The 2024 Paris Olympics have been glorious for gymnasts, with stunning routines from USA’s Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, who became the first female gymnast from her country to win a medal at the Olympics.
They join the ranks of the most celebrated and most talked about gymnasts in Olympic history: Women who changed the sport, who made headlines and who we will never forget. Here’s what these famous female athletes have done since gracing the Olympics stage.
Olga Korbut, 1972
At age 15, Olga won four gold medals and two silver medals at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games. The “Sparrow From Minsk” helped transform gymnastics into the must-watch blend of athleticism and aesthetics that are now standard for the sport. She emigrated to the U.S. in 1991 and became a citizen in 2000. Korbut became a gymnastics trainer and was celebrated with a special exhibit at the 2012 games on the 40th anniversary of her historic wins.
Nadia Comăneci, 1976
The darling of the 1976 Olympics won five Olympic gold medals, all in individual events. She was only 14 when she became the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10.0 at the Olympics.
In 2008, she was a contestant on the first season of “Celebrity Apprentice.” She has been married to fellow gymnast Bart Conner since 1996. He was on the U.S. Men’s team that won two gold medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
In 2024, Comăneci was one of several past Olympians who took part in the opening ceremony at the Paris games.
Mary Lou Retton, 1984
At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Retton won a gold medal in the individual all-around competition, as well as two silver medals and two bronze medals. Among her many honors: gracing the cover of a Wheaties box.
She competed on “Dancing With the Stars” in 2018, where she was paired with Sasha Farber and finished ninth. Retton was back in the news in October 2023 after being hospitalized for more than a week due to a rare case of pneumonia. Her daughter organized a spotfund to cover Retton’s hospital costs, as she was uninsured. The fund raised more than nine times with nearly $460,000.
Mary Lou Retton Discharged From Hospital
Shawn Johnson, 2008
Johnson won gold for the balance beam at the 2008 games in Beijing and gold medalist and team, all-around and floor exercise silver medalist
In 2009, she won Season 8 of “Dancing With the Stars” and returned to the all star edition in 2012, where she placed second. Her planned comeback at the 2012 Olympics was derailed due to a knee injury.
In 2022, she and her husband, former football star Andrew East, became co-owners of Los Angeles’ women’s soccer team Angel City FC.
Gabby Douglas, 2012 and 2016
Douglas was part of the winning “Fierce Five” of the 2012 Summer Olympics, and the “Final Five” of the 2016 games. She was the first Black athlete to become the individual all-around champion, and the first U.S. gymnast to win gold in both the individual all-around and team competitions at the same Olympics.
Her achievements inspired the 2014 Lifetime biopic, “The Gabby Douglas Story,” in which she played herself while two younger actresses played her as a pre-teen. She also starred in the Oxygen reality series “Douglas Family Gold” in 2016.
An ankle injury kept her out of the 2024 Olympics, but the three-time gold medalist continues to train for the 2028 Olympics. She told ESPN in May, “I proved to myself and to the sport that my skills remain at an elite level. It would be such an honor to represent the U.S. at a home Olympics.”
Aly Raisman, 2012 and 2016
The team captain of both the 2012 and 2016 gymnast teams, Raisman was the was the most decorated American gymnast at the 2012 London games, winning gold in the team and floor competitions and bronze on the balance beam.
At the 2016 Olympics, she took gold in the team event, making her and teammate Gabby Douglas the only Americans with back-to-back team gold medals. She is the third-most decorated American gymnast with six Olympic medals.
McKaley Maroney, 2012
In 2012, Maroney, along with the rest of the “Fierce Five,” won gold as a team and earned an individual silver medal for the vault. Her less-than-pleased facial expression upon wining silver instead of gold became a nationwide meme. It even got her an invite to the White House, where she and then-President Barack Obama both made the famous “not impressed” face.
Maroney had a brief acting career, appearing on six episodes of “Hart of Dixie” and guesting on “Bones” and “Superstore.” In 2020, she released two music singles, including one called “COVID Lockdown.”
In 2021, she and several of her fellow gymnasts testified against the sexual abuse she was subjected by team physician Larry Nasser, based on allegations first made in 2017. In 2018, she, Douglas, Raisman and 300 of Nasser’s other victims were awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award.
