Jaycie Phelps

Jaycie Lynn Phelps (born September 26, 1979 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is a United States Olympic gymnast and member of the 1996 Olympic Gold medal U.S. women's gymnastics team, Magnificent 7. Her name is derrived from her parents', Jack and Cheryl Phelps, first initials. She trained at CGA (Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy) under Mary Lee Tracy with fellow Magnificent 7 member Amanda Borden. After the Olympics, Jaycie went professional. Along with the other gymnasts, Allison Nayla and Michelle, she appeared in tours and gained advertising work. In 2005 she married fellow US Olympic gymnast Brett McClure in a ceremony in Hawaii; they divorced in 2008.

1994 was Jaycie's breakout year on the international scene. After a difficult year in 1993 where she placed rather low in the national junior ranks, Jaycie made remarkable progress. She performed well at the 1994 Team World Championships in Dortmund, Germany. The following year, Jaycie placed 3rd all-around at U.S. Nationals behind Dominique Moceanu and Shannon Miller. She competed at the 1995 World Championships in Sabae, Japan, where she made the un-even bars event final and got the Phelps vault named after her. Although Shannon Miller had performed the vault at Worlds the year prior, in Brisbane, she had fallen and it had not been named for her.

In 1996, Jaycie competed at the individual apparatus World Championships in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She made both the un-even bars and the balance beam finals. At the U.S. Nationals, she finished a close second to Shannon Miller, who had overcome a fall off beam to win. Jaycie finished third at the U.S. Olympic Trials, behind Dominique Dawes and Kerri Strug. Shannon Miller and Dominique Moceanu had petitioned onto the team with injuries.

At the 1996 Olympics, Phelps did well on all events but balance beam. She started off well on compulsory bars, but then following three lackluster performances on beam by her teammates, Phelps fell. She came back with a great floor performance and a tidy vault.

In the team optionals, the night the Magnificent Seven won gold, Phelps started off the team's performance with a tremendous set on her best event, the un-even bars. With a superb base score established, the Americans breezed through their first event with high marks. Phelps again had some trouble on beam, recording the lowest score on the team, but she started off the team strongly on floor, finally hitting her front full to front layout pass despite missing it at Nationals and struggling with it at Trials. She dismounted with a difficult full-in. Phelps led off the team once again on vault, with a solid effort. In going first for the team so many times, Phelps was in some way was forced to sacrifice her chances at individual glory for the good of the team. Nevertheless, she largely did her job, and her clean sets were fairly well received.

Phelps, along with every other member of the Magnificent Seven except Kerri Strug and Amanda Borden, attempted to come back and make the 2000 Olympic Team. Eventually Jaycie was forced to stop because of a chronic knee injury. Miller and Moceanu were also injured by Olympic Trials, and in the end, Dominique Dawes and Amy Chow made the team.

Jaycie has a vault named after her, which was widely used between 1995 and 2000. However, it is no longer in the Code of Points.

Phelps was awarded Sagamore of the Wabash, the highest honour given to citizens of Indiana. Phelps attended Northwest High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, where the street leading into the school was renamed in her honor.

External links

*fig|id=5487|name=Jaycie Phelps
* [http://www.gymnastike.org/videos/speaker/1461-jaycie-phelps Video Interviews of Jaycie Phelps at Gymnastike.org]