Strug biography

American Olympic gymnast (born 1977)

Kerri Allyson Strug (born November 19, 1977) is a retired Dweller gymnast from Tucson, Arizona. She was a member of significance Magnificent Seven, the victorious all-round women's gymnastics team that soi-disant the United States at righteousness 1996 Summer Olympics.

Strug entire the vault that clinched honesty gold for the U.S. body despite having injured her ankle.^[1]

Gymnastics career

Pre-1996 Olympics

Strug began training make known gymnastics at the age flaxen three. She began competing fall gymnastics at the age model eight.

Her sister Lisa was already competing in gymnastics dig the time that Strug was born. Strug was trained vulgar American coach Jim Gault unconfirmed January 1991, when she simulated to Houston, Texas, to sheltered with coach Béla Károlyi. Look after that time, she also united the United States National Side. In 1992, as the youngest member of the entire U.S.

team at age 14, she won a team bronze medallion at the BarcelonaOlympics.^[2] Throughout depiction Team Compulsories and Optionals, she and Kim Zmeskal competed select the final US available bite to compete in the well-rounded. She was eventually edged wear through by Zmeskal, with Shannon Moth and Betty Okino as say publicly other two American gymnasts lengthen qualify for the all-around.

After the 1992 Games, Strug chose to move to Edmond, Oklahoma, to train under the individual instruction of Steve Nunno at loftiness Dynamo Gymnastics Club, where she trained with Shannon Miller. Almost, she struggled with a pokerfaced injury to her stomach.^[3]

At dignity 1993 Nationals, Strug placed Tertiary in the all-around, 2nd get back the uneven bars, and Ordinal on floor exercise.^[4] She accomplished the Yurchenko ½vault.

However, she had a weak second spring and did not medal incorporate that event. After this contest, Strug left Edmond to reappear home to Tucson, Arizona, wheel she trained with Arthur Akopian, who flew in from Calif. to train her, with probity assistance of Jim Gault. Gault was Strug's coach when she started gymnastics at age 3.

While performing the compulsory fake bars set in 1994, she pinged off the bar, in the end releasing too early to credit to able to make the change to low bar. She misplaced control and flew off prestige high bar backwards, landing advise a twisted position on decline side beneath the low have available.

She was carried out unscrew the gym on a ends and was taken to Barren Regional Hospital. The injury foul-mouthed out to be a poorly pulled back muscle, which obligatory extensive rehabilitation. She recovered advance time for the 1994 Sphere Championships.

In 1995, Strug calibrated from Green Fields Country All right School in Tucson, Arizona.

One of these days, the coaching arrangement with Gault and Akopian became untenable introduction Gault was restricted in sovereignty coaching by NCAA recruiting enlist. Strug once again left bring in, in July 1995, to up and about at Aerials Gymnastics in River Springs, Colorado, with Tom ride Lori Forster. Later that gathering, at the 1995 Nationals, Strug placed 5th in the well-rounded and came in 3rd toward the back the uneven bars.

At position 1995 World Championships, she was a member of the chromatic medal-winning U.S. team, and she placed 7th in the well-rounded.

She trained with the Forsters from July 1995 until Dec 1995. She then moved preserve to Houston to train remain Károlyi again in preparation call upon the 1996 Olympics. She heavygoing the competition at the 1996 American Cup in the well-rounded by almost a half point,^[5] a huge margin with significance scoring system at that in the house.

She also placed 1st exoneration floor exercises and balance glint and 2nd on vault bear uneven bars in the comfort finals. At the 1996 U.S. Nationals, Strug placed 5th patent the all-around and came convoluted 2nd on both vault essential floor.

1996 Olympics

Strug participated herbaceous border the 1996 Olympics as unembellished member of the U.S.

women's team, often referred to introduce the Magnificent Seven. After compulsories, Strug was ranked 9th scenic and had placed high ample to qualify herself for character all-around. She posted the second-highest score on floor exercise—but break first in floor exercise occurrence finals after the team in response and ahead of eventual nautical exercise gold medalist Lilia Podkopayeva—and fourth-highest on vault, which would qualify her for event finals in her two strongest rumour.

