Gymnastics events have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1896, [1] but women's events first appeared in 1928. American female gymnasts have participated in every Olympic Games since 1936, except for 1980. [2] A total of 90 female gymnasts have represented the United States. American women have won 62 medals at the Olympics – 11 in team all-around, 11 in individual all-around, 7 in vault, 10 in uneven bars, 11 in balance beam, and 12 in floor exercise. The medals include 19 golds. The U.S. has medaled in the team all-around in every Summer Olympics since 1992, winning golds in 1996, 2012, 2016, and 2024.
Eight American female gymnasts have won at least four medals at the Olympic Games the most of which was Simone Biles's tally of eleven total medal (including seven gold medals). Other top medalists include: Shannon Miller (seven), Sunisa Lee (six), Aly Raisman (six), Nastia Liukin (five), Mary Lou Retton (five), Dominique Dawes (four), and Shawn Johnson (four). [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
In 1984, Mary Lou Retton became the first American female gymnast to win the individual all-around gold medal at the Olympics. [8] She won five total medals that year in the only Olympic Games she participated in. [5]
Shannon Miller, who competed at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, won seven total Olympic medals, which was the most of any American female gymnast before the 2021 Olympics in which Simone Biles tied for the number of Olympic medals won. Miller won five medals in 1992 and added two more in 1996. [9] [3] Dominique Dawes competed at the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Olympics, winning four medals. [6] Miller and Dawes were both members of the "Magnificent Seven", the 1996 team that became the first American squad to win the team all-around gold medal at the Olympics. The competition was highlighted by Kerri Strug sticking a vault while injured to ensure the U.S. victory. [10]
Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson won five and four medals, respectively, in 2008, the only Olympics that either one participated in. Liukin won the individual all-around gold medal, and Johnson won the balance beam gold medal. [4] [7]
In 2012 the U.S. won the team gold medal for the second time. This team, which was nicknamed the "Fierce Five", featured five gymnasts who were all making their first appearance at the Olympics. [11] That year, Gabby Douglas won the gold medal in individual all-around, and Aly Raisman won the gold medal on floor exercise and the bronze medal on balance beam. McKayla Maroney won silver on vault. [12] [13]
In 2016 the U.S. won the team gold medal for the second consecutive Olympics, and the third title overall. The team was nicknamed "The Final Five" (as the team members were the last 5 who competed under Marta Karolyi) and featured the return of 2012 Olympic gold medalists Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman. It also featured newcomers Laurie Hernandez, Madison Kocian, and three-time reigning world all-around champion Simone Biles. Biles won the individual all-around, vault, and floor exercise gold medals, and also took bronze on the balance beam. Raisman won silver medals in the all-around and floor exercise. Hernandez took the silver on the balance beam while Kocian, the reigning uneven bars world co-champion, won silver on that event. The 2016 Olympics were the most successful games to date for the United States in women's gymnastics, with four golds, four silvers, and one bronze medal overall.
For the 2020 Olympics (held in 2021 due to COVID-19), the U.S. women's team earned the team silver medal. Simone Biles was the only gymnast from the previous Olympics to return to the team. Sunisa Lee became the individual all-around champion, the sixth women from the U.S. to do so. Lee also won the bronze on uneven bars, Biles won bronze on balance beam, MyKayla Skinner won silver on Vault, and Jade Carey won gold on floor exercise.
Four U.S. Olympic gymnasts returned to the 2024 Olympics - Simone Biles, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles and Sunisa Lee. In addition, 16 year old Hezly Rivera was chosen for the team. The five won the team all-around gold medal, while Biles and Lee won the gold and bronze individual all-around medals, respectively. Biles went on to win gold on vault and silver on floor exercise, while Lee won the bronze on uneven bars and Carey won bronze on vault.
Chellsie Marie Memmel is an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2005 world all-around champion and the 2003 world champion on the uneven bars. She was a member of the United States women's gymnastics team at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.
Anastasia "Nastia" Valeryevna Liukin OLY is an American former artistic gymnast. She is the 2008 Olympic all-around champion, a five-time Olympic medalist, the 2005 and 2007 World champion on the balance beam, and the 2005 World champion on the uneven bars. She is also a four-time all-around U.S. national champion, winning twice as a junior and twice as a senior. With nine World Championships medals, seven of them individual, Liukin is tied with Shannon Miller for the third-highest tally of World Championship medals among U.S. gymnasts. Liukin also tied Miller's record as the American gymnast having won the most medals in a single non-boycotted Olympic Games. In October 2011, Liukin announced that she was returning to gymnastics with the hopes of making a second Olympic team. Liukin did not make the 2012 Olympic team and retired from the sport on July 2, 2012.
Kyla Briana Ross is a retired American artistic gymnast and current assistant coach for the Arkansas Razorbacks gymnastics team. She is the first female gymnast to win NCAA, World, and Olympic championship titles.
Alexandra Rose Raisman 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.
Gabrielle Christina Victoria Douglas is an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2012 Olympic all-around champion and the 2015 World all-around silver medalist. She was a member of the gold-winning teams at both the 2012 and the 2016 Summer Olympics, dubbed the "Fierce Five" and the "Final Five" by the media, respectively. She was a member of the gold-winning American teams at the 2011 and the 2015 World Championships. She was also the 2012 U.S. champion on uneven bars. Additionally, she was the 2016 American Cup all-around champion.
The City of Jesolo Trophy is an annual women's gymnastics competition held in Jesolo, Italy. There are competitions for the senior division and junior division. The United States won the senior team competition from 2008, 2010 to 2017, 2019 and 2022.
