- McKayla Maroney
-
McKayla Maroney Country represented 
United StatesBorn December 9, 1995 Hometown Laguna Niguel, CA Discipline Women's artistic gymnastics Level Senior International Gym All Olympic / AOGC Head coach(es) Arthur Akopyan Assistant coach(es) Galina Marinova Medal recordCompetitor for United StatesWorld Championships Gold 2011 Tokyo Team Gold 2011 Tokyo Vault U.S. Senior Nationals Silver 2011 St. Paul AA Gold 2011 St. Paul Vault McKayla Maroney (born December 9, 1995[1]) is an elite artistic gymnast from the U.S.A. who is best known for her execution of the Amanar vault (SV 6.5)[2] – a Yurchenko-entry vault followed by two and a half twists in the air during a laid-out back salto.[3] She is the 2011 U.S. champion on the vault, having bested 2010 World Championships vault winner Alicia Sacramone at the 2011 U.S. National Championships in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is a 2011 World Champion with the U.S. team and the 2011 World Champion on vault.[4]
Contents
2009 Season
Competing at her first Nationals, Maroney placed third on vault at the 2009 U.S. Junior National Championships in Dallas, Texas in August. [1]
2010 Season
At July’s 2010 CoverGirl Classic in Chicago, Illinois, Maroney tied for second on vault with gymnast Lexie Priessman. Maroney also placed fifth on floor exercise and seventh all-around.[5]
Maroney won the vault title at the 2010 U.S. Junior National Championships in Hartford, Connecticut during August 2010. She also placed third all-around, tied for fourth on floor exercise and placed seventh on balance beam.[1]
At the 2010 Senior Pan American Championships in September, Maroney captured the gold medals on vault and floor exercise, as well as a share of the U.S. team gold.[6]
2011 Season
At the 2011 City of Jesolo Trophy in Italy during March, Maroney bested U.S. gymnast Jordyn Wieber to win the all-around title,[7] and she won a share of the team gold medal with the U.S.A. She also placed fourth on floor exercise, fifth on uneven bars and tied for fifth on balance beam.[1]
In July 2011, Maroney placed fifth on floor exercise and sixth on balance beam at the 2011 CoverGirl Classic in Chicago, Illinois.[1]
During August, she finished second (115.150) to all-around winner Jordyn Wieber at the 2011 U.S. Senior National Gymnastics Championships.[8] where she competed the three-and-a-half twisting salto on floor exercise during both nights of competition.[9][2] With the help of her Amanar, she also won the U.S. vault title ahead of current Vault World Champion Alicia Sacramone.[4] Maroney placed fifth on floor exercise and seventh on balance beam.[10]
Following two selection camps at the Karolyi Ranch in New Waverly, Texas, Maroney was named to the U.S. team for October's 2011 Gymnastics World Championships in Tokyo, Japan.[11]
During the preliminary round of competition at 2011 Worlds, Maroney delivered an excellent performance on vault, qualifying in first place to the vault final (15.533, 14.633). She also finished 12th in the all-around (56.324)[12] but was ineligible for the all-around final due to the "two athletes per country" rule for finals qualifiers. The skills Maroney performed included an Amanar on vault (15.533), a tucked double-back dismount on beam (13.30), and a 3 1/2-twist and a 2 1/2 twist to tuck front on floor (13.833). The U.S. team finished the preliminary round at Worlds in first place (234.253), ahead of Russia (231.062), China (230.370) and Romania (227.228).[12]
In the women's team finals competition at Worlds, Maroney contributed to the U.S. team effort on vault and floor. She vaulted a terrific Amanar to earn a meet-high score of 16.033. On floor, she performed a 3 1/2 twist, a 2 1/2 twist to a layout front full and a 1 1/2 to double tuck (14.566). The U.S. won the team gold medal (179.411) over second-place Russia (175.329) and third-place China (172.820).[13]
In the vault finals, Maroney captured the vault gold medal with excellent form on her Amanar (15.8) and her laid-out Podkopayeva (14.8). She bested second-place finisher Oksana Chusovitina of Germany by more than .55 (15.3 vault average versus 14.733 vault average). With her victory, Maroney earned the third world championships gold medal on vault in a row for the U.S., following Kayla Williams in 2009 and Alicia Sacramone in 2010.[14]
References
- ^ a b c d e "McKayla Maroney". Bio. USA Gymnastics. http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/pages/athletes/athleteListDetail.html?id=135334. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ^ a b 2001 VISA Championships. NBC. 8 PM EST–10 PM EST.
