A Leap(跳跃) to Honor
Leaping on a narrow balance beam(平衡木) is not easy. But Lola Walter, a 13yearold gymnast, is an expert at it.
To perfect her skills, Lola 1 for four hours a day, five days a week. At the state championships in March, she finished seventh out of 16 girls.
That's especially impressive,2 she is legally blind, born with a rare condition that causes her eyes to shift(移动) constantly. She often sees double and can't 3 how far away things are.
When she was little, her mom 4 that even though she couldn't see 5 ， she was fearless. So her mom signed her up for gymnastics when she was three. She loved the 6 right away and gymnastics became her favorite.
Though learning gymnastics has been more 7 for her than for some of her teammates, she has never quit. She doesn't let her 8 stop her from doing anything that she wants to.
She likes the determination it takes to do the sport. Her biggest 9 is the balance beam. Because she has double vision, she often sees two beams. She must use her sense of touch to help her during her routine. Sometimes she even closes her eyes. “You have to 10 your mind that it'll take you where you want to go，” says Lola.
To be a toplevel gymnast, one must be brave. The beam is probably the most 11 for anyone because it's four inches wide. At the state competition, Lola didn't fall 12the beam. In fact, she got an 8.1 out of 10—her highest score yet.
Lola doesn't want to be 13 differently from the other girls on her team. At competitions, the judges don't know about her vision 14. She doesn't tell them, because she doesn't think they need to know. Her mom is amazed by her 15 attitude.
Lola never thinks about 16. She is presently at level 7 while the highest is level 10 in gymnastics. Her 17 is to reach level 9. She says she wants to be a gymnastics coach to pass down what she's learned to other kids 18 she grows up.
Lola is 19 of all her hard work and success. She says it's helped her overcome problems in her life outside gymnastics too. Her 20 for other is “just believe in yourself”.
