85-614: The USA Gymnastics National Championships is the annual artistic gymnastics national competition held in the United States for elite-level competition. It is currently organized by USA Gymnastics , the governing body for gymnastics in the United States. The national championships have been held since 1963. Before 1970, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) was the national governing body for gymnastics, so
170-726: A Maloney on the uneven bars and landed off the mats, bruising her knees. This occurred shortly after teammate McKayla Maroney injured herself performing a flyaway dismount on the same bars. Raisman was given the honor of igniting the 2013 Maccabiah Games flame in Jerusalem . In 2013, she was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame . She attended Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts in 2013 before returning to her professional career. In 2014, Raisman returned to gymnastics at
255-419: A springboard . Harnessing the energy of the spring, the gymnast directs their body hands-first toward the vault. Body position is maintained while "popping" (blocking using only a shoulder movement) the vaulting platform. The gymnast then rotates their body to land standing on the far side of the vault. In advanced gymnastics, multiple twists and somersaults may be added before landing. Successful vaults depend on
340-608: A "low beam" close to the floor. By the 1920s, the beam was raised much higher due to Swedish influence on the sport. Gymnasts perform routines ranging from 70 to 90 seconds long, consisting of leaps, acrobatic skills, turns, and dance elements on a padded spring beam. Apparatus norms set by the FIG specify that the beam must be 125 cm (4 ft) high, 500 cm (16 ft) long, and 10 cm (3.9 in) wide. The event requires balance, flexibility, and strength. Of all gymnastics apparatuses—men's or women's—balance beam has proven
425-581: A 90-second choreographed routine to instrumental music. Their routines include tumbling passes, jumps, dance elements, acrobatic skills, and turns. Elite gymnasts may perform up to four tumbling passes. On the men's side, the gymnasts who have won the most Olympic or World Championship titles on floor are Marian Drăgulescu of Romania, with four (along with Roland Brückner , if the Alternate Olympics are included). Ihor Korobchynskyi , Vitaly Scherbo , and Kenzō Shirai have three titles each. On
510-403: A circular motion (clockwise or counterclockwise, depending on preference). To make the exercise more challenging, gymnasts will often include variations on typical circling skills by turning ("moores" and "spindles") or by straddling their legs ( "flares" ). Routines end when the gymnast performs a dismount by swinging his body over the horse or landing after a handstand. The gymnasts who have won
595-476: A few decades. For male gymnasts, the Olympic order is: For female gymnasts, the Olympic order is: The vault is both an event and the primary equipment used in that event. Unlike most gymnastic events employing apparatuses, the vault is standard in men's and women's competitions, with little difference. A gymnast sprints down a runway, which is a maximum of 25 m (82 ft) in length, before leaping onto
680-478: A firm surface that will respond with force when compressed, allowing gymnasts to achieve extra height and a softer landing than possible on a regular floor. Men perform without music for 60 to 70 seconds and must touch each floor corner at least once during their routine. Their routines include tumbling passes demonstrating flexibility, strength, balance, and power. They must also show non-acrobatic skills, including circles, scales, and press handstands. Women perform
765-474: A larger blocking surface—and is, therefore, safer than the old vaulting horse. This new, safer apparatus led gymnasts to attempt more difficult vaults. On the men's side, the gymnasts who have won the most Olympic or World Championship titles on vault are Marian Drăgulescu of Romania and Ri Se-gwang of North Korea, with four titles each. Yang Hak-seon , Eugen Mack , Alexei Nemov , Vitaly Scherbo , Li Xiaopeng , and Lou Yun have each won three titles. On
850-746: A scholarship to the University of Florida by signing with the Octagon sports management firm. At the beginning of March, Raisman competed at the American Cup in New York City , placing second behind Jordyn Wieber . Then at the end of March, she competed at the City of Jesolo Trophy , where she finished second in the all-around and helped the American team win the gold medal. She then won
