Gymnastics Mamas…meet our February Gymnast of the Month! Averie Mitchell is an Xcel Gold, 12 year old 7th grader from Oklahoma who competes for Hugo Gymnastics and More. Averie has faced many setbacks in her 9 years as a gymnast but has persevered through them all. Averie is a below the knee amputee gymnast who is in love with the sport of gymnastics. She refuses to let anything stop her! Averie was the 2018 AAU Athlete of the Year for Oklahoma and she recently won first place on beam with a 9.425. Way to go Averie! The Mamas were so impressed with Averie’s heart for gymnastics and her strength and determination. We are thrilled to share Averie’s story in her own words as well as her Mama’s perspective. Congratulations Averie!
I am Averie and this is my story. When I was 2 years old I had my leg amputated due to a
rare condition and then I started gymnastics at the age of 4. When I started I did not want anything to do with any of it so we went home and about two weeks later I wanted to go back and ever since then I have loved it. What I love about it is that I am never treated any different than any of the other girls and it also is fun and a challenge. January 30th of 2018 I had major knee surgery do to my knee cap popping out of socket very frequently. It got to where it would pop out when I was walking. We finally decided to do the surgery because I was at a competition running down the vault runway and my knee cap popped out. So we got the surgery, the average person would take 6 months to a year to recover, I had to recover in 4 months to compete in state so I could qualify for Nationals. It was a very rough journey but I made it to state but I competed with one leg and still got 3rd place on beam and qualified for Nationals! 5 months later I competed in Orlando Florida at National's and got 6th overall. I would like to go to the Olympics but there is no Paralympic gymnastics because there are not that many limb different gymnasts out there so I would like to inspire other limb different children that they can do gymnastics and to push themselves to get out there and do sports. There are some limb different gymnasts coming up and maybe in the future there will be Paralympic Gymnastics.
Averie was born with a condition known as Congenital Psuedoarthrosis of the Tibia, this is a rare condition that requires surgery for the patient to have a stable lower leg to walk on. We opted for amputation at the age of 2 so that she could grow up with a prosthetic and not have to go through multiple surgeries. When Averie received her first prosthetic on day one she was pushing the therapist out of her way because she was preventing Averie from getting to the toys in the room. Averie started gymnastics at the age of 4, she was asked to be on pre-team at the age of 5 and then quickly moved up to team after that. Averie has competed AAU XCEL Gold for three years due to surgeries and set backs. Averie had major knee stabilization surgery in January 2019, she was so determined to go to Nationals she competed in her State meet with ONE LEG ( I was an absolute nervous wreck!!!!) she competed Bars, Beam, and Floor and won 3rd place on Beam. We were in Florida in June for her to compete in Nationals. Averie is stronger than she has ever been, she is willing to try new things in gym and not holding back anymore worried about getting hurt. I am so proud of her determination and I just simply love to watch her compete. I am amazed at what she can do and I just hope that she always has fun in this incredible sport of gymnastics. I can't wait to see where she goes next with her talent.
Congratulations Averie! The Mamas at Gymnastics Mama are thrilled to celebrate your determination and accomplishments.
Do you know a gymnast with a special story? Has your gymnast overcome an obstacle, reached a goal, or provided support to a teammate? We'd love to hear about it and celebrate your son or daughter! Any gymnast chosen will receive a free gift from the Mamas at Gymnastics Mama.com. We will announce our April Gymnast of the Month on April 5th so submit your nomination today!
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