Kim Zmeskal

Infobox Gymnast
gymnastname= Kim Zmeskal


imagesize=172px
caption= Kim Zmeskal in 2002.
fullname= Kimberly Lynn Zmeskal Burdette
nickname=
country= USA
formercountry=
birthdate= birth date and age|1976|02|06
birthplace= Houston, Texas
hometown=
height=
discipline= WAG
level= Senior international elite
natlteam=
club=Karolyi's; CGA
gym=
collegeteam=
headcoach=
assistcoach=
formercoach= Béla Károlyi, Mary Lee Tracy
choreographer=
music=
eponymousskills=
medaltemplates=

Kimberly Lynn Zmeskal Burdette (born February 6, 1976 in Houston, Texas) is a retired American gymnast, having held the titles of world champion and national champion in the all-around during the early 1990s.

Biography

Early training

At a young age, Zmeskal trained with coaching great Béla Károlyi, who had bought a run-down gym in Zmeskal's Houston, Texas neighborhood. This gave Zmeskal the opportunity to observe and interact with her heroine, Mary Lou Retton.

In 1989, at the age of 13, Zmeskal became the U.S. Junior National Champion. She also took first place in the American Classic, the Swiss Cup Mixed Pairs (with Lance Ringnald), and the Arthur Gander Memorial.

Zmeskal went on to become a three-time consecutive U.S. National Champion. In international events, she began a rivalry with the Soviet Union's Svetlana Boginskaya.

World champion

In 1991, Zmeskal became the first American gymnast to win the all-around title at the World Gymnastics Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana (vault: 9.962, uneven bars: 9.937, balance beam: 9.962, floor exercise: 9.987). Zmeskal then turned out two gold medal performances at the Individual Apparatus Championships in Paris, France.

Her performances in 1991 earned her ABC's "Wide World of Sports" Athlete of the Year honors, an award she shared with track and field legend Carl Lewis.

1992 Barcelona Olympics

Americans had high hopes for Zmeskal and the U.S. team heading the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games, with Zmeskal earning the cover of both "Time" and "Newsweek" magazines before the Games. In the U.S. National Championships and Olympic Trials, Zmeskal battled an emerging Shannon Miller, with Miller defeating Zmeskal at the Trials.

Zmeskal disappointed at the Games, falling off the balance beam during her compulsory routine on the first night of competition. Although she would rebound with performances on the floor, vault, and bars, Zmeskal was in 32nd place after the compulsories and 5th on the American team. She would further rebound with impressive scores of 9.912 on beam, 9.95 on vault, 9.9 on uneven bars, and a 9.925 on floor during the finals of the team competition, moving Zmeskal into 12th place and into the all-around competition by finishing third among the American women. Her combined score of 39.687 for the night was the highest of any competitor.

Although earning enough points to compete in the all-around competition, Zmeskal would again falter during her first event, the floor exercise, stepping out of bounds. It would later be revealed that Zmeskal was suffering from a stress fracture in her ankle before the Olympics began.

Comeback and retirement

Any dreams for a comeback to compete in the 1996 Olympic Games would be dashed due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee suffered during a floor exercise.

In 1998, Zmeskal returned to competition with a decent showing at the U.S. National Championships in Indianapolis. By 1999, she was even considered a possibility for the 2000 Olympics team and represented the U.S. internationally. However, a torn achilles tendon on a double tuck on floor ended her career that year.

That same year, she married coach Chris Burdette, whom she had met during a clinic. Zmeskal now spends time with her husband, speaking and coaching, and opened a coaching program in Coppell, Texas. She has coached an athlete to nationals standard. The Burdettes had their first child, son Robert Ryder, in May 2005. Their second child, son Koda Christopher, was born July 17th, 2006.

Gymnastic trademarks

Zmeskal was recognized for her middle tumbling pass on floor which consisted of a round-off, three consecutive whip-backs, back-handspring, into a double-back in the tucked position (sometimes with four whips into double-back). Another trademark was the way she would flare her arms out during full-twisting elements, most notably on her full-twisting Yurchenko vault.

Trivia

First American gymnast to win four consecutive National all-around titles (Junior National Champion 1989, Senior National Champion 1990-1992)

First and only American gymnast to win three consecutive Senior National all-around titles.

First gymnast from the United States to become a World all-around champion.

First American gymnast to hold three World titles at once (1991 AA Champion, 1992 Beam and Floor Champion).

First American gymnast to win world titles on both the Balance Beam and the Floor Exercise at the 1992 World Championships in Paris.

Floor music

1991 Worlds: "In The Mood"1992: "Rock Around the Clock" / "Johnny be Good" mix

External links

* [http://gymnastics.about.com/od/famousgymnasts/ig/Where-Are-They-Now-/Update--Kim-Zmeskal.htm Where Are They Now?: Kim Zmeskal Photos & Info]
*fig|id=4858|name=Kim Zmeskal
* [http://www.gymn-forum.net/bios/women/zmeskal.html List of competitive results at Gymn Forum]