Danell Leyva is a former gymnast. He is a Cuban-American who competed for the United States in the Olympics and other gymnastics championships.
Likewise, Leyva is much more than an ordinary gymnast. The excellence in movements that he demonstrated all his career combined with all the feats that he has achieved makes him a fantastic athlete.
Moreover, Leyva won the bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics for men’s artistic individual all-around.
Similarly, he won a silver medal in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro men’s parallel bars competition. Danell also won another silver medal at the 2016 Olympics for the men’s horizontal bars competition.
Furthermore, Leyva has his own signature move known as “jam-dislocate-hop to under grips” on the horizontal bar. He is also a specialist in parallel bars of gymnastics.
This article intends to unfold all the beautiful stories from Leyva’s personal and professional life. Make sure to read till the end!
Quick Facts about Danell Leyva
| Full name | Danell Johan Leyva |
| Popular as | Danell Leyva |
| Birthdate | October 30, 1991 |
| Birthplace | Matanzas, Cuba |
| Nationality | Cuban-American |
| Horoscope | Libra |
| Age | 33 years old |
| Father’s name | Johann Leyva |
| Mother’s name | Maria Gonzalez |
| Sibling | An elder sister |
| Sister’s Name | Dayan is Mesa |
| Step Father | Yin Alvarez |
| Residence | Miami, Florida |
| Marital status | Unmarried |
| Relationship Status | Not Known |
| Sexuality | Bisexual and Pansexual |
| Height | 5’7″ (170 cm) |
| Weight | Not Known |
| Body type | Athletic |
| Eye Color | Brown |
| Hair Color | Brown |
| Profession | Gymnast |
| Discipline | Men’s artistic gymnastics |
| Level | InternationalEelite |
| Club | Universal Gymnastics |
| Coach | Yin Alvarez (stepfather) |
| National Team | American |
| Years on National Team | 2004-2016 |
| Participation in Olympics |
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| Medals and Achievement in Olympics |
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| Participation in World Championship |
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| Medals and Achievements in World Championship |
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| Participation in Pacific Rim Championships |
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| Medals and Accomplishments in Pacific Rim Championship |
Junior Division
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| Other Appearances |
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| Other Medals and Achievements |
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| Net Worth | $1 Million |
| Social media Handles | |
| Merch | Poster, Tokyo Olympics 2021 |
| Last Update | December, 2024 |
Danell Leyva: Early Life and Family
Danell Leyva, the gymnast, was born on October 30, 1991, in Matanzas, Cuba. He was born to parents Johann Leyva and Maria Gonzalez.
Furthermore, Leyva has an elder sister named Dayanis Mesa Forero, who is working as a television host.
Likewise, Leyva’s biological parents separated when he was small. His biological father lives in Spain, and his family is based in Miami, Florida.
Moreover, Danell talks with his biological father on the phone very often. He loves his biological father very much.
Likewise, he is very fond of and loves his stepfather dearly.
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The Danell Leyva Early Life Story
Leyva originally hails from Cuba, where children are generally selected for sports academics.
When we see Leyva today, we would certainly assume that he must have been one of those Cuban kids, gathering medals from every sport possible.
However, things were different for Leyva. He was an asthmatic chubby toddler who nobody picked for sports.
Maria Gonzalez came to the United States with her two children via Peru and Venezuela. Leyva’s grandparents were already residing in the States by then.
Moreover, Maria is also a former gymnast. She married her childhood friend and fellow former gymnast Yin Alvarez in the United States.
Cuba’s National Gymnastics Team
Maria and Yin were both members of Cuba’s national gymnastics team. They later opened a gym in Miami.
Both Maria and Yin have a big influence on Leyva’s life, especially the gymnastics part. Yin, in fact, coached Leyva professionally and prepared him for the championships.
Leyva once said that his parents taught him to know the value of a dollar and everything that comes in life.
He further added that he had the best childhood anyone could ask for.
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Dreams, Aspirations & Hard Work
Leyva is a big time dreamer. His gymnastics dream is known to everyone, but not everyone knows about his passion for acting, music, and literature.
Like every other gymnast, he dreamt of winning gold at the Olympics and Emmy, Grammy, and Tony awards. It’s beautiful to see someone dreaming this big and chasing for each of them.
Similarly, Danell Leyva, today, is a popular and successful gymnast who is also indulged in acting, media, and business.
After the 2016 Summer Olympics, Leyva started going to acting classes.
Contribution to Sports
Within 1-1.5 years, he filmed two advertisements for television, was seen in a Nickelodeon show, and was also a choreography consultant for the sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Similarly, he bought a production company called Parallel Entertainment. He was also seen competing in the sports entertainment competition ‘American Ninja Warrior’ in 2019.
