Theo Duffy started gymnastics because around the house, he liked doing flips. His mom signed him up for gymnastics so he could do flips in a safer environment. Duffy got bored with the recreaction classes and tried out for a competitive gymnastics team. Flash forward to today where Duffy recently earned a gold medal on for his routine on the rings at a national competition in Florida.
“I felt very confident because I had been undefeated throughout the regular season, and placed 2nd in all-around States,” Duffy, a sixth-grader at Patrick M. Villano School, explained. “I was very proud of myself because I worked hard to win not just medals, but place in the top 3 in multiple events.”
In the state competition. Duffy got gold on the pommel horse, his favorite event. He is also the regional champion. He took home the medal for 3rd place all-around at regionals.
“I also really like parallel bars because I struggled with that the most this year and had a great routine that day, tying for second,” Duffy said. “Something I could have done differently that day to place higher would have been to stick more landings throughout my routines.”
Theo’s mom, Staci Duffy, is an assistant at various buildings in the Emerson Public School system, and juggles to get Theo where he has to go for practices.
“I’m always super excited and nervous going into Theo’s meets because you never know what’s going to happen,” she said.
Theo’s mom explained that traveling to complte is especially fun because there are so many kids Theo competes against that he doesn’t see through the regular season.
“Anything can happen at post-season competitions,” she added.
Theo’s mom said that Theo put in a ton of hard work the past few weeks to prepare for nationals.
“Either way, I’m always proud when I see Theo up on the podium. I know how much effort he puts into not just gymnastics, but balancing school and friends at the same time, so to see him being rewarded for his discipline is exciting,” Duffy stated.
