Amelia Hundley's Unexpected National Title

Aug 30, 2013 by Anne Phillips

U.S. Junior National Team member Amelia Hundley of Cincinnati Gymnastics closed out her final U.S. Championships at the junior elite level by winning the National title on uneven bars. Hundley admits that winning bars tops her wide list of gymnastics accomplishments thus far due to the hurdles she overcame to get there.

To the gymnastics community, Hundley is known for incredible showmanship on floor, her confident beam work, and her genuine personality. She has not, however, always been known as a bar worker.

Moments after winning the uneven bars title in Hartford, Hundley candidly told us, "It's funny because when I was younger I never had the right body shape [for bars]; my shoulders weren't flexible enough. So my parents and my coaches would joke around, 'someday you'll be the National Bars Champion!' And they were just playing around with me."

Coach Mary Lee Tracy describes Hundley as the work horse of the CGA team. She doesn't have the same raw talent as teammate Lexie Priessman, so she has to work even harder to keep up. In a 2011 interview with Gymnastike, Tracy told us, "I knew she was one of those kids who - with hard work, discipline, and desire - could be molded. Maybe [she] lacked a little something, but she can be molded."

Tracy and Hundley have a strong coach/athlete connection. "She wants to make the corrections and wants to understand," Tracy said. "I like that she thinks about her turns and wants to be successful on all her turns"

Back in 2011, Tracy told us that Amelia's "shaping" on bars was a primary focus. "It's just funny", Hundley reflects, "I worked at it to try to turn my weakness into my strength with my coaches. And it's just such a great feeling to accomplish that."

Something else you may not know about Amelia Hundley is that one of the grips she used to win the uneven bars title in Hartford was not even hers! Hundley explains, "I usually have buckle grips, but one of them starting ripping one day when we were putting routines together on bars. And I hate breaking in new grips! I just didn't have a back up grips for some reason. So, I went into the lost and found and found a velcro grip and put it on and started swinging because I didn't want to break in a new pair of grips at the time! So, I've been swinging with those grips for a few months now!"

And it obviously worked.

Watch Amelia's winning bar performance during the 2013 P&G Championships which earned a 14.550:

For more from Amelia Hundley and Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy, check out their series of Beyond the Routine. A special bonus episode with Amelia Hundley and Lexie Priessman will premiere on Tuesday, September 3rd!