Alexandra Raisman
Encyclopedia
Alexandra Raisman (born May 25, 1994) is an American artistic gymnast who is a three-year member of the U.S. national gymnastics team. Raisman trains at Brestyan's Gymnastics with Alicia Sacramone
and has similar skills and physique. In 2010, Raisman also performed her floor exercise to music that Sacramone had used earlier in her career.
Raisman won a gold medal in team gymnastics along with a bronze medal in floor at the 2011 World Championships.
.
In the 2009 CoverGirl Classic's junior division, Raisman placed third on floor (14.400), eighth on bars (13.900) and 12th all-around (54.050).
At the 2009 U.S. Junior National Gymnastics Championships, Raisman placed third all-around (112.60) behind winner Kyla Ross (114) and silver medalist Bridgette Caquatto (113.450). She placed second on balance beam (28.950) and fifth on vault (29.650).
In the 2009 Junior Pan American Championships in Aracaju, Brazil, Raisman won the gold on vault and floor, and she earned a share of the U.S. team gold medal. She also placed third all-around.
Also in March 2010, Raisman was a member of the gold-winning U.S. team at the City of Jesolo Championships. She placed first all around, first on floor and vault, and third on beam.
In May 2010, Raisman was a member of the gold-medal winning U.S. team at the Pacific Rim Championships
. She scored second place all around and made finals in bars (7th), beam (2nd) and floor exercise (2nd).
In July 2010 at the U.S. CoverGirl Classic competition, Raisman was fifth AA with a 55.7. Her score was particularly impacted by vault, where she attempted a 2.5 twisting Yurchenko vault ("Amanar
") but crashed, landing on her hips, incurring a large penalty (7.5 execution) and only being recognized for a lower valued double-twisting Yurchenko.
At the 2010 U.S. National Championships in Hartford, Connecticut
, Raisman placed third in the all-around (115.650), behind winner Rebecca Bross (120.3) and silver medalist Mattie Larson (117). She placed third on both balance beam (28.300) and floor (29.500).
Raisman was named to the 2010 world team. At the 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
in Rotterdam
, The Netherlands, she helped Team USA win the silver medal behind Russia by .200 of a point. She qualified third into the Women's Individual All Around competition but had a horrible bar routine which placed her in 13th in the final. She also qualified for the Women's Floor Exercise Final, and had a great routine with good, strong landings and came in 4th by .066 of a point.
as the sole American female representative for the March 5, 2011 AT&T American Cup
, but she was joined by two-time American Cup winner Jordyn Wieber
(who was a last minute replacement for a non-U.S. gymnast). Raisman finished in third place behind Wieber (first) and 2010 world all around champion Aliya Mustafina
(second).
At the March 19, 2011 City of Jesolo
Championships, Raisman was a member of the United States team that won gold over the Italians and Russians. She won bronze in the all-around and golds on balance beam and floor exercise, the last shared with Sabrina Vega
.
On July 23, 2011, Raisman won the all-around (57.25), placed first on floor exercise (14.7) and placed third on beam (15.0) at the 2011 CoverGirl Classic in Chicago, IL. She also competed her Amanar
vault successfully for the first time, achieving the second highest score (15.1) on vault behind Brestyan's teammate Alicia Sacramone.
Raisman won the all-around bronze medal (114.60) at the 2011 U.S. Senior National Championships in St. Paul, Minnesota
, held August 18–20, 2011. She placed third on floor exercise (29.15) and sixth on balance beam (27.9).
Following two selection camps at the Karolyi Ranch in New Waverly, Texas
, Raisman was named to the U.S. team for October's 2011 World Gymnastics Championships in Tokyo
, Japan
.
