Angel Rice, born in Atlanta, Georgia is no regular teen. Since she was a toddler, she has been practicing tumbling, ultimately becoming a leader in the field and an inspiration to cheerleaders and athletes everywhere.
As mentioned, Angel began tumbling at the age of 3 years old. Angel’s older sister was already registered in tumbling, so their mother Tanya taught Angel herself in an attempt to lower costs, NBC News reports. Later, when Tanya began working at a center that offered competitive cheerleading lessons, Angel became even more invested in the sport.
Years later, in 2015, Angel ultimately drew worldwide attention when a video of her performing made its rounds after being uploaded to YouTube. People were stunned by her unbelievable performance, and since being uploaded the video has been viewed over 10.4 MILLION times.
The video shows Angel in full-form, showing the students at a gymnastics academy what a little practice and determination can do. The short clip shows her flying around the mat in a neverending sequence of twists and jumps.
Angel flies from one end to the other, and just when you think she has run out of room, she pulls a powerful bounce and launches herself back in the other direction. By the end of the video, the impressive 16-year-old has traversed the mat 4 entire times, showcasing tumbling skills that ultimately launched her into the viral superstardom.
“In the video,” Angel told TODAY, “I’m doing a couple of double-full twists… As well, I’m a doing a bounce back and it’s called a punch front.”
After Angel’s incredible video made its rounds on the internet, the teen was asked to appear on the TODAY Show. For her appearance, the show contacted a Guinness World Record adjudicator who stood by as the girl did double twist after double twist, ultimately earning herself a Guinness World Record for the most twists done in a minute.
Some people don’t think tumbling is a real sport, so, unfortunately, many professional tumblers just aren’t taken seriously. But Angel, a 2-time cheerleading champion and member of the USA Gymnastics Power Tumbling Team, is proving those doubters wrong, one double-twist at a time.
Some people think cheerleading and tumbling are the same sport. And even though cheerleading incorporates aspects of tumbling, it also includes stunts and different types of jumps, Angel told TODAY. Although Angel has represented the US in Olympic cheerleading competitions, she still hopes that tumbling will one day be accepted as a sport on its own, allowing her to compete and represent her country in the way that she knows best.
Watch her incredible performance below!
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