Olympian Danell Leyva Proves Your Never Too Old For a Security Blanket

The Towel

Olympian and bronze medal winner Danell Leyva proves that you are never too old for a security blanket. The twenty-year-old gymnast from Miami, Florida, always has a certain thing with him when he competes, and I’m not just talking about his mad skills on the mat, rings or pommel horse. In addition to his talents he always has a special towel with him, what he calls his “concentration holder” and his “lucky charm.” A towel that is so special that it even has it’s own Twitter account with over eleven thousand followers at last count.  Is there anything odd about a grown man toting around a “security blanket” such as his?

It’s been said that, “a comfort object, transitional object, or security blanket is an item used to provide psychological comfort, especially in unusual or unique situations, or at bedtime for small children.” And I think we can all agree that competing in the Olympics is not just an unusual and unique situation. Live Science notes in their piece “Even Grown-Ups Need Security Blankets” that, “one study published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology in 2000, for example, found that kids who had their beloved blankets with them at the doctor’s office experienced less distress, as measured by blood pressure and heart rate. Apparently, security blankets really do live up to their name. ”

This particular towel apparently has helped Danell is his performances. He said that it helps him focus and keep calm.  He said of the origins of his towel that, “one aunt went to go buy a towel, and the other one went to her house to get a towel for me because I wanted something to wipe my sweat off. And they both came back with the exact same towel. I said, ‘OK, this is a coincidence. I’m going to keep these two as my lucky towels.’” He added that, “one of them ripped a couple of months later, so I just had the one. I’ve had it since 2007. It hasn’t left my side since.”

Photo Credit: @danelijleyva/Twitter