Eight-year-old gymnast “Kynlee the Great” claims incredible flipping world record

Out in the suburbs of Blue Springs, Missouri, USA, a determined girl is asserting her place in the future of gymnastics after breaking her first Guinness World Records title at the age of eight.

Kynlee Heiman (USA) won the incredible record – and claimed her spot in the 2026 edition of Guinness World Records – on 25 February, after flying through 18 rotations on the bar for the most gymnastic bar toe-to-hand movements in 30 seconds (female).

And while others are making their bets that she’ll become an Olympic champion one day, the bubbly young gymnast remains focused on celebrating her amazing achievement and continuing to work hard at the sport she is so passionate about.

“I love every time I flip, it makes me feel like I’m flying,” Kynlee told GWR. “And I just love doing gymnastics!”

Even though she’s already assured her place in the record books, the inspiring athlete started gymnastics only four years ago – and shockingly, she isn’t really old enough to have seen any Olympic games.

Nevertheless, you’d be hard-pressed to find a gymnast as dedicated to the sport as Kynlee, who wakes up at 5:30 a.m. on training days to make the two-hour drive to her gym – where she spends almost the entire day stretching, flipping, twisting, and springing between her routines on the bars and the mat. 

“I don’t think until people meet her that you realize – it’s all her,” said Kynlee’s mom, Angel Heiman. “Kynlee’s personality has always been very over-the-top, but she knows how to focus and when to focus.

“And it’s so fun to see that it’s all her… on days you think she’s not going to want to do it, she does it… you can’t stop her. She just loves it.”

According to her family, Kynlee was inspired to attempt the title after spending hours scouring the pages of the Guinness World Records books with her brothers (“It’s the best book in the world!” she exclaimed during her mom’s interview). 

She’s very confident in her skills, and she convinced her coach Alex Carson to help her prepare for the record during their usual training sessions.

“Her determination is incredible,” said Alex. “We give her the big picture goal, and she sets her mind to tackling each step of the process. 

“She’s really good at asking questions, and getting feedback, accepting feedback, and accepting constructive criticism, and making changes that need to be made – quite rapidly.”

Kynlee even tried (in vain) to teach us the process of completing bar toe-to-hand movements, saying: “... so you go kip, cast, handstand, then you snap and put your feet on the bar, then you circle around and then shoot up to handstand.

“And then you go kip again, and keep going and going and going!”

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Yet Alex maintains that the routine is much more difficult than how Kynlee makes it look.

“It’s a rhythm, it’s a sense of timing, it’s a sense of keeping the body tight where it needs to be, and the shapes… all these things we worked prior to actually learning the skill,” he explained.

Even so, on the day of her attempt, Kynlee showed up at the gym ready to take the title. 

“My successful record attempt was so good, I was not nervous at all, I was so excited,” she said. “Me and my coach have worked a LOT on strap, so I was not nervous at all.”

After securing her wrists to the bar, Alex prepared a timer, and waited for Kynlee to hop up on the bar before signaling for her to start.

With ridiculous speed, the eight-year-old began the routine, hoisting her body above the bar and then letting momentum swing her around. 

After getting into her pace, Kynlee kept her body rigid as a board while circling the bar – kicking her legs straight up once she was at the top, then flying back around for another repetition. 

She ended up making 19 rotations (one of which was discounted because she didn’t fully extend at the top of the bar) and taking the title for the gymnastics feat that many full-grown adults couldn’t pull off!

“It felt so amazing, it was so cool, because I’ve always wanted to do that, and now I’ve done it, so I’m so excited and so happy!” she said enthusiastically.

Her family, friends, and coach were incredibly proud of her too, saying that if she keeps up the hard work and remains passionate about gymnastics, there’s no limit to what she can achieve one day – even perhaps an Olympic medal!

“Her determination to do this, coupled with the adjustments in training we did here in the gym, [I’m] extremely proud of the way she tackled this at such a young age,” said Alex. 

“She’s got the attention to detail, she’s got the willingness to grind it out… it’s not super exciting all the time, but… it’s really really exciting to be a part of, and I’m really proud how she was able to adapt and adjust.

“And making it happen at the end was just the icing on the cake.”

Kynlee was very excited to see herself in the new edition of Guinness World Records, and her mom says she is so proud of her daughter for putting her mind to the task and excelling. 

“It’s something she’ll have forever,” said Angel.

And no matter what path she goes down in life – even that of a professional athlete – her mother will always be on her team, saying: “If that’s her dream, it’s fun just keeping that alive and watching her work towards it.”

In the future, who knows where Kynlee will end up – but if she applies her same work ethic and infectious love that she has for gymnastics, we’re sure she’ll end up a star.

“I think I can [get to the Olympics] if I keep working hard and keep loving the sport,” Kynlee said. “But definitely I will always keep loving it. And definitely keep working hard, and I definitely think I can do it one day.”

Congratulations Kynlee on your first record title – you’re Officially Amazing! 

And if you want to read more about the inspiring young gymnast, check out the newest edition of Guinness World Records to learn more.