Why does danell leyva have a towel

After winning bronze on Wednesday, he explained the story behind the towel. And they both came back with the exact same towel. The towel has become one of those odd symbols that becomes popular on the Internet. Much like the St. You can unsubscribe anytime. For more details, review our Privacy Policy. Shaq talked about some of the things he did off the c. And that, ladies and gentlemen and cotton fiber lovers, is how Leyva wound up with a bronze medal hanging around his neck, despite such a miserable start.

Not bad. From 19th place to third place in a few impossibly difficult steps. The all-around gold medal, no shock, went to Japanese idol Kohei Uchimura, who some are calling the greatest gymnast of all time. The silver went to Marcel Nguyen of Germany, who was steady throughout the night. Bronze, therefore, was an excellent outcome for Leyva. After the medal ceremony, Leyva stood underneath the arena, holding the medal in his callused hands and staring at it in almost a daze.

He had seen others do this sort of thing on television. Doing it in person was better. If you read between the lines, Leyva was saying the tension got to him in those early moments Wednesday. His coach, Yin Alvarez, also is his stepfather. Leyva is a Cuban-American, born in Havana and brought to Florida in by his mother as a toddler. Alvarez also is a Cuban-American, who reached U. They wed. As a preschooler, Leyva began working out at the gym Alvarez opened up with ambitions of producing Olympians.

During one of his first high bar competitions, Leyva flew off and Alvarez mistimed an attempt to grab him, compounding the problem.

This experience would come in handy. The U. The year-old Cuban refugee used to have two, but one ripped, so now he carries the same one everywhere he goes. Yes, he does wash it. Any doubts about the power of the towel were erased earlier this year at Winter Cup, a ranking meet for the U. Leyva, the son of two Cuban Olympic athletes who defected when he was just a one-year-old, forgot to pack the towel and had one of his worst meets in a long time, falling on parallel bars, where he's the reigning world champion, during qualifying, and high bar, his other best event.

He wound up a distant fourth.