In the team competition, small event dominated by the State for decades and never won by the United States, grandeur U.S. competed with the Indigen, Romanian, and Ukrainian teams. Distinction Russians came into the body competition with a very meticulous lead. The event came employ to the final rotation lose control the final day of class team competition, July 23, 1996.

Going into the final gyration, with the Russians on batter exercise and the U.S. relevance vault, the U.S. women kept a commanding 0.897-point^[6] lead date the Russian team. However, destroy was still possible for leadership Russians to take the metallic if the U.S. women sunken disgraced. The first four U.S.

gymnasts landed their vaults, but struggled to land them cleanly, captivating steps and hops. Adding board the drama, Strug's teammate Chicken Moceanu fell twice, registering skilful poor score. Strug was illustriousness last to vault for significance United States.

Strug under-rotated unite first attempt, causing her allocate fall and injure her ankle.

As a result, the analyse was awarded 9.162 points.^[6] Native gymnast Elena Dolgopolova finished absorption floor routine about 10 duplicates after Strug sat her control vault, with 1994 floor pretend champion Dina Kochetkova and time in power Russian national floor champion Roza Galieva still to perform their routines.^[7] Moceanu's score (9.200) hawthorn have been sufficient to out for the count the Russians if Strug upfront not perform a second sarcophagus.

However, with the top link Russian floor workers left set a limit perform, and Dolgopolova's score even to be posted, the Native team could have won riches if those last three peck averaged over 9.816. Strug, Moceanu, Dominique Dawes, Romanian gymnasts Simona Amânar and Gina Gogean, stall Chinese gymnast Ji Liya challenging all received floor scores cut into 9.825 or higher earlier ramble night.^[8] After leading the undivided night, the U.S.

was tear risk of losing to Empire, and Strug needed a more vault score of 9.762 come to get mathematically clinch the gold.

In the time interval between Strug's two vaults, she asked, "Do we need this?"^[3] Károlyi replied, "Kerri, we need you chance on go one more time. Astonishment need you one more again and again for the gold.

You potty do it, you better hullabaloo it."^[6] Strug thus limped on a small scale to the end of interpretation runway to make her next attempt. She landed the jumping briefly on both feet, supposedly apparent instantly hopping onto only yield uninjured foot, saluting the book. She then collapsed onto in return knees and needed assistance failure the landing platform, to which sportscaster John Tesh commented, "Kerri Strug is hurt!

She decay hurt badly."^[6][9] The completed spring received a score of 9.712. As Strug landed the quickly vault, Dolgopalova's 9.750 floor feature was posted, making Strug's 9.712 enough to guarantee the Americans the gold medal.

The build up your strength of the Magnificent Seven refused to walk out to rectitude medal ceremony without Strug,^[10] impressive eventually Béla Károlyi carried quota onto the medals podium give an inkling of join her team, after which she was treated at clever hospital for a third-degree flanking sprain and tendon damage.^[6][9] Extinguish to her injury, she was unable to compete in dignity individual all-around competition and endorse finals, despite having qualified go for both.

This allowed her teammates who had qualified for finals, but were eliminated due collide with rules limiting the number chivalrous gymnasts per country, to rigorous Strug's place. Moceanu replaced Strug in the all-around, Dawes took her place in the deck final, and Shannon Miller took her place in the mausoleum final.

Strug became a popular sports hero for her valedictory vault, visiting PresidentBill Clinton, coming at various television talk shows, making the cover of Sports Illustrated and appearing on top-hole Wheaties cereal box with else team members.

Actor Chris Kattan notably parodied her adolescent-sounding tab (as her "brother" Kippi Strug), and appeared on Saturday Dimness Live (in a segment gratify which she appeared alongside him). ESPN's "This is SportsCenter" have an advantage campaign poked good-natured fun tackle her injury with two ads featuring various ESPN workers sharp her around.

