Gilbert gymnast flying high with Olympic hopes

PHOENIX — Gilbert gymnast Mykayla Skinner soared through a double backflip with a double twist at the end during her first big competition this year. After planting both feet firmly on the mat, she smiled a little wider than usual.

The 15-year-old athlete already had elite status in the competitive sport, a ranking needed to make the Olympic team. Then, with her clean landing that January day, she mastered a gymnastic move that few others can do.

Completing the "double-double" at the end of her floor routine, she won the competition in Las Vegas. After 10 years of training six days a week, the blond teenager nicknamed "Mikki" moved ahead of many of her competitors for one of only six to eight of the spots on the U.S. team.

"I knew I had done it," Mykayla said.

But it was only January.

The double-double was the first of many hurdles she would need to clear during the year if she was to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

In 2012, Mykayla could complete some of the best performances of her young life — and face her biggest challenge yet.

In February, at her next major competition, the Fiesta Bowl Invitational, Mykayla skillfully landed a rare Amanar off the vault, a move considered almost as difficult as the double-double with only 19 gymnasts ever perfecting it.

In an Amanar, the gymnast must flip off the vault with a twisting backflip that takes her around two and a half times. The move is named after Romanian gymnast Simona Amanar, who performed it at the 2000 Olympic Games. So few people can successfully do the move that there's a prestigious Amanar club, and Mykayla's a member.

Mykayla smiled broadly as she planted her Amanar. After landing two rare and challenging maneuvers, she was well on the way to making the 2012 Olympic team. The success was remarkable for a girl who had come close to never being a gymnast.

When Mykayla was young, her mother, Kym Skinner, had spent much of her time taking Mykayla's three older siblings to training and meets. She said she almost tried to keep her youngest daughter out of gymnastics.

"I was a little worn out pushing Mykayla in a stroller to her siblings' meets, but she really wanted to start gymnastics," she said. "Also, a coach friend of mine saw her do some basic maneuvers and pushed us to get her started."

Soon, it was clear Mykayla had something special.