U.S. Juniors Aim To Shine At 2017 International Gymnix In Montreal

Four of the top U.S. juniors will compete at this weekend's International Gymnix Competition in Montreal, Canada.

Mar 9, 2017 by Lauren Green

U.S. Juniors Aim To Shine At 2017 International Gymnix In Montreal

The 2017 International Gymnix is set for March 10-12 in Montreal, Canada, and the United States is sending a team of four junior elites to represent Team USA at the event's Junior International Cup. Those four juniors are Emma Malabuyo, Gabby Perea, Maile O'Keefe, and Sunisa Lee.

For Perea and Malabuyo it is the second straight year that they will represent the U.S. at this event, and for O'Keefe and Lee, this is their international debut.

It also marks the first competition of the season for all four athletes, which means new combinations and choreography. Take a look at some of the highlights for each of the four American athletes.

Watch the 2017 International Gymnix LIVE on March 10-12, only on FloGymnastics

Emma Malabuyo

Malabuyo will compete in her second straight Gymnix competition after earning her spot at the February training camp. She helped the U.S. team to a first-place finish at last year's Gymnix and came away from Montreal with individual gold on balance beam and floor exercise and bronze in the all-around.

She has an elegant dance on floor exercise and the big tumbling skills to match. That elegance carries over to the balance beam, where she combines floaty leaps with good security on her acrobatic elements. She has a beautiful standing Arabian that she gets excellent amplitude on.

Gabby Perea

Perea will also compete in her second Gymnix competition. She was the all-around champion at this event a year ago and took silver on the uneven bars. The 15-year-old finished third at the 2016 P&G National Championships while winning the uneven bars.

She has great lines and great difficulty, especially on balance beam and uneven bars. She has a solid full-twisting back tuck and a triple series on beam with solid landings. She also gets great amplitude and shows beautiful flexibility on her leaps and jumps.

Maile O'Keefe

O'Keefe is the reigning junior national champion after hitting 8 for 8 at last year's P&G Championships. This will mark O'Keefe's first international assignment, and it will be interesting to see how she is received by the international judges.

Aside from being a strong all-around contender, O'Keefe brought two triple series on balance beam last year, both of which she performed with ease. She has a four-element acrobatic series that she has trained, but it is not known if she is competing it this year. She also dazzles on floor exercise with expressive dance, gorgeous leaps, and great tumbling.

Sunisa Lee

Of this group, Lee is the wildcard. She was added to the U.S. junior national team following her performance at last month's training camp. She was 10th at last year's nationals with her top individual finish coming on floor exercise, where she was fifth.

She showed great potential but still needed a little bit of polish on her landings. She does have big skills--a double layout on floor and an Onodi on balance beam. And, like O'Keefe, this will be her first international assignment.