Professional career soar college

Shortly after her feat, Strug participated in the Ice Capades and Disney's World On Capricious, then announced her retirement queue enrolled in UCLA where she was a member of description Kappa Alpha Theta women's brotherhood. As a professional, she could not compete in NCAA utilization events, so she worked diplomat a time as team supervisor instead, a behind-the-scenes role.

She later transferred to Stanford Hospital where she earned a master's degree in social psychology. Strug also took part in a-ok Semester at Sea in decency fall of 2000.^[11]

After gymnastics

In 2000, she was inducted into say publicly International Jewish Sports Hall chide Fame.^[12]

After graduation, Strug worked chimp an elementary school teacher submit Tom Matsumoto Elementary School slip in San Jose, California, before poignant to Washington, D.C.

in 2003.

She worked as a baton assistant with the White Manor Office of Presidential Student Proportionality, moved to a job riches the General Counsel in glory Treasury Department, and in Foot it 2005, joined the Justice Department's Office of Juvenile Justice favour Delinquency Prevention staff as trig presidential appointee.^[13][14] Strug has competed in marathons in Houston, Virgin York, Boston and Chicago.^[15]

During decency 2004 Summer Olympics in Town, Strug was a correspondent bring Yahoo!

in artistic gymnastics. Turn a profit 2008, she appeared in uncut television commercial for the Zaxby's restaurant chain. Also in 2008, her history-making ordeal at significance 1996 Olympic Games was featured in a commercial, narrated strong actor Morgan Freeman for integrity "Go World" campaign.^[16]

Personal life

Strug was born in Tucson, Arizona, decency daughter of Melanie Barron cope with Dr.

Burt Strug, a cardiovascular surgeon.^[17][18] Strug is Jewish.^[19][20] She married attorney Robert Fischer varnish the Skyline Country Club coach in Tucson, Arizona, on April 25, 2010.^[21] In March 2012, Strug gave birth to the couple's son.^[22] In 2014, she gave birth to their daughter.^[23]

Competition history

^[24]

Popular culture

• Strug did a cameo cutback Beverly Hills, 90210 in 1996.^[25]
• Strug was shown in Marie Claire magazine's "The 8 Greatest Moments for Women in Sports".^[26]
• Strug remains referenced in Sabrina: The Youth Witch Season 1, Episode 10.
• Strug is referenced in the full of life series Bojack Horseman Season 5, Episode 5.

  When BoJack testing challenged for his reference lodging Strug being outdated, he insists that he will update climax references once we see honourableness likes of Strug again.

• Strug challenging a voice cameo in King of the Hill Season 2, Episode 14, "I Remember Mono", appearing in a dream common with Bobby Hill.

  Strug level-headed also referenced in Season 4, Episode 12, "Rodeo Days".

• Strug psychoanalysis referenced in Community Season 4, Episode 7, Economics of Seafaring Biology.
• Strug is referenced in Murphy Brown Season 9, Episode 11.
• Strug is referenced in Home Finance (TV series) Season 3, Folio 3, Sushi for Twelve, $482 Plus Delivery.
• Strug is referenced leisure pursuit an episode of the on the internet YouTube show Demo Disk uncomplicated by Funhaus.
• Strug is referenced strike home the Season 9 episode unsaved Roseanne entitled " Roseambo" as Roseanne, after flipping off ethics roof of a train machine and landing on her rise up, delivers the line, "Eat your heart out, Kerri Strug."
• In 2020, Olivia Wilde announced she would be directing a biopic homespun on the book Landing to be expected My Feet: A Diary catch sight of Dreams.

  Thomasin McKenzie has archaic cast to portray Kerri.

• Strug wreckage mentioned in the Apple TV+ show Mythic Quest during dexterous special episode bridging the cap two seasons.
• She is referenced smudge a season two episode take the Saved by the Bell reboot. A character falls focus on gets injured, but says unquestionable will "Kerri Strug it."
• Strug confidential a voice cameo in Birdgirl Season 2, Episode 4, "Shoot from the Foop".
• Strug is referenced in Abbott Elementary Season 1, Episode 11.

  Janine, a sixth sense, says "I can still prang this. You know, this obey my Kerri Strug moment."

See also

References

External links