Wednesday July 18, 2012

Martinez, Ga--Most ten year olds aren't too worried about being the best in the nation at something. Of course, that's the difference between most ten year olds and Grovetown's Jayla Lawson. The young gymnast is a newly crowned national champ.

"i want to be able to make it to the Olympics." said Jayla Lawson

If you've talked to any young girl in a gymnastics class, chances are you've heard that same sentence before. But with Jayla Lawson, you might not want to brush it off.

"She knew what she had to do when she came in. She just did what she did in practice, and that's what we practice is perfection." added coach Lisa Calhoun

So what is it she was so perfect at? Try sweeping every event in the all-around competition at nationals. Jayla did it, and she even surprised her self a little bit.

"it was very exciting because i haven't ever done that before." said Jayla

Of course, being a ten-year-old, her immediate reaction had nothing to do with her impressive accomplishment.

"I was like, 'yes, it's over and i got it.' i was like, 'mom, can i have two donuts,' and i got them. It was very good." added Lawson

Even with all those shiny new medals, jayla isn't ready to take it easy. She has a set plan for her future.

"A lot of practice, a lot of conditioning and sweat. I know i can do better every single time because i haven't even got the perfect score yet." said Jayla

And with the work ethic and attitude she's shown so far, you don't see her coach questioning Jayla's Olympic goals.

"She's not really nervous about anything that goes on. I might be more nervous sometimes. She'll be like, 'It's fine. I got it.' She's just really, really good at gymnastics." added Calhoun

At ten years old now, Jayla will still be too young for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, so the goal is gold in 2020.

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