The first time he saw Toni-Ann Williams walk through the doors at United Gymnastix 13 years ago, Mladen Stefanov knew there was something special about the aspiring gymnast.
It took Stefanov, the owner of the Reisterstown, Md.-based gym, less than five minutes of watching Williams jump, flip and tumble to have the then-7-year-old prodigy enroll in one of his advanced classes.
Under Stefanov's direction, Williams, 20, eventually went on to reach the pinnacle of the sport while making history in the process. At the state level, Williams claimed four state titles at Level 10, the highest level in the U.S. Junior Olympic program, before heading to the University of California on a scholarship in 2015.
The native of Randallstown, Md., and Roland Park Country School graduate has dual citizenship because both her parents hail from Kingston, Jamaica. Williams became the first Jamaican female gymnast to qualify the Olympics in April. Competing at the Olympic test event in Rio de Janeiro, Williams finished 38th overall and 16th as an individual not competing with a full six-person team, with a 52.931 total in the all-around.
