Plano gymnast will compete in Rio Olympics

PLANO, Texas - A gymnast from North Texas earned a spot at the Olympics in Rio.

Madison Kocian was selected as one of the five members of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team. She has been training at World Olympic Gymnastics Academy in Plano since she was 5 years old.

Now at age 19, she says her Olympic journey has begun.

“When my name was announced, I instantly broke into tears just because you think of all the hard work and the injuries that I’ve overcome,” she said.

Earlier this year she had an injury that she was able to bounce back from.

“That only made me want it more and I think it made me stronger. So it’s just, you think about all the people that have helped you get here and it’s just a special memory that I will never forget," she said.

Kocian is also a world champion on the uneven bars. Her coaches are Laurent and Cicil Landi.

She will be heading to training camp later this week and then to Rio for the Olympics in August with Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Aly Risman and Laurie Hernandez.