During the preliminary round of competition at 2011 Worlds, Raisman delivered a strong all-around performance, qualifying to the all-around final in fourth place (58.432). In addition, she qualified first to the floor final (14.833) and sixth to the beam final (14.933). The skills she competed included a double twisting Yurchenko on vault (14.666), a tucked double front dismount on bars (14.0), an arabian double front dismount on beam, and a 1 1/2 to tucked double arabian to tucked punch front on floor. The U.S. team finished the preliminary round in first place (234.253), ahead of Russia (231.062), China (230.370) and Romania (227.228).
Raisman performed on vault, balance beam and floor during the women's team final competition at Worlds. She executed a double-twisting Yurchenko on vault, and her skills on beam included a back handspring to layout and a double arabian dismount. On floor, she performed a tucked double arabian and a piked double arabian, along with a triple twist and a double pike dismount. The U.S. won the team gold medal (179.411) over second-place Russia (175.329) and third-place China (172.820).
During the women's all-around final at Worlds, Raisman got off to a good start on vault with a high-scoring Yurchenko double twist (15.233). She faltered on uneven bars when one of her hands slipped off the high bar, resulting in several errors, but she finished her routine with a clean double front dismount (12.90). She rebounded on beam with a set that included a back handspring layout, a front pike layout stepout and a double arabian dismount (14.525). She continued to regain ground on floor exercise, where she tumbled a 1 1/2 to double arabian to punch front, a piked double arabian, a triple twist and a double pike (14.9). She finished the all-around in fourth place—the same as her qualifying finish during preliminaries.
Raisman competed in two event finals, the balance beam and the floor. She placed fourth on beam with a score of 15.066 and took the bronze on floor, scoring 15.000 on that apparatus. Raisman ended her beam set with her arabian double front dismount. On floor, her skills included a 1 1/2 to double arabian to punch front, a piked double arabian, a triple twist and a double pike.
Raisman was believed to join the gymnastics team of the University of Florida
but as the signing day passed without a sign of her, rumours of her going pro emerged. They were confirmed on the 16th of November as she signed with the agency Octagon Sports who will represent her from this point on. By becoming a professional athlete, Raisman gave up her NCAA eligibility, following her Worlds teammates Jordyn Wieber
and Alicia Sacramone
.
Alicia Sacramone
Alicia Marie Sacramone is an American artistic gymnast.Sacramone began gymnastics at the age of eight, began competing in the elite ranks in 2002 and joined the U.S. national team in 2003. At US National Championships from 2004 to 2008, she won twelve medals, including four golds on vault and two...
and has similar skills and physique. In 2010, Raisman also performed her floor exercise to music that Sacramone had used earlier in her career.
Raisman won a gold medal in team gymnastics along with a bronze medal in floor at the 2011 World Championships.
Early life
Raisman is Jewish, and has three younger siblings. She began gymnastics as a toddler when her mother, a former high school gymnast, put her in a "Mommy & Me" class. Raisman attends Needham High SchoolNeedham High School
Needham High School is a public high school in Needham, Massachusetts, USA, educating grades 9 through 12. Its principal is Dr. Johnathan Pizzi, who was previously the Assistant Academic Superintendent in the Boston Public Schools System. Its two assistant principals are Mr. Jonathan Bourn and Ms...
.
2009
In the junior division of the 2009 American Classic in San Diego, Calif, Raisman won the vault title, tied for fourth on balance beam, placed sixth on floor exercise and 10th all-around.In the 2009 CoverGirl Classic's junior division, Raisman placed third on floor (14.400), eighth on bars (13.900) and 12th all-around (54.050).
At the 2009 U.S. Junior National Gymnastics Championships, Raisman placed third all-around (112.60) behind winner Kyla Ross (114) and silver medalist Bridgette Caquatto (113.450). She placed second on balance beam (28.950) and fifth on vault (29.650).
In the 2009 Junior Pan American Championships in Aracaju, Brazil, Raisman won the gold on vault and floor, and she earned a share of the U.S. team gold medal. She also placed third all-around.
