Donnell Whittenburg was born to be a gymnast. He grew up doing back flips, tucks and handstand walks in his backyard. To help him avoid injury, his mother enrolled him into formal gymnastics classes. The ability to learn new and more challenging skills, share experiences with teammates and focus on the process of improving laid a foundation where he has competed  on the international level for over 12 years including multiple world championships, Pan American Games. He was an Olympic alternate in 2016 and even has a skill  named after him, “The Whittenburg.” Despite all these accomplishments, his biggest obstacle is not competing at the Olympic Games.

Donnell shares his motivation to keep competing including unfinished business, growing the sport on the men’s side, inspiring others to create opportunities to expand their cultural experiences and investing further in lifelong friendships and bonds. He teaches us that, “it doesn’t matter how long it takes; as long as we keep trying, we always have a chance.”

@donnell_whittenburg