Olympic Gymnast Danell Leyva Reveals His Broadway Dreams

Gymnast Danell Leyva has overcome plenty of obstacles on the role to the 2012 Olympics, including severe asthma and emigrating from Cuba as a sickly two-year-old with his mother (a former Olympic gymnast herself), who had no official papers when they arrived in Miami. Fans know Leyva for the exuberant sideline antics of his stepfather and coach, former Olympian Yin Alvarez. A day before he and his teammates placed a disappointing fifth in the men’s all-round finals, Leyva revealed his post-Olympic goal in a New York Times profile: Broadway.

“I want to do musicals, acting, Broadway, everything,” Leyva told reporter Juliet Macur. And the 20-year-old athlete doesn’t just want to find work in show business, he wants to achieve superstar status as a winner of the coveted EGOT: an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. “My goal is to join that group,” Leyva said.

To see Leyva and his teammates in action, tune in to NBC's Olympic coverage on July 30.