935-657: A team event, women's gymnastics entered the Olympics in 1928 and the World Championships in 1950 . Individual women were recognized in the all-around as early as the 1934 World Championships. The existing women's program—all-around and event finals on the vault , uneven bars , balance beam , and floor exercise —was introduced at the 1950 World Championships and at the 1952 Summer Olympics . The earliest champions in women's gymnastics tended to be in their 20s, and most had studied ballet for years before entering
SECTION 10
#17327871642721020-425: Is 4–3–3, meaning that of the four gymnasts on the team, three compete in each event, and all three scores count. In the all-around finals (abbreviated AA), gymnasts compete individually in all four or six events; their totals determine the all-around medals. Only two gymnasts per country may advance to the all-around finals from the qualification round. In the event finals (abbreviated EF) or apparatus finals ,
1105-423: Is 4–4–3, meaning that all four gymnasts compete in each event, but only the top three scores count. Individual gymnasts may qualify for the all-around and event finals, but their scores do not count toward the team's total. In the team finals (abbreviated TF), gymnasts compete with their national squad on all four or six events. The scores from the session determine the medalists in the team competition. The format
1190-585: Is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different types of apparatus. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which assigns the Code of Points used to score performances and regulates all aspects of elite international competition. Within individual countries, gymnastics is regulated by national federations such as British Gymnastics and USA Gymnastics . Artistic gymnastics
1275-581: Is a popular spectator sport at many competitions, including the Summer Olympic Games . The gymnastic system was mentioned in writings by ancient authors, including Homer , Aristotle , and Plato . It included many disciplines that later became independent sports, such as swimming, racing , wrestling , boxing , and horse riding . It was also used for military training. Gymnastics evolved in Bohemia and what later became Germany at
1360-554: Is a tie between Alicia Sacramone , who won six women's vault competitions from 2005 to 2008, 2010, and 2012, and Simone Biles, who won six women's vault competitions from 2014 to 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2021. *Unofficial national champion In recent years, the USA Gymnastics National Championships have been sponsored by various companies, and the event is typically named for the sponsoring company. Artistic gymnastics Artistic gymnastics
1445-473: Is an American retired artistic gymnast and two-time Olympian. She was captain of both the 2012 " Fierce Five " and 2016 " Final Five " U.S. women's Olympic gymnastics teams, which won their respective team competitions. At the 2012 Olympics in London , she won gold medals in the team and floor competitions, as well as the bronze medal on the balance beam , making her the most decorated American gymnast at
1530-427: Is held by Sam Mikulak , who won six competitions from 2013 to 2016 and 2018 to 2019. Blaine Wilson won five consecutive times from 1996 to 2000. Joan Moore Gnat and John Roethlisberger have both won four times. Kurt Thomas , Kim Zmeskal , Paul Hamm and Brody Malone each won three times. The record for most individual titles across all events is Simone Biles , with twenty. The record for most titles in one event
1615-504: The 2008 Olympics , the silver medalist on vault, Oksana Chusovitina , was a 33-year-old mother. By the 2016 Olympics , the average age of female gymnasts was over 20, and it was almost 22 at the 2020 Olympics . Both male and female gymnasts are judged for execution, degree of difficulty , and overall presentation. In many competitions, especially high-level ones sanctioned by the FIG, gymnasts compete in " Olympic order ", which has changed over time but has stayed consistent for at least
1700-674: The City of Jesolo Trophy in Jesolo , Italy , and won the all-around gold medal. At the Pacific Rim Championships in Melbourne , she helped the American team win the gold medal and placed second in the all-around competition. In the event finals, she placed seventh on uneven bars , second on balance beam, and second on floor exercise. In July, Raisman placed fifth at the U.S. Classic in Chicago . She then competed at
1785-609: The Pan American Championships in Aracaju , Brazil. She helped the American team win the gold medal, and she placed third in the all-around. In the event finals, she won gold medals on the vault and floor exercise. Raisman made her senior debut at the American Cup in Worcester, Massachusetts . She placed second behind Rebecca Bross with an all-around score of 58.900. Later that month, she competed at
SECTION 20
