A Look Back at Major Moments in U.S. Olympic Gymnastics History

With the 2024 Paris Olympics fast approaching, gymnastics superstars including Simone Biles, Shilese Jones and Suni Lee are all vying for a spot on Team USA. 

Biles, Jones and Lee, along with 13 other Olympic hopefuls, will compete for one of five places on the women’s team at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials — Gymnastics, which will be held June 27 through June 30 in Minneapolis. 

It’s an especially momentous year for Biles, who is back in action after her surprising withdrawal from multiple events at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Games. 

Biles opened up about her comeback in a trailer for her upcoming Netflix documentary series, “Simone Biles Rising.”

“I knew it would be a long journey, but to me it wasn’t done,” Biles says in the trailer. “Sometimes you have to take that power back.”

Biles’ withdrawal from the Tokyo finals was undoubtedly an unforgettable moment in Team USA gymnastics history — and there have been many of those over the years. 

Here’s a look back at just a few:

Kerri Strug

In 1996, the women of the U.S. gymnastics team, dubbed the “Magnificent Seven,” had a lot riding on Kerri Strug’s performance in the final team event on vault. Given how tight the competition was between the United States and Russia, a strong performance from Strug looked to be the only path to secure gold. The problem was, a bad landing on her first attempt at the vault left her with an injured ankle — and the sudden need to stick the landing on her second attempt, no matter what.

Kerri Strug of the United States is carried by coach Bela Karolyi during the medal ceremony for the women’s gymnastics team at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.David Madison / Getty Images

Despite the odds, the 18-year-old nailed the routine and, ever so briefly, landed with both feet on the mat before hopping and then collapsing. Coach Béla Károlyi carried her to the podium to receive her medal alongside her teammates.

Mary Lou Retton

The 1984 Olympic Games were held in Los Angeles, putting Team USA on home turf and putting 16-year-old gymnast Mary Lou Retton in the spotlight.

Mary Lou Retton completes her balance beam routine during the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles on Aug. 5, 1984.AP

Though it was Retton’s first (and last) Olympic Games, she shined as a star from the start, helping her team clinch the silver, while she took another silver in individual vault and two bronzes for the uneven bars and floor exercise respectively, and most spectacularly of all, she went on to win gold in the all-around — a first-time feat for any American gymnast, and one that also landed her the coveted spot on the front of the Wheaties box.

Dominique Dawes

Like Strug, Dawes was a member of the “Magnificent Seven” at the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, meaning that she, too, won team gold that year and also an individual bronze medal for her floor exercise — making her the first Black female gymnast to win an individual medal at the Olympics. Four years earlier in Barcelona, Dawes and teammate Betty Okino became the first Black gymnasts to take home Olympic medals after the U.S. team secured the bronze.

Dominique Dawes of Team USA poses after taking the gold at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Doug Pensinger / Getty Images

Dawes, now in her 40s, is also one of just three female U.S. gymnasts to compete at three different Olympic Games: Barcelona (1992), Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000).

Gabby Douglas

Even after Dawes’ impressive list of first-time achievements, there was another remarkable first to be had at the 2012 London Olympics. That’s when a 16-year-old Gabby Douglas took the gold in the all-around, becoming the first Black all-around champion and the first U.S. gymnast to win gold in that event and the team competition at the same Games.

Gabrielle Douglas competes on the beam during the 2012 Olympic Games in London.Michael Regan / Getty Images

Dominique Moceanu

Yet another member of the “Magnificent Seven” makes the list with Dominique Moceanu. Her team victory in 1996 at just 14 years old made her the youngest U.S. gymnast to ever win gold — a record she’s likely to keep as the International Gymnastics Federation later adjusted the minimum age requirement for Olympic eligibility.

Dominique Moceanu of Team USA during the women’s individual rotation at the Georgia Dome at the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta.Mike Powell / Getty Images