MyKayla Brooke Skinner Harmer is an American former artistic gymnast. She was the 2020 Olympic vault silver medalist, competing as an individual, and was an alternate for the 2016 Olympic team. Skinner competed at the 2014 World Championships, where she contributed to the U.S. team's gold medal, also winning an individual bronze medal on vault. She won 11 total medals at the USA National Championships during her senior career. She also competed for the University of Utah's gymnastics team and was a two-time NCAA champion while also setting Pac-12 records for conference honors.
Simone Arianne Biles Owens is an American artistic gymnast. Her 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals make her the most decorated gymnast in history. She is widely regarded as the greatest gymnast of all time and one of the greatest Olympians of all time. With 11 Olympic medals, she is tied with Věra Čáslavská as the second-most decorated female Olympic gymnast, and has the most Olympic medals earned by a U.S. gymnast.
Lauren Zoe Hernandez is an American retired artistic gymnast. During her debut year as a senior gymnast, she competed as a member of the U.S. women's gymnastics team dubbed the "Final Five" that won the team gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Individually, Hernandez earned the silver medal on the balance beam. She took a break from gymnastics and returned to training in late 2018 to earn a spot on the 2020 Summer Olympics team, but she did not qualify for the Olympic Trials.
Jordan Lucella Elizabeth Chiles is an American artistic gymnast. She was a member of the gold medal-winning team at the 2024 Summer Olympics, having previously been a member of the silver medal-winning team at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She was also a member of the team that won gold at the 2022 World Championships. Individually, she was the 2022 World vault silver medalist and floor silver medalist. She has been a member of the United States women's national gymnastics team since 2013. In NCAA Gymnastics, Chiles competes for the UCLA Bruins gymnastics team, where she has won two Pac-12 titles and two NCAA championships.
The United States women's national artistic gymnastics team represents the United States in FIG international competitions.
Morgan Elizabeth Hurd is an American artistic gymnast and a five-time member of the United States women's national team (2016–21). She is the 2017 World all-around champion and balance beam silver medalist and the 2018 World all-around bronze medalist and floor exercise silver medalist. She has won four medals at the USA Gymnastics National Championships during her senior career and is a two-time American Cup champion. She was a member of the gold-medal winning American teams at the 2018 World Championships and the 2019 Pan American Games.
Riley Shannon McCusker is an American artistic gymnast and a six-time member of the United States women's national gymnastics team (2016–2021). She is the 2019 Pan American Games and 2017 United States national uneven bars champion. In the all-around, she is the 2019 Pan American Games silver medalist and a two-time United States national bronze medalist. She has also won six medals at the USA Gymnastics National Championships in her senior career. She was a member of the gold medal-winning American team at the 2018 World Championships and the 2019 Pan American Games. In 2019, she competed at the Birmingham FIG World Cup, earning a silver medal in the all-around behind Olympic champion Aliya Mustafina.
The Final Five was the United States women's team in artistic gymnastics that won the team event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. It was the United States' third gold medal in the event after 2012 and 1996. The five members of the team were Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez, Madison Kocian, and Aly Raisman, with MyKayla Skinner, Ragan Smith, and Ashton Locklear serving as the three alternates. After the team event, Biles won a gold medal in the individual all-around event, the vault, and on floor exercise and won a bronze on the balance beam, while Raisman won silver medals in the individual all-around, and on the floor exercise, where she was the defending champion, Hernandez won silver on the balance beam, and Kocian won a silver in the uneven bars. As of 2024, the Final Five is the most decorated American Olympic gymnastics team with nine medals total.
Jade Ashtyn Carey is an American artistic gymnast. She represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics as an individual, and at the 2024 Summer Olympics as a member of the U.S. women's team, nicknamed the "Golden Girls".
Kara Eaker is an American artistic gymnast. On the balance beam she is the 2018 Pan American and 2019 Pan American Games champion and a two-time United States national silver medalist. On floor exercise she is the 2019 Pan American Games silver medalist and the 2018 Pan American bronze medalist. She was a member of the American teams that won gold at the 2018 and 2019 World Championships, the 2019 Pan American Games, and the 2018 Pan American Championships. She was an alternate for the 2020 Olympic team.
Sunisa "Suni" Lee is an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic all-around gold medalist and uneven bars bronze medalist and the 2024 Olympic all-around and uneven bars bronze medalist. She was the 2019 World Championship silver medalist on the floor and bronze medalist on uneven bars. Lee was a part of the "Golden Girls" that won gold at the 2024 Summer Olympics. She was also a member of the teams that won gold at the 2019 World Championships and silver at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She is also a two-time U.S. national champion on the uneven bars. In NCAA Gymnastics, she competed for the Auburn Tigers gymnastics team, winning a SEC title on uneven bars and an NCAA championship on balance beam.
Konnor McClain is an American artistic gymnast and a member of the United States women's national gymnastics team. She is the 2022 U.S National Champion and was the 2019 City of Jesolo Trophy and the 2019 U.S. Classic Junior All-Around Champion.
The Golden Girls was the artistic gymnastics team that won the team gold medal for the United States in the women's team competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. The five members of the team were Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, and Hezly Rivera. Later in the Olympic Games, Biles won a gold medal in the individual all-around event, becoming the first person to win it in non-consecutive games, a gold medal on vault, and a silver medal on floor; Carey won bronze on vault; and Lee won bronze in the individual all-around and uneven bars.