Brenna Dowell's Journey to World Championships

Sep 21, 2013 by Anne Phillips

At the conclusion of the 2013 P&G Championships, three of the four members of the 2013 USA women's World Championships Team were obvious. The two returning members of the Fierce Five, McKayla Maroney and Kyla Ross, each won two event titles. First year senior Simone Biles won the all around title. Maroney, Ross, and Biles looked ready to take on the World in Antwerp. Even in the post-meet interviews, it seemed U.S. National Team Coordinator Martha Karolyi already had her mind set on these three athletes. There was only one position seemingly up for grabs.

After four weeks of focused training, ten gymnasts met in Texas for the 2013 USA women's World Selection Camp. At the conclusion of two days of competition at the Karolyi Ranch, Brenna Dowell of GAGE earned her place on the World team along with Biles, Maroney, and Ross.

Dowell's journey to Worlds has been a slow, steady climb, and nothing about it has been glamorous. Other National Team coaches admire Dowell's determination and describe her as the "work horse" of National Team Training Camps.

Dowell with GAGE teammate Sarah Finnegan at the 2011 Visa Championships

Dowell made her elite debut in 2009 along with fellow World team members Maroney and Ross. At the 2009 Visa Championships, Ross claimed the Junior All Around title in her very first try, while Dowell finished 19th all around. She returned to the gym and got right back to work. The following year, Dowell finished 11th All Around, 4th on Bars, and achieved her goal of making the U.S. Junior National Team. In 2011, she improved to 6th all around. Dowell turned senior just in time for the Olympic year and even advanced to the 2012 Olympic Trials, but wasn't quite ready to contend for a place on the team.

Dowell and Finnegan at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials

Right after finishing 9th place at the 2012 Olympic Trials, Dowell and coaches Al Fong and Armine Barutyan set the goal of making the World Team the following year. Fong recently shared, "We knew her time to shine wasn't quite there yet [at Olympic Trials] because you can't rush gymnastics development. But she's there now - with no end in sight."

In one year, Dowell has made huge strides. During the Fall of 2012, Dowell earned a boost of confidence when she won her first inernational all around title. She was selected to represent the USA at the 2013 Mexican Open and was able to defeat strong competitors from Russia, Mexico, and Australia. "It helped me build my confidence", Dowell told us in July. "Going there and winning the meet in Mexico, it just helped me know that I can be a contender for Worlds."

2013 has been quite the breakout year for Dowell. She began her season by finishing 3rd all around and helping team USA to the gold medal at the City of Jesolo meet. Then, at the 2013 Secret U.S. Classic, Dowell debuted numerous upgrades including a very valuable Amanar vault. She found herself on the all around medal podium for the very first time at a national elite competition, finishing 3rd behind Ross and Ernst. She repeated this feat at the P&G Championships, finishing 3rd all around behind Biles and Ross. The hard work was paying off.

Dowell unveiled an impressive new combination on uneven bars during podium training at the Secret U.S. Classic: a Tweddle release to back straddle over. However, she has yet to hit it in competition.

Watch more video of Brenna Dowell on gymnastike

After the P&G Championships, Dowell told us, "I've been working on connecting it [the combination] in practice. I'm about 50/50 with it, so we've been working hard on the plan B just in case I don't [connect it]. So I just have to work on getting more numbers under my belt so I can connect it more often." Even with her "plan B" routine, Dowell earned the bronze medal on bars at Championships.

If Dowell has gained consistency in this combination and hits her full set at Worlds it will be one of the most exciting bar combinations in Antwerp. She could also earn a place in finals on her favorite event.

Dowell on bars at the 2013 P&G Championships. Photo by Melissa Perenson.

Dowell is also strong on floor. She boasts a 6.20 difficulty score, the same as Biles and one tenth higher than Maroney. Dowell's routine stands out among the rest with powerful front tumbling. She also added a brand new pass this year, a full twisting double layout. But, this pass did not come easy. "Well, I've always been kind of powerful, but I wasn't very good at back landings so I'd always move towards front tumbling", Dowell told us in July. "But, I got to the point where I couldn't add any more on n tumbling so we started focusing more on going backwards. So it's just been working and working and then I got it!"

Dowell impressively competes a front handspring front double pike and front double tuck as her second and third passes respectively, but swears that it's no challenge for her. "I've been doing the forward passes for a while, so even though they're hard for some people, they're pretty easy for me. They're just like my 2nd and 3rd passes that I don't have to worry about, so I just have to worry about the other passes!" However, due to the format of this World Championships and the depth of Team USA on this event, we likely will not see Dowell compete on floor in Antwerp. Only three athletes per country may compete on each event during qualifications. Watch Dowell's 14.40 floor performance at Championships.

The 2013 World Championships will mark the first major international assignment for Dowell and the attainment of a year-long goal. She will proudly join a long list of GAGE athletes to represent the USA on the World stage.

Competition in Antwerp begins September 30. Gymnastike will be on-site for coverage throughout the World Championships in Antwerp beginning with training on September 26th.