The United States women's artistic gymnastics team represents the United States in FIG international competitions. Currently, the US team is the reigning World team champion and the reigning Olympic team champion, with the latter named the Final Five.
Video United States women's national gymnastics team
History
The US women won the team competition bronze medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics. Afterwards, they did not win another Summer Olympics or World Championships medal until the 1984 Olympic team won silver. During that competition, Mary Lou Retton also became the first American to win the individual all-around gold medal. The Americans started consistently winning Olympic and World team medals in the early 1990s with future Hall of Famers Shannon Miller and Dominique Dawes. The 1996 Olympic team, known as the Magnificent Seven, was the first American team to win Olympic gold. An iconic moment in the sport's history came late in the competition, when an injured Kerri Strug stuck a vault to secure the title. After 1996, the team regressed for several years as their stars took breaks from competing.
Márta Károlyi headed the program after the 2000 Olympics, ushering in an era of success for the US as they became one of the most dominant countries in women's gymnastics. The US has medalled in every Olympics and Worlds since 2000. They won their first World gold medal in 2003. At the 2004 Olympics, they won the team silver, and Carly Patterson became the second American gymnast to win the individual all-around. The US continued their success in the next quad. They won another Olympic silver medal in 2008. Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson were two of the best gymnasts of their era and finished first and second in the 2008 individual all-around.
Since their second-place finish at the 2010 Worlds, the US has never lost an Olympic or World team competition. They won gold at the 2011 Worlds and then won gold at the 2012 Olympics by over five points. The 2012 team was nicknamed the Fierce Five and included Gabby Douglas, the first woman of color to win the Olympic individual all-around. In 2013, Simone Biles started her senior career and helped the US dominate the sport through 2016. In addition to the team gold medals, Biles won the individual all-around at the Worlds and Olympics for four straight years. The 2016 Olympic team, featuring Biles and veterans Douglas and Aly Raisman, was named the Final Five. They won the team competition by over eight points.
Olympic Games
The USA Gymnastics women have won the Olympic Gold three times, in 1996, 2012, and 2016. These successes led to the nicknames Magnificent Seven, Fierce Five, and Final Five. They won three silvers in 1984, 2004, 2008 and won three bronzes in 1948, 1992 and 2000. The 2016 team name referenced Márta Károlyi's final team to coach and that the team structure will be changed to four members beginning with the 2020 Olympic Games. The 1988 Olympic Games was the only year in which the team did not medal since its formation in 1982.
World Championships
The United States is currently 5th in the all-time medal count for the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. The first American gymnast to win a medal at the World Championships was Cathy Rigby who won silver on beam in 1970. The first female American gymnast to win a world title was Marcia Frederick in 1978 on the uneven bars. The most decorated American gymnast at the World Championships is Simone Biles, who won 14 medals (10 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze) from 2013 to 2015. The United States won team gold in 2003, 2007, 2011, 2014, and 2015.
Maps United States women's national gymnastics team
Current Senior Roster
As of August 20, 2017:
Current Junior Roster
As of August 20, 2017:
Staff
- Valeri Liukin - National Team Coordinator
- Rhonda Faehn - Senior Vice President
- Taylor Rathke - Women's Program Coordinator
- Gary Warren - National Team Training Center Director
Team competition results
Olympic Games
- 1928 -- did not participate
- 1936 -- 5th place
- Jennie Caputo, Consetta Caruccio-Lenz, Margaret Duff, Irma Haubold, Marie Kibler, Ada Lunardonl, Adelaide Meyer, Mary Wright
- 1948 -- bronze medal
- Ladislava Bakanic, Marion Barone, Consetta Caruccio-Lenz, Dorothy Dalton, Meta Elste-Neumann, Helen Schifano, Clara Schroth, Anita Simonis
- 1952 -- 15th place
- Marion Barone, Dorothy Dalton, Meta Elste-Neumann, Ruth Grulkowski, Marie Hoesly, Doris Kirkman, Clara Schroth, Ruth Topalian
- 1956 -- 9th place
- Muriel Davis, Doris Fuchs, Judy Howe, Jackie Klein, Joyce Racek, Sandra Ruddick
- 1960 -- 9th place
- Muriel Davis, Doris Fuchs, Betty-Jean Maycock, Teresa Montefusco, Sharon Richardson, Gail Sontegrath
- 1964 -- 9th place
- Kathleen Corrigan, Muriel Davis, Dale McClements, Linda Metheny, Janie Speaks, Marie Walther
