Mayor Leonard Desiderio and other city officials honored Junior Olympian Ava Edwards, 10, of Horsham, Pa., and Sea Isle City, who recently won a gold medal in the 400-meter race during the Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympic Games in Houston.
Ava also won a bronze medal in the 200-meter and placed fourth in the 100-meter race in the girls division of her age group.
“Ava is the fastest 10-year-old girl in America,” Desiderio proclaimed as he introduced her to a crowd of well-wishers in front of City Hall on Friday.
The ceremony included members of Ava’s family, City Councilman Bill Kehner, representatives from VFW Post 1963 and members of Sea Isle City’s Police Department, Volunteer Fire Department and Division of Emergency Medical Services.
Ava’s 9-year-old brother, Andres Edwards, was also honored for competing in the 2021 AAU Junior Olympics, where he achieved two personal best records and ranked 20th in the country in his age group.
“We are all very proud of Ava and Andres, and we wish them all the best,” Desiderio said as he handed them certificates of achievement and a variety of gifts.
“The national rankings were released on August 12, and Ava is ranked number one in the 400, number two in the 200 and number two in the 100-meter in the entire country,” said her mother, Michelle.
“It’s been an amazing experience for Ava and Andres,” she added. “We always tell them, as parents, that they have to earn things – and their hard work has paid off. We couldn’t be more proud of them both.”