2010
Raisman's senior career began in March 2010 at the Tyson American Cup, where she placed second all around, first on vault, and second on beam and floor exercise.Also in March 2010, Raisman was a member of the gold-winning U.S. team at the City of Jesolo Championships. She placed first all around, first on floor and vault, and third on beam.
In May 2010, Raisman was a member of the gold-medal winning U.S. team at the Pacific Rim Championships
Pacific Rim Championships
The Pacific Rim Championships is a major regional biennial gymnastics competition. It is open to teams from member nations of the Pacific Alliance of National Gymnastics Federations, including the Australia, Canada, China, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, USA and other nations on the Pacific coast...
. She scored second place all around and made finals in bars (7th), beam (2nd) and floor exercise (2nd).
In July 2010 at the U.S. CoverGirl Classic competition, Raisman was fifth AA with a 55.7. Her score was particularly impacted by vault, where she attempted a 2.5 twisting Yurchenko vault ("Amanar
Amanar
The Amanar is an artistic gymnastics vault, first performed by Simona Amanar at the 2000 Olympics.Performance at an Olympics or World Championships is required to get naming credit. The Amanar belongs to the Yurchenko vault family, and contains two and a half twists in the backward salto.The skill...
") but crashed, landing on her hips, incurring a large penalty (7.5 execution) and only being recognized for a lower valued double-twisting Yurchenko.
At the 2010 U.S. National Championships in Hartford, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, Raisman placed third in the all-around (115.650), behind winner Rebecca Bross (120.3) and silver medalist Mattie Larson (117). She placed third on both balance beam (28.300) and floor (29.500).
Raisman was named to the 2010 world team. At the 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The World Artistic Gymnastics Championships are the World Championships for artistic gymnastics. They have been held since 1903.* * First time track and field event fully disappeared from the sport of gymnastics.- All-time medal count :...
in Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, The Netherlands, she helped Team USA win the silver medal behind Russia by .200 of a point. She qualified third into the Women's Individual All Around competition but had a horrible bar routine which placed her in 13th in the final. She also qualified for the Women's Floor Exercise Final, and had a great routine with good, strong landings and came in 4th by .066 of a point.
2011
Raisman was initially announced by USA GymnasticsUSA Gymnastics
United States of America Gymnastics or USAG is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. The mission of USA Gymnastics is to encourage participation and the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of gymnastics....
as the sole American female representative for the March 5, 2011 AT&T American Cup
American Cup (gymnastics)
The American Cup, is an elite senior level international gymnastics competition held in the United States, and is generally considered to be one of the first major competitions of the Gymnastics season, as it is held in March or February of each year. In 1978-79 the event was sponsored by Dial and...
, but she was joined by two-time American Cup winner Jordyn Wieber
Jordyn Wieber
Jordyn Marie Wieber is an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2011 All-Around World Champion, the 2011 U.S. Senior National Champion and the 2011 American Cup Champion. She was also the 2008 U.S. Junior National Champion and the 2009 American Cup Champion.-Personal life:Wieber was born in...
(who was a last minute replacement for a non-U.S. gymnast). Raisman finished in third place behind Wieber (first) and 2010 world all around champion Aliya Mustafina
Aliya Mustafina
Aliya Fargatovna Mustafina , born 30 September 1994 in Yegorievsk, Russia is a Russian artistic gymnast. She is the 2010 All Around World Champion. She also won Gold with the Russian team at the same championships and was the 2009 Russian national champion in the all around and on the balance beam...
(second).
At the March 19, 2011 City of Jesolo
Jesolo
thumb|250px|Location of Jesolo in the province of Venice.Jesolo is a town and comune in the province of Venice, Italy.-Geography:...
Championships, Raisman was a member of the United States team that won gold over the Italians and Russians. She won bronze in the all-around and golds on balance beam and floor exercise, the last shared with Sabrina Vega
Sabrina Vega
Sabrina Vega is an American gymnast from Carmel, New York. Sabrina trains at Dynamic Gymnastics in Mohegan Lake, where she is coached by former Romanian Olympic medalist Teodora Ungureanu. She is a United States Senior National Team member and a 2011 World Champion...