The other half of his career has now just started. We wish Leyva all the luck. And to our readers, never stop dreaming big.
Danell Leyva – Junior Career
Leyva participated in Winter Cup in 2006 for the first time. He then competed in the US National Championships’ junior division. He won gold medals on floor exercise, horizontal bar, and artistic all-around,
Similarly, Leyva participated in the 2008 Junior National Championships. He won the artistic all-around, parallel bars, high bars, and pommel horse titles.
He also competed at the 2008 Pan American Gymnastics Championships in Argentina became the horizontal bar champion.
Leyva was then picked for the 2008 Pacific Rim Championships team. Next, he competed for the United States team in San Jose, California, winning gold as a team.
He also became the gold medalist in the artistic all-around and bronze medalist on parallel bars in the finals of the junior division.
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Danell Leyva – As a senior in Gymnastics
Leyva became the youngest person to become a member of the US senior national team in 2009. He was just 19 then.
Likewise, Danell won a gold medal for the horizontal bar and a silver medal for the parallel bar at the National Championships.
Leyva then got picked as one of the four American male gymnasts to participate at the 2009 World Artistic Gymnastics held in London. Leyva qualified to the horizontal bar final and was placed at 4th position.
Moreover, the young gymnasts were then picked for the men’s team that competed at the 2010 Pacific Rim Championships in Melbourne.
Leyva collected individual titles on the horizontal bar and parallel bars at the competition. Similarly, he won a bronze medal on still rings.
Furthermore, Levya then got qualified for the all-around and pommel horse finals. He was placed 7th in both events.
Similarly, he participated in the 2010 US National Championships, becoming the gold medalist on the parallel bars. He also won a silver medal for artistic men’s all-around.
Leyva was then picked as a team member who competed at the 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. The team qualifies for the finals but could not grab medals.
2011 and Later
Leyva participated in the 2011 US National Championships. Furthermore, he won his first all-around US National Championship there. He also grabbed titles in the parallel bars and horizontal bar.
Similarly, he was picked to be one of the anchors for the United States team at the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics held in Tokyo. The US team won the bronze medal.
Moreover, Leyva also won several medals in the Winter Cup. He then became the winner of the American Cup in New York City.
Danell Leyva – Olympics
Leyva competed in the Olympic Trials in San Jose and became first. Furthermore, he had scored from Visa Championships along with two long days of Trials.
He was then placed on the United States Olympic Team alongside Orozco. However, he was selected as an alternate.
Likewise, Danell won a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London for men’s artistic individual all-around. He had scored 90.698 points.
Leyva then got selected for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro also as an alternate. He got into the team when Orozco suffered from an injury.
Furthermore, Leyva won two medals at the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio.
There he won two silver medals for men’s parallel bars with 15.900 and men’s horizontal bars with 15.500 points.
Danell Leyva – Coming Out Journey
Leyva is from the LGBTQ community. He proudly announced it on October 12, 2020, via Twitter. He is bisexual and pansexual.
Moreover, Danell said in an interview that he always knew about it but rejected the feeling internally because of the way children are usually raised. Also, coming from a Hispanic family, it was extra hard for him.
Moreover, the stereotyping that happens in the sport he is in made things even harder for him.
Once he started accepting himself, things got easier, and he realized how normal it was. We have quoted a beautiful statement by Leyva:
“I hope to one day live in a world where your sexuality is as irrelevant as to whether or not you’re right or left-handed. You know, it’s such a non-issue. It literally means nothing that if you’re just like, ‘Oh, you’re left-handed? That’s cool. Oh, you’re bi? That’s cool.”
Danell Leyva – Relationships and Girlfriend
Danell Leyva’s current relationship status is not known. However, he dated Giulianna Pino for a few years.
Likewise, Pino is also a gymnast from Florida. Sadly, the couple separated in April 2020.
Danell Leyva – Net Worth and Sponsorships
Leyva has gained fame not only from gymnastics but also from his media appearances. Likewise, he lives a pretty decent life in his home in Miami.
Danell’s net worth is estimated to be around $2.5 Million.
Moreover, Danell earns a decent amount from his sponsorships as well. He signed a multi-year sponsorship contract with Adidas Gymnastics in 2013.
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Danell Leyva – Social Media Presence
Leyva is quite active on his social media handles. You can follow him via these links:
Common Queries about Danell Leyva
Is Danell Leyva married?
No, Danell Leyva is not married. Moreover, his relationship status is also not known as of August 2021.
When did Danell Leyva retire?
Danell Leyva retired in 2016. He is now working in the creative field and media industry.