- ^ Van Deusen, Amy. "Amanar vault". Article. About.com. http://gymnastics.about.com/od/glossaryofgymterms/g/Amanar.htm. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ^ a b "Women – Senior Day One Results". Factsheet. USA Gymnastics. 17 August 2011. http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/pages/results/index.html. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
- ^ "2010 Cover Girl Classic - Junior Women All-Around Rank 1 - 12". Factsheet. gymnasticsresults.com. http://www.gymnasticsresults.com/2010/usa/covergirljun.html#01. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ^ "Senior Pan Am Championships". Factsheet. gymnasticsresults.com. http://www.gymnasticsresults.com/2010/americas/mex/panamwag.html#vt. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ^ "City of Jesolo Trophy Champions". Article. USA Gymnastics. http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/pages/features/110413_italy/index.html. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ^ "Women – Senior All-Around Finals". Factsheet. USA Gymnastics. 20 August 2011. http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/pages/results/index.html. Retrieved 22 August.
- ^ 2001 VISA Championships. NBC. 8 PM EST–10 PM EST.
- ^ "Bio". Factsheet. USA Gymnastics. http://live.usa-gymnastics.org/pages/athletes/athleteListDetail.html?id=135334. Retrieved 22 August.
- ^ Amanda Turner, "Wieber Leads US Women's Team to Tokyo," InternationalGymnast.com, 21 September 2011, w.intlgymnast.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2771:wieber-leads-us-womens-world-team-to-tokyo&catid=2:news&Itemid=166, accessed 23 September 2011.
- ^ a b "International Gymnast Magazine," Quick Hits, 8 October 2011, International Gymnast, http://www.facebook.com/pages/International-Gymnast-Magazine/94617143137, accessed 8 October 2011
- ^ "International Gymnast Magazine," Quick Hits, Facebook, 11 October 2011, http://www.facebook.com/pages/International-Gymnast-Magazine/94617143137, accessed 11 October 2011.
- ^ "Event Finals Quick Hits," USA Gymnastics, 15 October 2011, http://www.facebook.com/InternationalGymnast, accessed 20 October 2011
World Champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's Vault 1934: (not awarded) · 1938: (conflicting data) · 1950: Helena Rakoczy · 1954: Anna Pettersson / Tamara Manina · 1958: Larisa Latynina · 1962: Věra Čáslavská · 1966: Věra Čáslavská · 1970: Erika Zuchold · 1974: Olga Korbut · 1978: Nellie Kim · 1979: Dumitriţa Turner · 1981: Maxi Gnauck · 1983: Boriana Stoyanova · 1985: Yelena Shushunova · 1987: Yelena Shushunova · 1989: Olesya Dudnik · 1991: Lavinia Miloşovici · 1992: Henrietta Ónodi · 1993: Elena Piskun · 1994: Gina Gogean · 1995: Simona Amânar · 1996: Gina Gogean · 1997: Simona Amânar · 1999: Elena Zamolodchikova · 2001: Svetlana Khorkina · 2002: Elena Zamolodchikova · 2003: Oksana Chusovitina · 2005: Cheng Fei · 2006: Cheng Fei · 2007: Cheng Fei · 2009: Kayla Williams · 2010: Alicia Sacramone · 2011: McKayla Maroney
Categories:- 1995 births
- Living people
- American gymnasts
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