2026 U.S. Gymnastics Championships: Danila Leykin arrives in Phoenix chasing a Worlds group spot – and having enjoyable doing it

“I’m going from beginning to the end”

Leykin was born within the United States, however his gymnastics began in Russia, the place his mom, Evgenia, a gymnast herself, had taken the household for a few years.

The verdict from the coaches there was blunt.

“They said that, ‘Yeah, you’re probably not going to be a good fit for the sport’,” Leykin mentioned. His mom’s reply: “Well, we’re going to try.”

The household returned to the U.S., and a coach in Las Vegas took him on.

Two years later, at age 9, Leykin moved to Texas to coach with Sergei Pakanich, on the time teaching Paris 2024 group bronze medallist Asher Hong. He lived with a teammate’s household for a month earlier than his mom might be a part of.

“Since I was nine years old, I’ve been with Sergei the entire time,” he mentioned. “He’s taught me every single skill I know from start to finish, like everything.”

Now in his fourth 12 months at EVO Gymnastics in Sarasota, Florida, Leykin is sticking with Pakanich for the lengthy haul.

He handed on the collegiate route that produced many of the final U.S. Olympic group, selecting to remain at EVO and pursue the Olympics alongside his longtime coach and this system being constructed by three-time Olympian Sam Mikulak and Syque Caesar, a London 2012 Olympian.

“I told myself I’m going from beginning to the end with Sergei,” he mentioned.

At EVO, there are many others to push Leykin.

Brody Malone, a two-time Olympian, trains there, together with Tokyo 2020 Olympian Shane Wiskus, Donnell Whittenburg, Kameron Nelson and others. On the day Leykin spoke with reporters, he and Malone had gone for ramen after an intrasquad.

“He is an older brother to me. I have so much respect for him,” Leykin mentioned.

He had requested Malone the right way to deal with a season through which he is aware of the chance is there.

“You have to recognize that there’s an opportunity… but you also have to have your values in the right place and be OK whatever it’s going to be,” Leykin mentioned, relaying the recommendation.

What the older group has taught him most is calmness. Growing up, the errors used to undo him.

“It’s super important to be able to stay composed and make a mistake and you need to bounce back immediately,” he mentioned. “And that’s what I was struggling with growing up, just because I care so deeply about the sport.”

His youthful brother, Luca, trains at EVO too, and on the times when Leykin’s physique aches and a neater session tempts him, he thinks of his little brother watching.

“I’ve got to show him that I am working really hard,” he mentioned.

That exhausting work, he hopes, will manifest Thursday and Saturday (8 August) in Phoenix.

But for all of the upgrades and the maths of world group choice, the aim Leykin retains coming again to has nothing to do with a rating.

“Go out there and have a good time and let people see that I’m having a great time out there, because I am,” he mentioned, “and hopefully show some kiddos or the younger generation that… it’s not scary, it is a good time.”