#17327871642721870-580: The all-around final , she placed second with a total score of 60.098, earning a silver medal, behind Biles and ahead of Russia's Aliya Mustafina . Then in the floor exercise final, Raisman again finished second behind Biles, with a score of 15.500, bringing her to a total of six Olympic medals. This made her the second most decorated American Olympic gymnast at the time, behind Shannon Miller . The 2016 Olympic Games were Raisman's final competition, and she officially announced her retirement on January 14, 2020. In November 2017, Raisman came forward as one of
1955-404: The individual all-around final , fifth to the balance beam final, and first to the floor exercise final. In the team final, she contributed scores of 14.933 on the balance beam and 15.300 on the floor exercise toward the American team's first-place finish. In the individual all-around, she finished with a total of 59.566, tying with Aliya Mustafina of Russia for third place. However, she lost
2040-458: The many victims sexually abused by the former Olympic team physician, Larry Nassar , starting from the age of 15. On January 19, 2018, she was one of several victims that read impact statements at Nassar's sentencing. On February 28, 2018, she filed a lawsuit against USA Gymnastics and the USOC, claiming both organizations "knew or should have known" about the ongoing abuse. On May 16, 2018, it
2125-498: The qualification round (abbreviated TQ), gymnasts compete with their national squad in all four (WAG) or six (MAG) events. The scores from this session are not used to award medals but rather to determine which teams advance to the team finals and which individual gymnasts advance to the all-around and event finals. For the 2020 Olympics , teams will consist of four gymnasts, with up to two additional gymnasts per country allowed to compete as individuals. The format of team qualifications
2210-552: The Alternate Olympics are included. The parallel bars consist of two bars slightly further than shoulder-width apart and usually 1.75 m (5.7 ft) high. Gymnasts execute a series of swings, balancing moves, and releases that require strength and coordination. The gymnasts who have won the most Olympic and/or World Championship titles on parallel bars are Vladimir Artemov of the Soviet Union (5, including
2295-603: The Alternate Olympics are included. The uneven bars (known as asymmetric bars in the UK) were adapted by the Czechoslovakian Sokol from the men's parallel bars sometime before World War I and were shown in international exhibition for the first time at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. They consist of two horizontal bars set at different heights. Gymnasts perform swings, pirouettes, transition moves between
2380-474: The Alternate Olympics) and Li Xiaopeng and Zou Jingyuan of China (4). Li Jing and Vitaly Scherbo have each won three titles. The horizontal bar (also known as the high bar) is a 2.4 cm (0.94 in) thick steel bar raised 2.5 m (8.2 ft) above the ground. The gymnast performs 'giants' (360-degree revolutions around the bar), release skills, twists, and direction changes. Using
2465-527: The Code of Points and evolving popular opinion in the sport, led to the return of older gymnasts. While there are still gymnasts who are successful as teenagers, it is common to see gymnasts competing and winning medals well into their 20s. At the 2004 Olympics , women captained both the second-place American team and the third-place Russians in their mid-20s; several other teams, including those from Australia, France, and Canada, included older gymnasts as well. At
2550-620: The Code of Points and the gymnast's strengths, compulsory routines were created and choreographed by the FIG Technical Committee. The dance and tumbling skills were generally less demanding than those in optional routines, but perfect technique, form, and execution were heavily emphasized. Scoring was exacting, with judges taking deductions for even slight deviations from the required choreography. For this reason, many gymnasts and coaches considered compulsories more challenging than optionals. Compulsory exercises were eliminated at
2635-529: The Games. At the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro , she won a gold medal in the team event , making her and teammate Gabby Douglas the only Americans with back-to-back team gold medals. Raisman also won silver medals in the individual all-around and on the floor exercise . She is the third-most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history behind Shannon Miller and Simone Biles , with six Olympic medals. Raisman
USA Gymnastics National Championships - Misplaced Pages Continue
2720-647: The National Championships in Hartford, Connecticut , and placed third in the all-around. She also placed third on the balance beam and on the floor exercise. In October, Raisman competed at the 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam . In the team finals, she competed on the vault, balance beam, and floor exercise, and helped the American team win the silver medal by only 0.201 points behind Russia. She then placed thirteenth in
