocked.”

Ava’s dream is now to travel across the USA with the Bay Area team to compete in official USA gymnastics events. But her ultimate goal is the Olympics. She is pushing her boundaries of physical and mental health endurance. Overcoming the obstacles on her way, she is mastering the art of flips and twists.

Ava told ABC Action News’s reporter Robert Boyd, “I was really, really proud of myself. I did a lot of hard work for it and always wanted to be in the Olympics and I feel like really really close.” She even took an inspiring initiative wherein a ‘GoFundMe’ account was created to raise funds for gymnastics expenses.

Ava James’ journey from a young girl with a heart condition to a gymnastics prodigy with Olympic dreams is a testament to the power of resilience and commitment. Her remarkable story will motivate countless others to pursue their passion. With this, her dreams continue to soar higher than ever before.

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