Kerri Strug
Kerri Strug didn’t disappoint the Americans’ hope for gold, as she is one of the “Magnificent Seven” during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. It was during the finals when she injured herself, yet she overcame that and took gold in the team event. Strug’s story helped her to become a national heroine because of overcoming that difficulty to help win the gold was one of the most memorable of the tournament that year. Kerri was up last on vaults as the team competition neared its end. After shocking spectators by falling and injuring her ankle on her first vault, she managed to perform the landing on her second vault before collapsing in pain, helping to secure gold for the American team. Kerri was then eighteen years old when she became the front page of newspapers around the world and led her into the spotlight. Now retired, she became an elementary school teacher, a correspondent for later Olympics, and more. She currently resides in her hometown of Tucson, Arizona, with her husband and their child.
Kerri Strug
Dominique Moceanu
Dominique Moceanu, eldest daughter of two athletic Romanian immigrants, she was thought to be destined to follow the footsteps of her parents. At age three, gymnastics introduced to her until she became the youngest to compete for a medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta by being part of the “Magnificent 7”, which is also the United States’ first-ever Olympic Team that won the gold. Shortly after her 14th birthday, she arrived in Atlanta, winning gold in the all-around competition. Unfortunately, because of a bone chip in her right knee, Moceanu forced to retire only four years later. She then wrote a book about how training so hard from such a young age affected her. Moceanu published her Memoir “Off Balance” in 2012. And in 2016, Dominique had a cameo as herself in the gymnastics related movie, “The Bronze”.Dominique had a dream come true with the establishment of The Dominique Moceanu Gymnastics Center that designed to combine the principles of Yoga and Gymnastics. She named the yoga studio after her daughter, Carmen. It offers yoga lessons for adults and children, summer camps, empowerment workshops, and birthday parties.
Dominique Moceanu