Danusia Francis; The gymnast with the Jamaican heart

BY JOSEPH CUNNINGHAM

In 1993, Merlene Ottey, the queen of Jamaica’s track and field caused Jamaicans at home and in the diaspora to be overwhelmed with joy, when she won the gold medal in an epic final at the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. It was an achievement by the legendary sprinter that Jamaicans had hungered and thirsted for – gold for Merlene at either the Olympics or the World Championships – and it finally came.

Remarkably, it was only a few weeks ago that the name Danusia Francis allowed Jamaicans to have something to rejoice about again, when news came from Stuttgart, Germany that she became Jamaica’s first gymnast to qualify for the Olympic Games, this to be held in Tokyo 2020.

For many Jamaicans, this taking place in Stuttgart has resurrected wonderful memories of joy and national pride from 1993, and in the now, the Stuttgart element has added a sweet taste to the Danusia Francis story. Just like Merlene Ottey, battling with American Gwen Torrence to the finish line in a thriller, Danusia’s qualification process also gave thrills.

She revealed, “Because Jamaica hasn’t qualified an entire gymnastics team I had to enter as an individual and compete against entire teams from around the world. I had to finish in the top 20 to qualify, which means that I have beaten entire teams to qualify. Simply put, it took so much more energy out of me. As an individual I had to do all the categories myself. One girl against entire teams.”

Danusia, age 25, represented Great Britain as a teen, but successfully got Jamaican citizenship because her father is Jamaican. She represented Great Britain in competition on occasions like the World Championships and the European Championships.

So why did she decide to represent Jamaica?

“While considering Jamaica, I also had the opportunity to represent Poland because my mother is Polish, however, it was the Usain Bolt factor that really got me. He was a huge inspiration to me, along with the charisma and the pride of country displayed by Jamaican athletes. I just could not resist being a part of the Jamaican vibe. I realized that my roots evoked in me a feeling of intense passion. Furthermore, I started travelling to Jamaica to explore my roots a bit more and became educated about my ancestors and what they went through and endured during the time of slavery. What they went through and how they fought for freedom just makes me feel very strong.”

Like her ancestors, Danusia aspires to pave the way for even better days for future Jamaican gymnasts. “I would like to use my career to open some doors and inspire more Jamaicans to do gymnastics,” she said. Danusia has had to become a heroine in her own right in order to achieve her goals in the sport. “I am a self-funded gymnast. I have been working as a coach and a choreographer within the gymnastics arena in order to fund my training program. As a result, there are gymnasts who train double the hours that I do, because they are being paid to train.”

Against the odds, preparation has been going well she said, adding that she will be representing Jamaica in the ‘all-around’ competition at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.