NAYA| Joury Al Shoum dives progressively into the world of gymnastics

BEIRUT: The 9-year-old Lebanese gymnast Joury Al Shoum has managed to notate her footprints in the field of gymnastics.

Al Shoum began practicing gymnastics at the age of three. Once per week, her parents would drop her off for gymnastics class at Khaled Ben El-Walid school. With time, Joury’s talent started to grow and her coach noticed an incomparable progress in her performance. Accordingly, he granted her the privilege to take additional private training classes per week.

The petite athlete’s synergy has surpassed all expectations. The effort she invested in her physical training led her to success. To this date, Al Shoum has won a number of national gymnastic competitions.

“My daughter has previously participated and won competitions held by her school, private clubs, and local gyms including Gymbo. In 2017 and 2018, Joury won the Lebanese Gymnastics Championship in first and second place respectively,” said Rola Badran, Joury’s mother.

Al Shoum’s achievements not only oriented some of her future paths, but also allowed her daring athleticism’s threshold to rise day by day.

“Joury has won twenty medals including the gold, silver, and bronze. She has also earned three cups and twenty certificates,” Badran told Annahar.

Behind Al Shoum's success comes her parent's constant motivation and dedication to their child’s practicing schedule. In fact, the mother’s previous experience in gymnastics have taught her that being on time to the practice is the first way to triumph. Moreover, Joury’s dad, who is also a coach and certified trainer, plays a vital role in disciplining his daughter’s sports abilities so she can reach higher places at a later stage.

“My sister and I were intensely involved in the field of gymnastics from a very young age. Our parents made sure to trigger us enough to become proficient in this sport,” mentioned Rola Badran. “Today, I decided to convey my parents most sacred inheritance to my child.”

Attaining a competitive goal in these challenging times puts a heavier burden on Al Shoum’s shoulders so she can keep on maintaining the same level of success. The rise of COVID19 and the collapse of the Lebanese economy, as well as the absence of donors and funders who are willing to invest their budgets to enhance Joury’s gymnastic potentials, constitute major obstacles to this champion.

Nonetheless, despite all these challenges Al Shoum insists on evolving in gymnastics. Today, Joury’s goal is to win first place in the Official Lebanese Gymnastics championship.

“Our little champion strives hard to better her abilities and advance her country by traveling abroad and competing internationally against children of her age. Therefore, as responsible parents, we will always give what we own to make our girl’s dreams come true and help her occupy higher positions in gymnastics,” Badran told Annahar.

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