2805-532: The October national training camp, her first since the Olympics. Longtime coach Mihai Brestyan had Raisman do a year of conditioning before allowing her to return to any apparatus. After the November training camp, she was named again to the U.S. National Team, along with Olympic teammate Gabby Douglas . Raisman made her comeback to competition at the City of Jesolo Trophy in late March. There, she received
2890-764: The Olympics. Raisman began competing as an elite gymnast in 2009. She competed at the American Classic in San Diego , where she placed tenth in the all-around. Then in July, she competed at the U.S. Classic in Des Moines, Iowa , and placed twelfth in the all-around. At the National Championships in Dallas , she won the bronze medal in the all-around. She made her international debut at
2975-459: The Trials, she was named to the 2016 U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics team alongside Biles, Douglas, Hernandez, and Madison Kocian . Raisman and Douglas were the first U.S. women since 2000 to make back-to-back Olympic gymnastics teams. Raisman was again the oldest and named captain of the team. During the first night of the women's gymnastics competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics , Raisman and
3060-465: The all-around behind both Biles and Douglas, missing the final due to the two-per-country rule. In the team final, the American team won the gold medal by over five points ahead of China. Raisman started the year at the City of Jesolo Trophy in March and finished sixth in the all-around. She finished first on the floor exercise, beating teammate Ragan Smith by half a point. She also finished third on
3145-553: The all-around final after struggling on the uneven bars. She finished fourth in the floor exercise final, missing out on a medal by 0.050 points. In March, Raisman placed third at the American Cup in Jacksonville, Florida , behind Jordyn Wieber and Aliya Mustafina . Later that month, she placed third in the all-around at the City of Jesolo Trophy and helped the American team win the gold medal. She also won bronze on
3230-634: The all-around title at the U.S. Classic in Chicago. In June, Raisman competed at the National Championships in St. Louis . She placed third in the all-around and finished first on balance beam and on floor exercise. At the beginning of July, Raisman placed third all-around at the Olympic Trials in San Jose, California . She also placed first on both the balance beam and floor exercise. Afterward, she
3315-540: The all-around, behind Biles and Maggie Nichols . Raisman was selected to compete at the World Championships in Glasgow alongside Simone Biles , Gabby Douglas , Brenna Dowell , Madison Kocian , Maggie Nichols , and MyKayla Skinner . During the qualification round, she helped the American team qualify for the team final in first place. However, Raisman fell off the uneven bars and finished fifth in
3400-467: The all-around. The team event is not contested in other meets, such as on the World Cup circuit . Since 1989, competitions have used the "new life" rule, under which scores from one session do not carry over to the next. In other words, a gymnast's performance in team finals does not affect their scores in the all-around finals or event finals, and marks from the team qualifying round do not count toward
3485-407: The balance beam, behind Smith and Laurie Hernandez . At the Pacific Rim Championships , Raisman won gold with the U.S. team and the silver medal in the all-around, behind teammate Simone Biles . She won a second silver medal on the balance beam, behind Smith, and gold on the floor exercise. She then won the U.S. Classic in Hartford by nearly one point ahead of Rachel Gowey despite a fall off
USA Gymnastics National Championships - Misplaced Pages Continue
3570-408: The bars, and releases. Higher-level gymnasts usually wear leather grips to ensure a firm hold on the bars while protecting their hands from painful blisters and tears (known as rips). Gymnasts sometimes wet their grips with water from a spray bottle and may apply chalk to prevent the grips from slipping. Chalk may also be applied to the hands and bar if grips are not worn. The gymnasts who have won
3655-399: The beginning of the 19th century. The term "artistic gymnastics" was introduced to distinguish freestyle performances from those used by the military. The German educator Friedrich Ludwig Jahn , who was known as the father of gymnastics, invented several apparatus, including the horizontal bar and parallel bars . Two of the first gymnastics clubs were Turnvereins and Sokols . The FIG
