Famous American GymnastsFamous American Gymnasts include:
Women:
Cathy Rigby - Not only was she the first American gymnast to medal at the World Championships, it was her charisma that drew in fans and popularized the sport of gymnastics. With her cute pigtails, graceful dance, and perfect form, captured American audiences in the early seventies.
Marcia Frederick - First American woman to become a World Champion (bars, 1978)
Julianne McNamara - With her difficult and graceful gymnastics, became a popular gymnast throughout the eighties. Her most significant contribution to American gymnastics came at the 1984 Olympic Games, where she became the first American woman to win an Olympic Gold medal on an individual event.
Mary Lou Retton - Even though it's been more than twenty years since Mary Lou Retton's triumph in the 1984 Olympic Games, she remains a household name. The small gymnast with a big personality made history when she became the first American to win the All-Around title at the Olympic Games. At the same competition, she took home four additional medals, including two silver and two bronze.
Kim Zmeskal - First American to win a World All-Around Title (1991); 3-time US National Champion
Kerri Strug - One of only a few American gymnasts to compete at more than one Olympic Games, Strug's moment of glory came late in her career, at the 1996
Olympics. In a tight race for the gold between the United States and
Russia, Strug was slotted to compete last on the final event, the vault, where her performance would be essential for a team win. However after falling and hurting her leg on her first attempt, it appeared that the Olympic gold medal was in jeopardy. But in a heroic second vault, Strug was near perfect, landing on only one foot. Her efforts helped the clinch the first team Olympic gold medal for the United States.
Carly Patterson - Given Carly Patterson's immense talent, her transition from Junior National All-Around Champion to Olympic gold medalist was almost seamless. In the 2004 All-Around competition at the Olympic Games, she beat out Russian veteran gymnast Svetlana Khorkina to become the first American to win the Olympic gold medal in a non-boycotted games.
Shannon Miller - 2-time Olympic Gold Medalist (1996); Back-to-back World All-Around Champion (1993, 1994). One of the most decorated American gymnasts of all time, has won seven Olympic medals and nine World Championships medals. Seventh in individual medal production among all elite female gymnasts world wide. Shannon was well-known for her tricky skills across all four events.
Dominique Moceanu - The youngest Senior National Champion ever (age 13); Youngest gymnast to qualify to the junior national team (age 10)
Dominique Dawes - Dawes, an Olympic champion had won the team gold with the Magnificent Seven in 1996, and qualified to three Olympic teams in all. Dominique won all four events and the all-around at the 1994 US Nationals. A three-time Olympian, She represented the US in the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Games and won three Olympic medals.
Nastia Liukin - 9-time World Medalist; 5-time Olympic Medalist; 2008 Olympic All-Around Champion
Shawn Johnson - 2007 World and US Champion; 2008 4-time Olympic Medalist
Men:
Bart Conner - Dominating American gymnastics during the 1970s, Bart Conner won a gold medal at every level of competition including the World Championships and the Olympic Games.
Kurt Thomas - The first, and only one of two gymnasts to win the Sullivan award. Three gold and three silver medals in World Championships inclusive of Silver All-Around in 1979. Introduced the "Flair" on PH and has three elements named for him in the FIG's Code of Points.
Paul Hamm - Hamm became the first US man to become World All-Around Champion in 2003 and won the Olympic all-around title as well in 2004. Paul Hamm has done it all in the sport of gymnastics, and was training for more gold in 2008 before an injury derailed him.