Yesterday, 2012 Olympic gold medalist McKayla Maroney added her name to the ever-growing list of gymnasts who allege they were sexually abused by former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar. Maroney is the highest profile athlete to date to come forward; so far, more than 140 women and girls have come forward…
Early this morning, Tatiana Gutsu, the 1992 Olympic all-around champion in women’s gymnastics, took to Facebook to add her voice to the growing #MeToo campaign, where women share their stories of sexual harassment and sexual assault. Gutsu accused fellow 1992 Olympic gold medalist Vitaly Scherbo of raping her when she…
MONTREAL, Canada—Fifteen minutes before the women’s all-around final, Ragan Smith, the U.S. national champion and one of the few remaining favorites left standing—after Larisa Iordache withdrew due to an Achilles tear right before preliminaries and Rebecca Andrade of Brazil went down with an ACL injury during…
MONTREAL, Canada—On Wednesday afternoon, 21-year-old Larisa Iordache strode across the stage set up on the floor of the Olympic Stadium in Montreal just as she was supposed to. She presented herself to the crowd when the Romanian women’s gymnastics team was announced, acknowledged their cheers, and joined the other…
MONTREAL, Canada—Four years of Simone Biles-led dominance basically guaranteed gold medals to the U.S. women’s gymnastics team every time they arrived at a world championships. With the Olympic champion on hiatus from full-time training and competition, what the Americans are left with is gold medal potential. But…
The World Artistic Gymnastics Championships that take place the year after the Olympics have the reputation of being something of a letdown; with the next Olympics three years away, it’s highly unlikely that you’re going to meet the sport’s next mega star there. The 2013 Championships, which marked the senior…
Svetlana Khorkina, one of the greatest Russian gymnasts of all time, was frequently called a diva—a title she fully embraced—throughout most of her career. She earned this appellation for the drama she brought to her performances, especially on the floor exercise, and her outspokenness in the media. (Let’s just say I…
ANAHEIM, Calif.—This national championships was supposed to be the one with at least a little suspense. After all, Simone Biles, the gymnastics juggernaut, was on hiatus from the sport—though she did just announce that she has started working out again—and there were several gymnasts who, at least on paper, seemed to…
ANAHEIM, Calif.—Jordan Chiles is a 16-year-old gymnast from Washington that you’ve probably never heard of. She was too young to vie for a spot on last year’s Olympic team so this year is her first time competing at the national championships in the senior ranks. And when she was competing on balance beam on night two…
ANAHEIM, Calif.—Every year during the national gymnastics championships, there’s a trade show for the members of the sport’s community—many of them gym owners and coaches—who have converged on the competition and the congress. It’s at the trade show that you get to see the range of businesses that service the sport,…
This weekend, someone not named Simone Biles will win the national championship in women’s gymnastics for the first time since 2012. Biles, the winner of five Olympic medals in Rio (four of them gold), has taken 2017 off from training and competition to write a New York Times bestseller, win an ESPY award, and compete…
Ellie Downie broke down in tears after her floor exercise score was announced at today’s European championships in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. It placed her ahead of Zsofia Kovacs of Hungary by a razor-thin margin, giving her the gold in the all-around. The 17-year-old Downie’s title is the first ever all-around win for the…
The theme for most NCAA floor routines is “fun.” This year’s viral floor routine belongs to UCLA’s Hallie Mossett, who performs to a medley of Beyoncé music. Last year’s most popular routine was also performed by a Bruin—Sophina DeJesus dabbed and whipped her way to a profile in the L.A. Times and an appearance on …
Women’s college gymnastics has never had a year like this one. The sport has been shown live on TV for several hours every weekend. Attendance at meets has been steadily climbing every week, with many teams selling out their venues. While much of the media attention, thus far, has been lavished upon the Olympians who…
American gymnasts Simone Biles and Aly Raisman competed for individual medals in the women’s floor exercise today, and as has been the case in most of the women’s gymnastics competitions in Rio, the two Americans smoked the rest of the field.
The United States women’s gymnastics team, which will go down as the best gymnastics team ever assembled, just won the gold medal with a historically dominant performance in the team final.
A year and a half ago, Simone Biles was a last-minute substitute at the 2013 American Cup. There she placed second behind 2011 junior national champion Katelyn Ohashi after losing an early lead with a fall from the beam. At that meet, Biles couldn't win with a fall. But at this weekend's national championship in…
WORCESTER, Mass.—None of the stars from the "Fierce Five," the highly meme-able gold medal team from the London Games, competed in Worcester for the American Cup last weekend. The American Cup is the only international gymnastics competition held in the U.S., but these girls are still on the final leg of London promo:…
On the final day of Olympic gymnastics, American Aly Raisman broke through—winning bronze on the balance beam and then gold, decisively, on the floor. Till now, Raisman had been mainly celebrated for her consistency and leadership: a steady competitor under pressure, with a record of team success and individual…
Who loves Aly Raisman's parents? Lots of you, it seems. Who doesn't? Sweater Guy who had to sit behind her dad during today's floor exercise final. Down in front! [NBC]