3740-489: The bronze in a tie-breaker and placed fourth. (The tie-breaker counted the three highest apparatus scores; Mustafina's totaled 45.933 and Raisman's totaled 45.366.) In the balance beam final , Raisman won the bronze medal. She initially scored 14.966, but after Márta Károlyi requested a video review, the judges re-evaluated and granted Raisman's routine an extra tenth in difficulty. As a result, she scored 15.066, matching Romania 's Cătălina Ponor for third place, and won
3825-565: The end of 1996. The move was highly controversial, with many successful gymnastics federations—including the United States, Russia, and China—arguing that the compulsory exercises helped maintain a high standard of form, technique, and execution among gymnasts. Opponents of compulsory exercises believed that they harmed emerging gymnastics programs. Some members of the gymnastics community still argue that compulsories should be reinstated, and many gymnastics federations have maintained compulsories in their national programs. Often, gymnasts competing at
3910-431: The first female gymnast since Kim Zmeskal (1990, 1991, and 1992) to win the all-around 3 consecutive times. In the individual events, Biles won on both vault and balance beam, Madison Kocian won on uneven bars, and Raisman won on floor exercise. In the men's all-around, the top three finishers were Sam Mikulak , Donnell Whittenburg , and Chris Brooks . This was Mikulak's third consecutive all-around title, and he became
3995-496: The first male gymnast since Blaine Wilson (1996–1999) to win the all-around four times consecutively. In the individual events, Dalton won on floor exercise and vault, Eddie Penev won on pommel horse, Donnell Whittenburg won on rings, Brooks won on parallel bars, and Paul Ruggeri won on high bar. The women's record, and overall record, of nine titles is held by Simone Biles , who won from 2013 to 2016, 2018 to 2019, 2021 and 2023 to 2024. The record for most men's all-around titles
4080-438: The first male gymnast since Paul Hamm (2002, 2003, and 2004) to win the all-around 3 consecutive times. In the individual events, Steven Legendre won on floor exercise, Alex Naddour won on pommel horse, Whittenburg won on still rings, Mikulak won on both vault and parallel bars, and Brooks won on high bar. In 2016, the top three finishers in the women's all-around were Simone Biles , Aly Raisman , and Laurie Hernandez . It
4165-657: The floor and adjusted in height so the gymnast has room to hang freely and swing. Gymnasts must demonstrate balance, strength, power, and dynamic motion while preventing the rings themselves from swinging. At least one static strength move is required, but some gymnasts include two or three. The gymnasts who have won the most Olympic and/or World Championship titles on still rings are Jury Chechi of Italy (6) and Chen Yibing of China (5). Nikolai Andrianov , Albert Azaryan , Alexander Dityatin , Alois Hudec , Akinori Nakayama , Eleftherios Petrounias , and Liu Yang each have at least three such titles, as does Dmitry Bilozerchev if
4250-540: The floor exercise final in second place behind Biles. On the second day of competition in the team final, Raisman competed on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise to help secure the gold medal for the U.S. team and defend the title she earned with the Fierce Five in 2012. At the end of the competition, she and her teammates dubbed themselves " The Final Five ", because they were the last Olympic team Marta Karolyi would name before she retired as team coordinator. In
4335-417: The focus of a documentary on Comcast SportsNet titled: Aly Raisman: Quest for Gold . She was filmed for nine months, from the 2011 World Championships until the 2012 Olympic Trials. Along with the rest of the U.S. women's Olympic gymnastics team, she was featured on the cover of the July 18, 2012, issue of Sports Illustrated . This was the first time an entire Olympic gymnastics team had been featured on
SECTION 50
#17327871642724420-471: The gold medal with the U.S. team and won individual bronze medals in the all-around (behind Simone Biles and Bailie Key ) and the floor exercise (behind Biles and Erika Fasana of Italy). Then in July, she competed at the U.S. Classic. She finished fifth in the all-around after falling on a new tumbling pass on the floor exercise. At the National Championships in Indianapolis , she finished third in
4505-630: The lower levels of the sport—for instance, Levels 2-5 in USA Gymnastics, Grade 2 in South Africa, and Levels 3–6 in Australia—only perform compulsory routines. Artistic gymnasts compete only with other gymnasts at their level. Each athlete starts at the lowest level and advances to higher levels by learning more complex skills and achieving qualifying scores at competitions. Aly Raisman Alexandra Rose Raisman (born May 25, 1994)
