Amman, Jordan, September 15, 2025: Hana Al Dayyat, a former gymnast, current gymnastics coach, and Yarmouk University under-graduate studying radio and TV, won the Asian Youth Reporter essay competition in Jordan on Saturday to earn her place on the OCA media team at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games next September.
Here is 20-year-old Hana’s winning submission:
“For the past ten years gymnastics has been more than just a sport for me, it has been a way of life. I began as a 7-year-old athlete, jumping and doing cartwheels in the school playground.
What does it mean to dedicate ten years of your life to a sport? Well for me the answer is gymnastics, growing up on a mat falling and rising, repeating routines until it became a part of who I am.
I still remember my first-ever gold medal - my mum watching me and her eyes full of tears and how proud she was. Everyone, from my coach to my teammates, was happy and that made my journey joyful.
And now as a coach I feel a new kind of joy, watching young gymnasts discovering the same passion that once lit up my own journey. Isn't it incredible how a sport can pass from one generation to the next just like a flame that never goes out.
I study radio and TV to understand the power of media, voices and images and the stories behind the athletes. This path led me to become a media connector with the European Union.
I believe that every medal has a story behind it, a story of sacrifice, hope and courage. If I get the opportunity to cover the athletes’ stories as a young reporter at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games will allow me to grow not only as a coach but also as a media professional.
It will challenge me to listen, ask and report with honesty and passion. This is the chance for me as a reporter to connect hearts, cultures and dreams.
As someone who has lived both as a gymnast and as a storyteller/presenter, I want to learn, see and share stories that remind us all why we play, why we dream, and why we never give up.
Just like Wilma Rudolph back in the 1950s when she was told by her doctor that she will never walk again, yet she ran faster than anyone in the world (Wilma an American sprinter won the gold medal at the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Games.
Every story told, every athlete cheered and every dream witnessed reminds me that passion knows no borders.
I want to be there in Japan not just to watch history, but to help the world connect with the athletes and to feel their journey.