- 1968 -- 6th place
- Wendy Cluff, Kathy Gleason, Linda Metheny, Colleen Mulvihill, Cathy Rigby, Joyce Tanac
- 1972 -- 4th place
- Kimberly Chace, Linda Metheny, Joan Moore, Roxanne Pierce, Cathy Rigby, Nancy Thies
- 1976 -- 6th place
- Colleen Casey, Kimberly Chace, Carrie Englert, Doris Howard, Debra Wilcox, Leslie Wolfsberger
- 1980 -- did not participate
- 1984 -- silver medal
- Pam Bileck, Michelle Dusserre, Kathy Johnson, Julianne McNamara, Mary Lou Retton, Tracee Talavera
- 1988 -- 4th place
- Brandy Johnson, Kelly Garrison, Melissa Marlowe, Phoebe Mills, Hope Spivey, Chelle Stack
- 1992 -- bronze medal
- Wendy Bruce, Dominique Dawes, Shannon Miller, Betty Okino, Kerri Strug, Kim Zmeskal
- 1996 -- gold medal
- Amanda Borden, Amy Chow, Dominique Dawes, Shannon Miller, Dominique Moceanu, Jaycie Phelps, Kerri Strug
- 2000 -- bronze medal
- Amy Chow, Jamie Dantzscher, Dominique Dawes, Kristen Maloney, Elise Ray, Tasha Schwikert
- 2004 -- silver medal
- Mohini Bhardwaj, Annia Hatch, Terin Humphrey, Courtney Kupets, Courtney McCool, Carly Patterson
- 2008 -- silver medal
- Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, Chellsie Memmel, Samantha Peszek, Alicia Sacramone, Bridget Sloan
- 2012 -- gold medal
- Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, Kyla Ross, Jordyn Wieber
- 2016 -- gold medal
- Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez, Madison Kocian, Aly Raisman
World Championships
- 1934 -- did not participate
- 1938 -- did not participate
- 1950 -- did not participate
- 1954 -- did not participate
- 1958 -- did not participate
- 1962 -- 8th place
- Muriel Davis, Doris Fuchs, Betty-Jean Maycock, Gail Sontegrath, Avis Tieber, Marie Walther
- 1966 -- 6th place
- Debbie Bailey, Doris Fuchs, Dale McClements, Kathy Gleason, Carolyn Hacker, Joyce Tanac
- 1970 -- 7th place
- Cleo Carver, Kimberly Chace, Wendy Cluff, Adele Gleaves, Joan Moore, Cathy Rigby
- 1974 -- 6th place
- Janette Anderson, Ann Carr, Diane Dunbar, Debbie Fike, Kathy Howard, Joan Moore
- 1978 -- 5th place
- Christa Canary, Marcia Frederick, Kathy Johnson, Leslie Pyfer, Rhonda Schwandt, Donna Turnbow
- 1979 -- 6th place
- Christa Canary, Marcia Frederick, Kathy Johnson, Suzy Kellams, Leslie Pyfer, Leslie Russo
- 1981 -- 6th place
- Michelle Goodwin, Kathy Johnson, Amy Koopman, Julianne McNamara, Gina Stallone, Tracee Talavera
- 1983 -- 7th place
- Pam Bileck, Kelly Garrison, Kathy Johnson, Julianne McNamara, Yumi Mordre, Tanya Service
- 1985 -- 6th place
- Pam Bileck, Tracey Calore, Kelly Garrison, Sabrina Mar, Marie Roethlisberger, Jennifer Sey
- 1987 -- 6th place
- Rhonda Faehn, Kelly Garrison, Sabrina Mar, Melissa Marlowe, Phoebe Mills, Kristie Phillips
- 1989 -- 4th place
- Wendy Bruce, Christy Henrich, Brandy Johnson, Kim Kelly, Chelle Stack, Sandy Woolsey
- 1991 -- silver medal
- Michelle Campi, Hilary Grivich, Shannon Miller, Betty Okino, Kerri Strug, Kim Zmeskal
- 1994 -- silver medal
- Amanda Borden, Amy Chow, Dominique Dawes, Larissa Fontaine, Shannon Miller, Jaycie Phelps, Kerri Strug
- 1995 -- bronze medal
- Mary Beth Arnold, Theresa Kulikowski, Shannon Miller, Dominique Moceanu, Jaycie Phelps, Kerri Strug, Doni Thompson
- 1997 -- 6th place
- Kendall Beck, Mohini Bhardwaj, Kristen Maloney, Dominique Moceanu, Kristy Powell, Jennie Thompson
- 1999 -- 5th place
- Jeanette Antolin, Vanessa Atler, Jamie Dantzscher, Kristen Maloney, Elise Ray, Morgan White
- 2001 -- bronze medal
- Mohini Bhardwaj, Katie Heenan, Ashley Miles, Tasha Schwikert, Rachel Tidd, Tabitha Yim
- 2003 -- gold medal
- Terin Humphrey, Courtney Kupets, Chellsie Memmel, Carly Patterson, Tasha Schwikert, Hollie Vise
- 2006 -- silver medal
- Jana Bieger, Natasha Kelley, Nastia Liukin, Chellsie Memmel, Ashley Priess, Alicia Sacramone
- 2007 -- gold medal
- Ivana Hong, Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, Samantha Peszek, Alicia Sacramone, Shayla Worley
- 2010 -- silver medal
- Rebecca Bross, Mackenzie Caquatto, Mattie Larson, Aly Raisman, Alicia Sacramone, Bridget Sloan
- 2011 -- gold medal
- Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, Alicia Sacramone, Sabrina Vega, Jordyn Wieber
- 2014 -- gold medal
- Alyssa Baumann, Simone Biles, Madison Kocian, Ashton Locklear, Kyla Ross, MyKayla Skinner
- 2015 -- gold medal
- Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Brenna Dowell, Madison Kocian, Maggie Nichols, Aly Raisman
Hall of Famers
Six national team gymnasts and one national team coach have been inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame:
- Béla Károlyi (coach) - 1997
- Mary Lou Retton - 1997
- Cathy Rigby - 1997
- Shannon Miller - 2006
- Dominique Dawes - 2009
- Kim Zmeskal - 2012
- Alicia Sacramone - 2017
See also
- Artistic gymnastics in the United States
- United States men's national gymnastics team
References
Source of article : Wikipedia