4590-508: The magazine's cover. Raisman and fellow Olympic teammate Simone Biles appeared in the 2017 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue . She also participated in the 2018 edition to show empowerment for women following the Nassar abuse scandal. In November 2017, Raisman released her memoir book: Fierce: How Competing for Myself Changed Everything . She had a cameo in the 2019 Charlie's Angels reboot film. Raisman's first major endorsement deal
4675-486: The minimum age for senior international competition from 14 to 15. However, the change, which came into effect two years later, did not eliminate the problem. By the time of the 1992 Summer Olympics , elite gymnasts consisted almost exclusively of "pixies" – underweight young teenagers – and concerns were raised about athletes' welfare. In 1997, the FIG responded to this trend by raising the minimum age for international elite competition to 16. This, combined with changes in
4760-496: The momentum from giants, enough height can be achieved for spectacular dismounts, such as a triple-back somersault. Leather grips are usually used to help maintain a hold on the bar. The gymnast who has won the most Olympic and World Championship titles on the horizontal bar is Epke Zonderland of the Netherlands, with four titles. Zou Kai , Leon Štukelj , and Takashi Ono have each won three, as has Dmitry Bilozerchev if
4845-423: The most Olympic and/or World Championship titles on pommel horse are Miroslav Cerar of Yugoslavia, Zoltán Magyar of Hungary, and Max Whitlock of Great Britain, with five titles each. Krisztián Berki , Dmitry Bilozerchev , Pae Gil-su , Xiao Qin , Boris Shakhlin , and Marius Urzică , have won at least three titles apiece. The still rings are suspended on wire cable from a point 5.8 m (19 ft) off
4930-405: The most Olympic and/or World Championship titles on uneven bars are Svetlana Khorkina of Russia (7) and Maxi Gnauck of East Germany (5, including the Alternate Olympics). Daniela Silivaș of Romania and Nina Derwael of Belgium have each won three titles. Aliya Mustafina won back-to-back uneven bar Olympic titles in 2012 and 2016. The balance beam existed as early as the 1880s in the form of
5015-479: The most difficult on which to win multiple Olympic and World Championship titles. Simone Biles has four World titles on this event, and there are only two other gymnasts to have won three Championship titles in total for Olympic and Worlds — Nadia Comăneci and Daniela Silivaș of Romania. In Olympic and World Championship competitions, meets are divided into several sessions on different days: qualifications, team finals, all-around finals, and event finals. During
5100-518: The national championships from 1963 to 1969 were run under the auspices of that organization. The first USA Gymnastics national championships were held in Park Ridge, Illinois , in June 1963. Since then, the event has been held each year, usually over several days during the summer. In 2012, the top three finishers in the women's all-around were Jordyn Wieber , Gabby Douglas , and Aly Raisman . It
5185-436: The rest of the U.S. team qualified into the team final in first place with a score of 185.238, almost 10 points ahead of the second-place qualifying team. Individually, Raisman qualified second to the all-around final (with a score of 60.607, behind teammate Biles), just edging out defending Olympic all-around winner Douglas who placed third behind Raisman but was bumped due to the two-per-country rule. Raisman also qualified for
SECTION 60
#17327871642725270-479: The second day. Team medals were determined based on the combined scores of both days, as were the qualifiers to the all-around and event finals. However, the all-around and event finals did not include compulsory routines. In meets where team titles were not contested, such as the American Cup , there were two days of all-around competition: one for compulsories and another for optionals. While each gymnast and their coach developed optional routines in accordance with
5355-476: The speed of the run, the length of the hurdle, the power the gymnast generates from the legs and shoulder girdle, kinesthetic awareness in the air, and the speed of rotation in the case of more challenging and complex vaults. In 2004, the traditional vaulting horse was replaced with a new apparatus, sometimes known as a tongue or table. It is more stable, wider, and longer than the older vaulting horse—about 1 m (3.3 ft) in length and width, giving gymnasts
5440-421: The sport. Larisa Latynina , the first great Soviet gymnast, won her first Olympic all-around medal at age 22 and her second at 26; she became world champion in 1958 while pregnant. Věra Čáslavská of Czechoslovakia, who followed Latynina and became a two-time Olympic all-around champion, was 22 when she won her first Olympic gold medal. In the 1970s, the average age of Olympic gymnasts began to decrease. While it
