Francis Qualifies to 2020 Olympic Games
October 05, 2019 | Gymnastics
UCLA Gymnastics alumna Danusia Francis has qualified for an individual spot in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The 2016 NCAA balance beam champion and a six-time All-American, Francis finished in 47th place in the all-around at the 2019 World Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, scoring 50.982. Francis qualified for the Olympics as a result of finishing among the Top 20 individuals not on a qualifying team. Francis was ninth among that group.
Francis hit all four events in the qualifying round, scoring 13.5 on vault, 12.35 on uneven bars, and 12.566 on both balance beam and floor exercise.
Francis has been chasing her Olympic dream for the last eight years. She was an alternate for Great Britain's 2012 Olympic squad. In 2016, she helped Jamaica earn an all-around spot in Olympic qualifying but was not chosen to compete at the qualifying event. Francis took matters into her own hands for 2020, unequivocally earning her all-around spot.
She is the third Bruin gymnast to make an Olympic team post-graduation. Mohini Bhardwaj made the 2004 U.S. Olympic team three years after graduating and captained the U.S. to a silver medal while qualifying for the floor exercise finals. In 2012, Anna Li was selected as an alternate for the U.S. team two years after graduating. Additionally, Kate Richardson competed in the 2004 Olympics for Canada following her sophomore year at UCLA.This is how it feels to chase your Olympic dream.
โ Olympic Channel (@olympicchannel) October 4, 2019
Jamaican gymnast @danusiafrancis tears up when talking about @Tokyo2020, after eight years of trying, she's never given up. #Stuttgart2019 @uclagymnastics @gymnastics pic.twitter.com/K6laeos28C
Two other Bruins finished competition at the World Championships. Giulianna Pino competed on balance beam for Ecuador, and future Bruin Frida Esparza competed on uneven bars for Mexico. Esparza had her team's top mark with a score of 13.766 and finished in 36th place.
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