Karla Navas

Navas was born in Panama in 2004. Her mother Veronica Boyd was also a gymnast and her grandfather Guillermo Boyd represented Panama in weightlifting at the 1968 Olympic Games.^[1]

Navas made her international debut at the Pacific Rim Championships where she finished seventh in the all-around.^[2] She next competed at the Junior Pan American Championships, where she helped Panama finish seventh as team; Navas finished fifteenth in the all-around.^[3] In October Navas competed at the Junior South American Championships where she placed eleventh in the all-around.^[4]

Navas was selected to compete at the inaugural Junior World Championships alongside Hillary Heron. Together they finished twenty-third as a team. Individually Navas finished 47th in the all-around.^[5] Navas ended the season competing at the Junior South American Championships. She placed sixth in the all-around and helped Panama place third as a team. During event finals she placed first on uneven bars, fourth on vault, and fifth on balance beam.^[6]

Vault

Uneven Bars

Balance Beam

Floor Exercise

Navas at the 2019 Junior World Championships

Navas became age-eligible for senior competition in 2020; however most competitions were canceled or postponed in 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore Navas did not compete that year. She returned to competition at the 2021 Pan American Championships where she helped Panama place fourth as a team and individually she placed seventh in the all-around. During event finals she placed fourth on vault and sixth on balance beam.^[7][8]

Navas competed at the Bolivarian Games where she helped Panama finish third as a team. Individually she finished ninth in the all-around. She won silver on vault behind Yamilet Peña and bronze on balance beam. She next competed at the Pan American Championships where she helped Panama finish tenth as a team during qualifications. Individually, she placed twenty-first in the all-around but won gold on vault. Additionally she qualified to compete at the upcoming World Championships as an individual.^[9][10] At the South American Games Navas helped Panama finish fifth as a team. Individually, she placed fifth in the all-around, fourth on the uneven bars and balance beam, and seventh on vault.