Jamaica’s Olympic gymnast Danusia Francis believes Alana Walker’s bronze medal at the Junior Pan American Gymnastics Championships in Mexico this past weekend is yet another indication that the sport is moving at rapid pace in the right direction.

Francis, who warmed up for the Summer Olympics in Gironella, Spain, while competing for club Xelska that won a six-team competition in that country’s Liga Iberdrola on the weekend, was reacting to the news of 14-year-old Walker’s historic medal-winning performance in Guadalajara.

Walker scored 49.850 in the All-Around competition (bar, floor, beam and vault) to become the first Jamaican to win an individual medal at a major tournament.

The USA’s Katelyn Jong scored of 54.10 to win the gold medal and her compatriot Madray Johnson claimed the silver medal after scoring 53.550.

Francis beamed with pride when she heard the news.

“Alana Walker getting a bronze medal at the Junior Pan Am Championships, I am so, so happy. I can just see how much Jamaica is improving year-on-year and it’s not at a slow pace, it’s at a rapid pace, so this medal will continue to prove how great we’re doing and the way the momentum is going for the sports of gymnastics in our country,” Francis said.

“So yes, a really great step in the right direction and hopefully, the first of many more medals at big championships.”

Walker’s medal and placing means she now qualifies for the Junior Pan Am Championships in Colombia later this year.

Walker, whose parents are Jamaican, lives and trains in New Jersey is coached by Ashley Brooke Umberger.

In May, she took top honors in her division at the USA Gymnastics Women’s Development Program National Championships held in Daytona Beach, Florida. In winning, she qualified to the 2021 USA Gymnastics Development Program National Team.

As for her own Olympic preparations, Francis said she was happy with her performance in Spain that served as a nice tune-up for the Olympic Games.

“It was a really fast-paced competition, faster than any competition I have done before and it was super hot and it was a good way to test myself at this stage in the game leading into Tokyo,” she said.

“My performances were really good. I was extremely happy with my bar routine, I got a really good score there and then my vault was good.”