Caila Smith, at just 8 years old, was surprised when she qualified for the Junior Olympics gymnastics competition in Florida, which runs from July 26 to Aug. 2. After two days of flips and turns on the mat, Caila brought home the bronze as one of the youngest gymnasts at the competition.
“For us, I think it’s a really big accomplishment for a young girl like this,” Caila’s mom, Yuan Cai, said. “I think she really put her heart and a lot of efforts into gymnastics and it is paying off. We’re really happy for her, really proud of her.”
Caila, of Great Neck, competes in USA Gymnastics at Progressive Gymnastics in New Hyde Park. During the off-season, she competes in the AAU Gymnastics league, which hosts the Junior Olympics competition.
Caila has only been competing for two years, starting right before turning 6. Managing to accomplish this feat so quickly is attributed to both natural talent and her fierce drive.
She qualified for all four events at the Junior Olympics at the 2025 AAU Gymnastics and TNT National Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where she placed first in the Gold Platinum division.
To qualify, Caila had to rank in the top six across all age groups in her level at the national competition in Florida.
At the Florida competition, Caila not only qualified in all four events but also won first place all-around in her category. All-around scoring encompasses the gymnast’s performance in all four events.
The news came as a surprise to Caila and her family, who learned she had qualified as she stood on the stage receiving her award in front of the entire competition audience.
But the good news kept coming in as Caila continued to succeed throughout the Junior Olympics competition.
Caila competed at the AAU Junior Olympic Games on July 23-24 in Houston, Texas, competing in the Xcel Gold category against gymnasts of all ages from across the country.
Cai said excitement and anticipation set in immediately once they landed in Houston, seeing all the advertisements leading up to the competition on display.
“In Texas they go really big,” Cai said. “As soon as you land and you start driving from the airport, you see big signs for the Junior Olympics.”
On the first day of the competition, Caila competed in the preliminary competition to determine if she would make it into the final round. To qualify, she competed against 64 other gymnasts in every event, with only the top six in each event being selected to move forward to the final.
“Qualifying for finals is a really big thing for them,” Cai said. “Only very few girls can get qualified for finals.”
Among the 64 girls who qualified, Caila came in as one of the youngest.
Caila qualified in one event – vault – which she finished in third place among all 64 girls.
During the finals, she again finished in third place for vault, bringing home the bronze medal.
Despite competing in an elite and difficult competition, Caila’s mom said she was composed throughout it. In fact, her emotions were centered around excitement at just being able to compete at that level.
“She was very calm about it,” Cai said. “She was happy but calm.”