.
On July 23, 2011, Raisman won the all-around (57.25), placed first on floor exercise (14.7) and placed third on beam (15.0) at the 2011 CoverGirl Classic in Chicago, IL. She also competed her Amanar
Amanar
The Amanar is an artistic gymnastics vault, first performed by Simona Amanar at the 2000 Olympics.Performance at an Olympics or World Championships is required to get naming credit. The Amanar belongs to the Yurchenko vault family, and contains two and a half twists in the backward salto.The skill...
vault successfully for the first time, achieving the second highest score (15.1) on vault behind Brestyan's teammate Alicia Sacramone.
Raisman won the all-around bronze medal (114.60) at the 2011 U.S. Senior National Championships in St. Paul, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, held August 18–20, 2011. She placed third on floor exercise (29.15) and sixth on balance beam (27.9).
Following two selection camps at the Karolyi Ranch in New Waverly, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Raisman was named to the U.S. team for October's 2011 World Gymnastics Championships in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
During the preliminary round of competition at 2011 Worlds, Raisman delivered a strong all-around performance, qualifying to the all-around final in fourth place (58.432). In addition, she qualified first to the floor final (14.833) and sixth to the beam final (14.933). The skills she competed included a double twisting Yurchenko on vault (14.666), a tucked double front dismount on bars (14.0), an arabian double front dismount on beam, and a 1 1/2 to tucked double arabian to tucked punch front on floor. The U.S. team finished the preliminary round in first place (234.253), ahead of Russia (231.062), China (230.370) and Romania (227.228).
Raisman performed on vault, balance beam and floor during the women's team final competition at Worlds. She executed a double-twisting Yurchenko on vault, and her skills on beam included a back handspring to layout and a double arabian dismount. On floor, she performed a tucked double arabian and a piked double arabian, along with a triple twist and a double pike dismount. The U.S. won the team gold medal (179.411) over second-place Russia (175.329) and third-place China (172.820).
During the women's all-around final at Worlds, Raisman got off to a good start on vault with a high-scoring Yurchenko double twist (15.233). She faltered on uneven bars when one of her hands slipped off the high bar, resulting in several errors, but she finished her routine with a clean double front dismount (12.90). She rebounded on beam with a set that included a back handspring layout, a front pike layout stepout and a double arabian dismount (14.525). She continued to regain ground on floor exercise, where she tumbled a 1 1/2 to double arabian to punch front, a piked double arabian, a triple twist and a double pike (14.9). She finished the all-around in fourth place—the same as her qualifying finish during preliminaries.
Raisman competed in two event finals, the balance beam and the floor. She placed fourth on beam with a score of 15.066 and took the bronze on floor, scoring 15.000 on that apparatus. Raisman ended her beam set with her arabian double front dismount. On floor, her skills included a 1 1/2 to double arabian to punch front, a piked double arabian, a triple twist and a double pike.
Raisman was believed to join the gymnastics team of the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
but as the signing day passed without a sign of her, rumours of her going pro emerged. They were confirmed on the 16th of November as she signed with the agency Octagon Sports who will represent her from this point on. By becoming a professional athlete, Raisman gave up her NCAA eligibility, following her Worlds teammates Jordyn Wieber
Jordyn Wieber
Jordyn Marie Wieber is an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2011 All-Around World Champion, the 2011 U.S. Senior National Champion and the 2011 American Cup Champion. She was also the 2008 U.S. Junior National Champion and the 2009 American Cup Champion.-Personal life:Wieber was born in...
and Alicia Sacramone
Alicia Sacramone
Alicia Marie Sacramone is an American artistic gymnast.Sacramone began gymnastics at the age of eight, began competing in the elite ranks in 2002 and joined the U.S. national team in 2003. At US National Championships from 2004 to 2008, she won twelve medals, including four golds on vault and two...
.