Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute

Last updated

Chow's
Full nameChow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute
Sport Women's artistic gymnastics
Founded23 August 1998; 25 years ago
League USA Gymnastics
Based in West Des Moines, Iowa
Owner Liang Chow
Head coach Liang Chow
Website chowsgym.com

Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute, commonly referred to as Chow's, [1] is an American women's artistic gymnastics academy based in West Des Moines, Iowa. The academy was founded by Chinese former artistic gymnast Liang Chow. The club has produced Olympic champions, Shawn Johnson and Gabrielle Douglas, and United States national team members such as Norah Flatley and Rachel Gowey.

Contents

History

Foundations and Shawn Johnson

Chow's was opened on August 23, 1998, by former Chinese national gymnast and Iowa Hawkeyes assistant coach Liang Chow and his wife, Liwen Zhuang. [2]

In 2004, Level 10 protegee, Shawn Johnson, finished fourth at the 2004 J.O. Nationals. [3] As a result, she was the first Chow gymnast to make the J.O. National Team. [4]

At the 2005 Level 9 Eastern Championships, Chow's was represented 3 times. [5] [6] [7] [8] Jessa Hansen won two individual medals. [9] Although Chow's didn't have any participants at the 2005 Level 10 J.O. Nationals, Shawn Johnson qualified to Junior International Elite status; the first of any Chow gymnast. [10] In her first competition as an elite, the 2005 U.S. Classic, she finished third in the all-around. [11]

As a result, she qualified to U.S. Nationals. At the competition, Johnson finished tenth in the all-around. [12] Her result at the competition was enough to be named to the Junior National Team – the first of any Chow gymnast. [13] Now a National Team member, she was invited to represent the United States at the 2006 Pacific Alliance Championships, held in Honolulu, Hawaii. She won the individual all-around competition. [14]

Coaching abuse

Former Chow's gymnastics coach Sean Gardner had two complaints against him for touching gymnasts inappropriately, which led to a U.S. Center for SafeSport suspension in July 2022. [15] [16] His suspension led to Chow's firing Gardner. [16] He was later arrested in August 2025 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on child pornography charges. [15] [17] The Associated Press reported that the FBI believed Gardner "targeted children" at Chow's and a previous gym. [16]

Notable Gymnasts and Alumni

Shawn Johnson :

Gabby Douglas :

Norah Flatley :

Rachel Gowey :

References

  1. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : Trailer: New Gymnastics Documentary with Chow's Gymnastics. YouTube .
  2. Park, Alice (July 26, 2012). "Liang Chow's Gymnastics Coaching Journey: From Beijing to West des Moines". Time.
  3. "2004 Level 10 JO National Championships. Apr 30, 2004 - May 02, 2004 Results". meetscoresonline.com. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  4. "USA Gymnastics | Women's Past Development Program National Teams".
  5. Results usagym.org [ dead link ]
  6. Results usagym.org [ dead link ]
  7. Results usagym.org [ dead link ]
  8. "2005 Level 9 JO Western Championships". MyMeetScores.com. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
  9. "Jessa Hansen, Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute". MyMeetScores.com. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
  10. "GymDivas.Us". gymdivas.us. Archived from the original on February 6, 2009. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  11. Results usagym.org [ dead link ]
  12. Results Archived 2015-09-21 at the Wayback Machine
  13. "USA Gymnastics | Women's Past Junior National Teams". Archived from the original on September 1, 2011. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  14. Results usagym.org [ dead link ]
  15. 1 2 "Gymnastics coach arrested on child pornography charges". espn.com. August 19, 2025. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
  16. 1 2 3 Foley, Ryan J. (August 21, 2025). "Gymnast who sparked FBI sex abuse inquiry into coach tells AP she's proud to come forward". apnews.com. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
  17. Morris, William; Robledo, Anthony (August 20, 2025). "Ex-gymnastics coach at prestigious Iowa academy arrested on child porn charges". USA Today . Retrieved August 21, 2025.

41°33′19″N93°44′11″W / 41.5553°N 93.7364°W / 41.5553; -93.7364