19 Aug. 2016 – At only 12years old, Andrea Abboud has already more medals than any other regular kid her age. But she’s no regular girl. In fact Andrea has won every gymnastics title there is to win in Lebanon, from school championships to Lebanese championships and so on. Here’s the story behind her glory.
It all began when Andrea was 2 and a half years old, when she started going with her mother to ballet classes. Even at such an early age, Andrea showed great maturity and understanding of her surroundings. Her parents then signed her up for rhythmic gymnastics classes at the age of 4 to help her acquire flexibility that would improve her dancing. At only 6 years old, Andrea showed great interest in artistic gymnastics and her body type was better suited for this sport so her parents moved her from rhythmic to artistic gymnastics all with the purpose of developing her dancing skills. Who would’ve guessed that a few years later, she’d grow up to become the Champion she is today?
Andrea now not only trains gymnastics 3 times a week, she also practices taekwondo twice a week and dancing also twice a week. Besides, she plays the violin, so it’s safe to say that she really is a jack of all trades.
However, with great success come great sacrifices. Andrea had to give up on a lot of activities to be where she is now. It wasn’t easy for her watching all the kids play while she trains, and it’s not a piece of cake either having to travel not for fun but for training. Not to forget that behind such a talent is a fair amount of jealousy, especially among little kids. She also suffered from some injuries in her hip and knee because of bone growth and intensive training. Luckily for her, her parents were her backbone during the tough times and her injuries were nothing major.
Andrea has traveled around the world, from Milano to Nicosia passing by Paris just to improve her gymnastics skills. She is thankful to be able to train at Bouddha Club with Coach Mohammed Charaf who treats her as a daughter and follows her on her journey to success. She is now preparing for the 2nd Dan exam in taekwondo as well as this year’s Lebanese gymnastics championship.
When she grows old, Andrea wants to open her own gym with the best facilities and equipment that weren’t always available for her to help little kids with big dreams reach their goals.
-Article by Ghina Chehwan
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