Sports

Gymnastics: Magalhaes, Peene fine tune at ‘Holiday Extravaganza’

The skills of 37 gymnasts ages 6 to 16 were on display Saturday 25 November at Motions Unlimited’s largest annual ‘Holiday Extravaganza’ gymnastics showcase. Men’s coach Doran Zimmerman says the meet is a deserving stage.

“This a really good experience for them to showcase the skills they’ve been working on for about the last six months, and over the summer and into the school year.”

Fresh off international competition earlier this month at the ‘Judge’s Cup’ in Atlanta Georgia, Cayman’s Igor Magalhaes fine tuned in hopes of competing in the Junior Pan-Am Championships May 2018. Zimmerman says the fourteen year-old fought through some wear and tear.

“He’s coming out a little bit of an injury. He’s got a pulled bicep, maybe a pulled pectoral. The fact that he’s hopping up on the events, throwing doubles on high bars and rings is pretty awesome.”

Another gymnast hoping to represent Cayman internationally is sixteen year-old Sami Peene. With the Cayman Islands Olympic Committee potentially sending two gymnasts to the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Peene says she relishes the opportunity.

“I’m very excited, I feel like it’s going to be a huge opportunity. It’s going to be amazing to travel all that way to represent Cayman, on my shirt and on my jacket.”

For younger athletes, Coach Phi Nguyen says the meet gives many newer gymnasts valuable experience.

“For most of them it’s their first competition. This gives them an idea of how a competition will run, helps them with their nerves, learning how to compete is a whole other level.”

For all in gymnasts in attendance, the competition serves as a building block for future success.

Tags2017 doran zimmerman igor magalhaes motions unlimited phi nguyen sami peene winter extravaganza

About the author

Jordan Armenise

Jordan Armenise began his sports broadcasting journey with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). It was in this role where he was able to craft the immersive and enthusiastic approach to reporting, broadcasting and production you see here today in Cayman's sports community.

Jordan has also worked behind the scenes for a number of Canadian broadcasting & production companies such as CBC Sports, Cineflix Productions and Cream Productions.

Did he mention he was St. Clare of Assisi's 1994 Athlete of the Year?

Now dubbed 'The Sports Guy', Jordan relishes the role as Cayman 27 Sports Producer, where he can tell the stories of Cayman’s athletes. You can reach Jordan at or .

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