5525-414: The team finals. Before this rule was introduced, the scores from the team competition carried over into the all-around and event finals. Final results and medal placement were determined by combining the following scores: Until 1997, the team competition consisted of two sessions, with every gymnast performing standardized compulsory routines in the preliminaries and individualized optional routines on
5610-529: The tie-breaker, which prioritized execution score over difficulty score. In the floor exercise final , Raisman placed first with a score of 15.600, becoming the first American woman to win a gold medal on the floor exercise. She performed to the tune of " Hava Nagila ". In September 2012, Raisman was injured during the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions in Ontario, California . She fell while performing
5695-419: The top eight gymnasts in each event (as determined by scores in the qualification round) compete for medals. Only two gymnasts per country may advance to each event final. Competitions other than the Olympics and World Championships may use different formats. For instance, the 2007 Pan American Games had only one team competition day with a 6–5–4 format, and three athletes per country were allowed to advance to
5780-413: The top three finishers in the women's all-around were Simone Biles , Kyla Ross , and Brenna Dowell . In the individual events, Ross won on uneven bars and balance beam and her Olympic teammate McKayla Maroney won on vault and floor exercise; Biles swept the silver medals in each event. In the men's all-around, the top three finishers were Sam Mikulak , Alexander Naddour , and Jacob Dalton . In 2014,
5865-402: The top three finishers in the women's all-around were Simone Biles , Kyla Ross , and Maggie Nichols . It was Biles's second consecutive all-around title. In the individual events, Biles won on both vault and floor exercise, Ross won on balance beam, and Ashton Locklear won on uneven bars. In the men's all-around, the top three finishers were Sam Mikulak , John Orozco , and Jacob Dalton . It
5950-462: The uneven bars. In June, Raisman competed at the National Championships . She scored 60.450 on the first night and 60.650 on the second, finishing in second place behind Biles. She also placed second on the balance beam and floor exercise behind Biles. At the Olympic Trials in July, she scored a total of 119.750 over two nights, putting her in third place behind Biles and Hernandez. After
6035-558: The vault and gold on the balance beam and floor exercise. In July, she won the all-around at the U.S. Classic in Chicago and debuted her Amanar vault. She then competed at the National Championships in Saint Paul, Minnesota , and placed third in the all-around. She also won the bronze medal on the floor exercise. Raisman was selected to compete at the World Championships in Tokyo . She became team captain after Alicia Sacramone
6120-418: The women's side, Simone Biles of the United States has the most titles with seven, followed by Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union with four. Gina Gogean , Daniela Silivaș , and Nellie Kim have three titles each. A typical pommel horse exercise involves both single-leg and double-leg work. Single-leg skills are generally found in the form of "scissors". In double leg work, the gymnast swings both legs in
6205-433: The women's side, Věra Čáslavská of Czechoslovakia and Simone Biles of the United States are tied for the most titles, with four. Simona Amânar , Cheng Fei , Elena Zamolodchikova , and Rebeca Andrade have each won three. The floor event occurs on a carpeted 12 m × 12 m (39 ft × 39 ft) square consisting of rigid foam over a layer of plywood supported by springs or foam blocks. This provides
6290-463: Was Biles's fourth consecutive all-around title, and she became the first female gymnast since Joan Moore-Gnat (1971–1974) to win the all-around 4 times consecutively. In the individual events, Biles won on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise, and Ashton Locklear won on uneven bars. In the men's all-around, the top three finishers were Sam Mikulak , Chris Brooks , and Jake Dalton . This was Mikulak's fourth consecutive all-around title, and he became
6375-458: Was Mikulak's second consecutive all-around title. In the individual events, Dalton won on floor exercise, Mikulak won on pommel horse, Brandon Wynn won on still rings, Donnell Whittenburg won on vault, Danell Leyva won on parallel bars, and Orozco won on high bar. In 2015 , the top three finishers in the women's all-around were Simone Biles , Maggie Nichols , and Aly Raisman . It was Biles's third consecutive all-around title, and she became
