Danusia Francis

Danusia May Francis (born 13 May 1994) is a British-born artistic gymnast who currently represents Jamaica in international competition. She was a reserve athlete for Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics team.[1] She attended UCLA and competed for the UCLA Bruins gymnastics team.[2]

Danusia Francis
Full nameDanusia May Francis
Nickname(s)Nush
Country represented Jamaica
Former countries represented United Kingdom
Born (1994-05-13) 13 May 1994
Coventry, United Kingdom
Height1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior International Elite
ClubHeathrow Gymnastics
College teamUCLA Bruins (2013–2016)
ChoreographerNatalia Ilienko-Jarois
MusicBurlesque (2011–2012), Tango D'Amor (2012–present)
Medal record
Representing UCLA Bruins
NCAA Championships
2016 Fort WorthBalance Beam

Junior career

2009

In July, Francis competed at the British Championships in Guildford, United Kingdom. She placed second in the all around final with a score of 53.650.[3] In event finals, she placed first on uneven bars scoring 13.650, joint first on balance beam scoring 13.600, and first on floor scoring 13.700.[4]

Senior career

2010

In July, Francis competed at the British Championships in Guildford, United Kingdom. She placed third in the all around with a score of 55.350. Francis said, "I'm extremely happy. I've had a bit of a difficult run in with a few injuries so to be able to compete here in the first place was great, and gave me a chance to see where I stand compared to some of the other gymnasts. Having missed out on the Europeans, it was good to show the home crowd what I can do and win a medal."[5]

2011

In February, Francis competed at the English Championships in Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom. She placed third in the all around competition with a score of 52.650.[6]

In April, Francis competed at the 2011 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Berlin, Germany. In qualifications, she placed twelfth all around with a score of 54.400 which meant that she would move on to the final. She said, "I started off really nervous as we were up on beam first but once Jenni went clear that helped me to relax a bit. The other pieces went well although I maybe played it a bit too safe on bars. The atmosphere was great and we could hear the British fans cheering for us, especially Beth and Hannah when we were on bars."[7] In the all around final, Francis placed sixteenth with a score of 53.375. Afterwards she said, "I'm mostly happy to have gone clean the whole week in my first major event as a senior. I have learnt a huge amount being here, particularly what it may be like to perform in front of a home crowd as the German fans went crazy for their gymnasts. I now have some understanding of what it may be like if I make it to London next year."[8]

In May, Francis participated in the British Teams competition in Guildford, United Kingdom. Her club, Heathrow, finished third and she placed third in the all around with a score of 52.900.[9]

In July, Francis competed at the British Championships in Liverpool, United Kingdom. She placed second in the all around with a score of 53.150. Francis said, "I was slightly annoyed more than anything when I fell on beam but I tried to shake it all off and get back from there so I'm really pleased. I've got a new floor routine which has quite a lot in it so I found it quite hard stamina wise but was happy to finish with the music!"[10]

In October, Francis competed at the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Tokyo, Japan. She contributed a vault score of 13.566 and a balance beam score of 14.141 towards the British team's fifth-place finish.[11]

2012

In March, Francis competed at the English Championships in Kent, United Kingdom. She placed second in the all around competition with a score of 54.650.[12]

In May, Francis competed at the 2012 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Brussels, Belgium. She contributed a beam score of 14.000 towards the British team's fourth-place finish.[13]

At the end of May, Francis participated in the British Teams competition which acted as the first Olympic trial. Her club, Heathrow, placed fourth and she placed second in the all around with a score of 55.100.[14]

At the beginning of June, Francis competed at an international friendly with gymnasts from Finland and Spain in Ipswich, United Kingdom which was also the second Olympic trial. She placed sixth in the all around competition with a score of 54.050[15] and third in the uneven bars final with a score of 13.850.[16]

At the end of June, Francis competed at the British Championships in Liverpool, United Kingdom. This is the third and final Olympic Trial to decide the gymnasts that will represent the United Kingdom at the Olympics. She placed sixth in the all around competition with a score of 53.700.[17] In event finals, she placed eighth on uneven bars scoring 11.350[18] and fourth on balance beam scoring 13.800.[19]

2015

In October, Francis returned to the elite gymnastics scene as a member of Jamaica's women's team at the 2015 World Championships.[20] As a result of her performance, Francis was able to receive Jamaica a qualification spot to the 2016 Olympic Test Event.

2016

Senior Danusia Francis was awarded regular season All-American honors by the National Association of College Gymnastics Coaches (NACGC/W). She was also named to the 2016 Pac-12 All-Conference teams. On April 15, 2016, Francis was a co-champion of the balance beam competition at the 2016 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship.

2019

In October, Francis competed together with two other members of Jamaica's women's team at the 2019 World Championships. As a result of her performance in qualifications, Francis was able to receive an individual qualification spot to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

“She finished 47th in the all-around [...] attaining a score of 50.982. Her Olympic qualification came as she finished among the top 20 athletes who were not on a qualifying team. She ranked ninth in the group of competitors. Francis participated in all four events in the qualifying round and achieved a score of 13.5 in the vault event, 12.35 in the uneven bars event, and 12.566 in both the balance beam and the floor exercise events“.[21]

References
  1. "Athletes :: Show". Fig.lx2.sportcentric.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  2. "UCLA Gymnastics Signs Francis, DeJesus to National Letters-of-Intent". UCLA Bruins Official Athletic Site. 14 November 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  3. "International Gymnast Magazine Online – Downie, Hibbert Defend British Titles". Intlgymnast.com. 4 July 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  4. "International Gymnast Magazine Online – Downie Dominates British Championships". Intlgymnast.com. 5 July 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  5. "International Gymnast Magazine Online – Whelan, Mitchell Win British Championships". Intlgymnast.com. 4 July 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  6. "International Gymnast Magazine Online – Whelan, Thomas Best at English Championships". Intlgymnast.com. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  7. "2011 Artistic European Championships – WAG Qualification". British-gymnastics.org. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  8. "2011 Artistic Gymnastics European Championships – Women's all-around". British-gymnastics.org. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  9. "International Gymnast Magazine Online – Whelan, Tweddle Lead Liverpool to Victory". Intlgymnast.com. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  10. "2011 Women's British Championships". British-gymnastics.org. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  11. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. "International Gymnast Magazine Online – Pinches, Thomas Take English Titles". Intlgymnast.com. 5 March 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  13. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 2012-09-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. "Downloads | Results | Women's Artistic | Disciplines". British-gymnastics.org. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  15. http://www.british-gymnastics.org/results/7236/Results_-_All_Around_Competiton.pdf
  16. http://www.british-gymnastics.org/results/7236/Results_-_Uneven_Bars_Final.pdf
  17. http://www.british-gymnastics.org/results/7170/Results_-_WAG_Seniors_All-Around.pdf
  18. http://www.british-gymnastics.org/results/7170/Results_-_WAG_Senior_Uneven_Bars_Final.pdf
  19. http://www.british-gymnastics.org/results/7170/Results_-_WAG_Senior_Beam_Final.pdf
  20. http://www.gymnastike.org/coverage/252320-World-Championships-Glasgow-2015/video/798500-Jamaica-Danusia-Francis-FX-2015-World-Championships-Podium-Training#.Viovql5H3lI
  21. StephanieK (6 October 2019). "Team Jamaica Gymnast Danusia Francis Qualifies for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games". Jamaicans.com. Retrieved 6 October 2019.

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