David Durante (2008 Gymnastics Hopeful)

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

04 Jun 2008 11:31 PM

Welcome to our Focus on the Olympics articles that introduces you to our Olympic athletes and hopefuls that will be competing in Beijing this summer. In 2004, after not being named to the Olympic team, David traveled to Athens to cheer on his friends in competition and take in the Olympic experience so he'd be ready in 2008.

Meet David Durante

David Durante is the middle of three children born to Robert and Juliana Durante. He graduated from Stanford University with a major in human biology and a minor in psychology. David's older brother, Marc, 31, works for Merck Pharmaceuticals on its computer systems. His sister, Lauren, 25, teaches high school Italian in New Jersey.

On March 23, 2003, his hometown of Garwood, N.J. threw a celebratory "David Durante Day" fundraiser event to help defray the cost of his training expenses. He is proud to be from a tight-knit community in New Jersey, and he is honored that younger kids training in gymnastics look up to him as inspiration. If David were not a gymnast, he would pursue a career in physical therapy.

Why Root for Him?

David has taken an emotional roller-coaster ride over the years, from the "next great hope" to the "guy who may never fulfill his potential." The U.S. men finished a dismal 13th in last year's Worlds, and in order to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, they would have had to finish in the top 12 teams this year. In August 2007, after winning the all-around title at the Visa Championships, he stepped forward and declared himself captain of the U.S. men's team for the 2007 World Championships. David led the team to a fourth place overall finish for a total of 272.275 points - a mere 1.250 points behind the bronze medal-winning German team, easily earning a berth to next year's Olympic Games.

Performance Record

• 2007 Visa Championships all-around champion
• 2007 Visa Championships parallel bars champion
• 2007 Pan American Games team bronze medalist
• 2006 Winter Cup Challenge all-around & pommel horse champion
• 2005 Winter Cup Challenge all-around champion & parallel bars silver medalist

The U.S. Gymnastics Team trials take place in June 19 to June 22 in Philadelphia, PA.

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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