6460-499: Was Wieber's second consecutive all-around title. In the individual events, Douglas won on uneven bars, Raisman won on balance beam and floor, and Sacramone won on vault. In the men's all-around, the top three finishers were John Orozco , Danell Leyva , and Sam Mikulak . It was Orozco's first all-around title. Leyva won on parallel bars and high bar, Jacob Dalton won on floor, Alexander Naddour won on pommel horse, Jonathan Horton won on rings, and Sean Senters won on vault. In 2013,
6545-454: Was a contestant on season 16 of Dancing With the Stars and finished in fourth place with two-time champion Mark Ballas . She also made an appearance with the rest of the Fierce Five during the previous season of DWTS, when she appeared during a freestyle dance with 2008 Olympic gold medal winner Shawn Johnson and Johnson's partner that season, Derek Hough . In July 2012, Raisman was
6630-463: Was also a member of the gold-winning American teams at the 2011 and 2015 World Championships , and the World bronze medalist on floor exercise in 2011. She is also a two-time national champion on floor exercise (2012, 2015), the 2012 national champion on balance beam, and a five-time medalist in the all-around at the national championships (silver in 2016, bronze in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2015). Raisman
6715-559: Was announced that Raisman and the other survivors of the USA Gymnastics sexual abuse scandal would be awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award . She appeared in the Maroon 5 music video " Girls Like You " featuring Cardi B , wearing a T-shirt with the words "Always Speak Your Truth". On September 24, 2021, Aly Raisman: Darkness to Light , a documentary on her healing from the sexual abuse, aired on Lifetime . Raisman
6800-570: Was born on May 25, 1994, in the Boston suburb of Needham, Massachusetts , to Lynn, a former high school gymnast, and Rick Raisman. She has three younger siblings: Brett, Chloe, and Madison. Raisman is Jewish with roots in Romania . In 2016, she said, "I take a lot of pride in being able to not only represent the U.S.A, but also the Jewish community everywhere." Raisman began gymnastics when she
6885-449: Was chosen as a member of the team that would be sent to the 2012 Summer Olympics alongside Gabby Douglas , McKayla Maroney , Kyla Ross , and Jordyn Wieber . Raisman was the oldest at 18 and was named captain of the team. At the end of July, Raisman competed at the Olympics in London . She helped the American team (nicknamed the " Fierce Five ") qualify in first place to the team final. Individually, she qualified in second place to
6970-498: Was eighteen months old. She attributes her initial love for the sport to the " Magnificent Seven ", the gold medal-winning U.S. women's team at the 1996 Summer Olympics , whose performances she watched on VHS . She trained at Exxcel Gymnastics and Climbing until age ten, when she moved to Brestyan's American Gymnastics Club under coaches Mihai and Silvia Brestyan. Raisman graduated from Needham High School in 2012, after completing her senior year via online classes while training for
7055-889: Was founded in 1881 and remains the governing body of international gymnastics. The organization began with three countries and was called the European Gymnastics Federation until 1921, when the first non-European countries joined, and it was reorganized into its modern form. Gymnastics was included in the 1896 Summer Olympics , but female gymnasts were not allowed to participate in the Olympics until 1928 . The World Artistic Gymnastics Championships , held since 1903, were only open to men until 1934 . Since then, two branches of artistic gymnastics have developed: women's artistic gymnastics (WAG) and men's artistic gymnastics (MAG). Unlike men's and women's branches of many other sports, WAG and MAG differ significantly in technique and apparatuses used at major competitions. As
7140-403: Was injured before the competition. She led the American team to the gold medal by over four points ahead of Russia. Individually, she placed fourth in the all-around after falling off the uneven bars. In the event finals, she placed fourth on the balance beam and won the bronze medal on the floor exercise. In November, Raisman became a professional athlete, giving up her NCAA eligibility and
7225-428: Was not unheard of for teenagers to compete in the 1960s – Ludmilla Tourischeva was 16 at her first Olympics in 1968 – younger female gymnasts slowly became the norm as the sport's difficulty increased. Smaller, lighter girls generally excelled in the more challenging acrobatic elements required by the redesigned Code of Points . The 58th Congress of the FIG – held in July 1980, just before the Olympics – decided to raise
#271728