Pella Christian junior Ani Bell recently performed at the International Dance Organization World Championships and brought home a gold medal.

Competing with Team USA in Italy, Bell was a semifinalist in both Acrobatic Dance and in Performing Arts Improv. Competing against 70 dancers from 53 countries in the Acrobatic Dance, Ani bested the competition to claim the gold medal. Ani also took 10th place in Performing Arts Improv. Bell said that she had a lot of emotions getting to stand atop the podium with the National Anthem playing after claiming her first gold medal at the IDO World Championships.

“I was so proud, because I felt like I represented our country very well, and I was standing up there on the podium singing the national anthem loud and proud. I was smiling, crying, and just looking at the whole room around me and seeing all the other countries standing up for our national anthem, and it was amazing and I didn’t think I would ever see that, but I’m so glad that it happened, and the outcome was like that.”

Hear more from Ani Bell about competing in the IDO World Championships in Italy on Tuesday’s edition of Today’s Lely Radio Sports Page.