History

There are many people in the history of gymnastics. Here are a few people and what they did...

Larissa Latynina

Larissa won 18 medals at the Olympics. She won nine gold, five silver, and four bronze. The amount she won at the Olympics is a record for any sport. Larissa was a member of the Soviet Team. In 1957 at the European Championships she won all five individual events. She placed first in the floor exercise, uneven bars, balance beam, vault, and all-around. After her retirement she began coaching for the Soviet Teams and helped plan the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics.

Peter Vidmar

Peter was born in 1961. In 1984 at the Olympics in Los Angeles, California, Peter served as captain of the men's U.S. Team. At the games the team won the gold medal. This victory was the first team competition medal won since 1932. Vidmar went to college at The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). In 1980 and 1982 he won the United States National Title in the all-around, and in 1983 and 1984 he won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Title in the all-around. Vidmar was put in the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1991.

Nadia Comenaci

Nadia was born on November 12, 1961 in Onesti, Romania. Nadia was a favorite of fans and the press at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. There she won three gold medals and a bronze medal in an individual competition, and a silver medal for the Romanian team's second-place finish. Because Nadia was born in Onesti, she was noticed by the Romanian coach Bela Karolyi. In 1970 she won the national junior title and many other titles until she began senior competition in 1975. In 1975 she entered the European championships winning the all-around title and three individual events.

In 1976 she came to the United States for the first time. Here she won several pre- Olympic titles, often earning perfect scores or 10.00's. During the Olympics she became the first person to score a 10.00 from the judges on the uneven bars. She led Romania to the silver medal in the team competition. They finished behind the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics(USSR). She took individual gold medals in the uneven bars and the balance beam and also won the all-around competition. Nadia went on to compete in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. There she won individual gold medals in the floor exercise and the balance beam. In 1989 she defected from Romania to the United States. In 1996 she married American gymnast, Bart Conner. Bart won two gold medals at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Shannon Miller

Shannon Miller was born in Rolla, Missouri, but was raised in Edmond, Oklahoma. She started at a young age which we all have to do to become good at anything. In 1900 she earned a spot on the United States National Team. She won and got very close to winning at many competitions at an early age. Miller won all-around in the 1992 U.S. Olympic trials. But she finished second in the Olympic games. She won a silver on the balance beam and bronze on floor and uneven bars including the team competition. At the 1993 World Championships in Birmingham, England, Miller won gold medals in the all-around, the floor exercises, and the uneven bars. At the 1994 World Championships in Brisbane, Australia, she won the all-around and also won the gold medal on the balance beam. She was the first American to win consecutive World Championship gold medals in the all-around.

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