| Challen Sievers | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Challen Kelly Sievers | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented |  United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 19 April 1979 Downers Grove, United States of America | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Rhythmic Gymnastics | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Level | International Elite | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years on national team | 1994–1996 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach(es) | Rossitza Todorova | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | yes | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Challen Kelly Sievers (born 19 April 1979) is a retired American rhythmic gymnast. She was part of the national senior group. [1]
Challen began individual rhythmic gymnastics in 1987 and was a junior national champion in individual competition. [2] She was on the US national rhythmic gymnastics team from 1994 to 1996, being part of the national senior group along Kate Nelson, Lori Fredreickson, Aliane Baquerot, Ginny Ledgerwood, Becky Turner, Brandi Siegel and Mandy James. [3] They all lived together in suburban Chicago largely due to her father, Ron, whose construction firm renovated the house where the gymnasts lived and converted a former racquetball complex into the gym where they trained. [4] They won silver at the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata, and placed second in the group at the 1995 Four Continents Championships. [5]
In the summer of 1996 Mandy, Aliane Baquerot, Kate Nelson, Becky Turner, Brandi Siegel and Mandy James were selected to compete at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, the first edition to feature the group competition. [6] They finished in 9th place and so did not advance to the final. [7] After the Games her father bought the Olympic carpets that were competed on in Atlanta.
Lilia Oleksandrivna Podkopayeva is a Ukrainian former artistic gymnast. She is the 1995 world all-around champion, and the 1996 Olympic all-around and floor exercise champion. Often thought of as a complete athlete, Podkopayeva was known for combining power, style, and balletic grace.
Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon and rope. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coordinated. Rhythmic gymnastics is governed by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), which first recognized it as a sport in 1963. It became an Olympic sport in 1984 with an individual all-around event. The group all-around competition was added to the Olympics in 1996. At the international level, rhythmic gymnastics is a women-only sport. The most prestigious competitions, besides the Olympic Games, are the World Championships, World Games, European Championships, European Games, the World Cup Series and the Grand Prix Series. Gymnasts are judged on their artistry, execution of skills, and difficulty of skills, for which they gain points. They perform leaps, balances, and rotations along with handling the apparatus.
At the 1996 Summer Olympics, two different gymnastics disciplines were contested: artistic gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics. The artistic gymnastics events were held at the Georgia Dome from July 20–25 and July 28–29. The rhythmic gymnastics events were held at Stegeman Coliseum in nearby Athens, on the campus of the University of Georgia from August 1–4.
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Rebecca Ann Turner, known as Becky Turner, is a retired American rhythmic gymnast. She was part of the national senior group.
Katherine O'Donnell Nelson, known as Kate Nelson, is a retired American rhythmic gymnast. She was part of the national senior group.
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