TAMPA, Fla. — From the floor to the bar, to the beam, to the vault, there is a 9-year-old Tampa girl putting everything she’s got into gymnastics.
However, her strength and determination didn’t start in the gym—you could say she was born with it.
Pursuing a career as an Olympic gymnast takes a lot of heart, something Ava James knows all too much about. She had a pacemaker installed at the age of five.
“It feels really good to be out of the hospital. It feels good to be active,” said James.
James was born with a hole in her heart.
“At the age of five, the doctors were like, 'This isn’t getting any better,' and at night, her heart rate would slow down to a very dangerous low rate,” said mother Mahre Anthon.
They determined the best option was implanting the 5-year-old with a pacemaker.
“She couldn’t ride a bike, she couldn’t play at the park, nothing, it was just chilling for a year,” said Anthon.
“It made me really sad because I really love gymnastics,” said James.
So when she was finally given the green light to go back to the gym, James literally sprung into action.
“I feel really, really lucky because I feel like most people don’t get through open heart surgery and be able to do sports,” said James.
James caught the attention of coach Elizabeth Saunders of Bay Area Gymnastics.
“We said, ‘Hey, we got to have her on our team.’ It wasn’t until later that I actually found out that she had this condition. I was kind of shocked,” said Saunders.
James was thrilled to receive the opportunity to travel across the state with the team and to compete in official USA Gymnastics events.
“I was really, really proud of myself (because) I did a lot of hard work for it, and I always wanted to be in the Olympics, and I feel like I’m really, really close,” said James.
However, there is still work to be done, and that’s balancing the family checking account.
“I am a single parent. I just graduated from college in 2022,” said Anthon.
James started a GoFundMe Account in hopes of raising the $6,000 needed for team expenses, like uniforms and travel costs.
“Every competition, the closer I get to the Olympics and the more proud of myself I am,” said James.
For more information on helping James, click here.
