Annia Hatch
Encyclopedia
Annia Portuondo Hatch is a Cuban-American gymnast
who competed for the United States at the 2004 Olympics.
Hatch began gymnastics in her native Cuba at the age of five. She won her first Cuban National Championships at the age of ten; over the course of her career she would win the title a total of seven times.
Competing for Cuba, Hatch made her debut at the World Gymnastics Championships
in 1993. She placed tenth in the all-around. In 1995 she picked up three medals at the Pan Am Games, placing fourth in the all-around, second on the balance beam, and third on the vault and uneven bars. The following year, in 1996, she became the first Cuban gymnast ever to win a medal at the World Championships with a bronze on the vault. The result, however, was controversial, as many experts believed Annia's performance merited the gold medal over Romania's Gina Gogean and Simona Amanar.
Hatch qualified as an individual for the 1996 Olympics, but a lack of funding prevented the Cuban Olympic Committee from sending her to the competition. She retired and, in 1997, moved to the United States. With her new husband, Alan Hatch, she became a part owner and coach of the Stars Academy gym in West Haven
, Connecticut
. In 2001 she became an American citizen.
Hatch resumed training at the elite level in 2001 with her husband as her coach. By mid-2002, Hatch turned heads in the U.S. when she won the U.S. Classic, a qualifier to the U.S. National Championships. In doing so, she defeated Tasha Schwikert, the number one ranked U.S. gymnast, the reigning national champion and highest finisher at the 2001 World Championships. Hatch also placed first in the vault at the meet. Hatch went on to place first after the first day of the U.S. National Championships, and fourth at the conclusion of the meet. Hatch's vaults were so spectacular (a well executed double twisting tsukahara and a powerful double twisting yurchenko) that many experts believed Hatch was likely to win vault at the upcoming World Championships in Debrecen, Hungary.
Although Hatch was a U.S. citizen, Olympic rules stated that during the first year after obtaining citizenship in a new nation, one's former country of citizenship had to give permission to release the gymnast in order for her to represent her new country in international competition. Fidel Castro refused to release Hatch, prompting U.S. government officials and former U.S. president Jimmy Carter to specifically petition Cuba on Hatch's behalf. Because Cuba would not release her voluntarily, Hatch had to wait until she was granted an international release in 2003 before she was permitted to represent the United States in international competition.
Hatch was named to the 2003 World Championships team after a solid placement at U.S. Nationals. In podium training at Worlds, Hatch looked to once again be the top contender for the gold medal on the vault, but a devastating knee injury—a torn anterior cruciate ligament
(ACL)—the day before the start of the competition left Hatch on the sidelines.
The recovery time for ACL reconstruction is usually about twelve months. However, Hatch was able to return to competitive gymnastics by the US Nationals and the Olympic Trials in the middle of 2004. She was named to the US squad for the 2004 Olympics. In Athens, Hatch competed only on vault in the team competition, and contributed to the US team's silver medal. Although her ACL was not completely rehabilitated, she still qualified to the vault event final, where she won a silver medal behind Romania
n Monica Roşu
.
After the Olympics, Hatch retired from competition. She has since pursued fashion and music while coaching gymnastics.
Hatch and her husband operated a gym called Stars Elite Gymnastics LLC in Westhaven, CT. The couple recently joined the staff at TAG USA Gymnastics in Weston, Florida.
Hatch is now working on her new clothing line. She travels from CT to FL from time to time.
Annia is currently working as an Assistant Team Program Director at the Loudoun Gymnastics center located in Loudoun County Virginia.
Gymnast
Gymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia...
who competed for the United States at the 2004 Olympics.
Hatch began gymnastics in her native Cuba at the age of five. She won her first Cuban National Championships at the age of ten; over the course of her career she would win the title a total of seven times.
Competing for Cuba, Hatch made her debut at the World Gymnastics Championships
World Gymnastics Championships
The Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique organises World Gymnastics Championships for each of the gymnastic disciplines:...
in 1993. She placed tenth in the all-around. In 1995 she picked up three medals at the Pan Am Games, placing fourth in the all-around, second on the balance beam, and third on the vault and uneven bars. The following year, in 1996, she became the first Cuban gymnast ever to win a medal at the World Championships with a bronze on the vault. The result, however, was controversial, as many experts believed Annia's performance merited the gold medal over Romania's Gina Gogean and Simona Amanar.
Hatch qualified as an individual for the 1996 Olympics, but a lack of funding prevented the Cuban Olympic Committee from sending her to the competition. She retired and, in 1997, moved to the United States. With her new husband, Alan Hatch, she became a part owner and coach of the Stars Academy gym in West Haven
West Haven
- Places :Australia:* West Haven, New South WalesNew Zealand:* Westhaven suburb, in Auckland* Westhaven Marina, in the suburb of the same name, in AucklandUnited States:* Westhaven, California * West Haven, Connecticut* West Haven, Oregon...
, 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...
. In 2001 she became an American citizen.
Hatch resumed training at the elite level in 2001 with her husband as her coach. By mid-2002, Hatch turned heads in the U.S. when she won the U.S. Classic, a qualifier to the U.S. National Championships. In doing so, she defeated Tasha Schwikert, the number one ranked U.S. gymnast, the reigning national champion and highest finisher at the 2001 World Championships. Hatch also placed first in the vault at the meet. Hatch went on to place first after the first day of the U.S. National Championships, and fourth at the conclusion of the meet. Hatch's vaults were so spectacular (a well executed double twisting tsukahara and a powerful double twisting yurchenko) that many experts believed Hatch was likely to win vault at the upcoming World Championships in Debrecen, Hungary.
Although Hatch was a U.S. citizen, Olympic rules stated that during the first year after obtaining citizenship in a new nation, one's former country of citizenship had to give permission to release the gymnast in order for her to represent her new country in international competition. Fidel Castro refused to release Hatch, prompting U.S. government officials and former U.S. president Jimmy Carter to specifically petition Cuba on Hatch's behalf. Because Cuba would not release her voluntarily, Hatch had to wait until she was granted an international release in 2003 before she was permitted to represent the United States in international competition.
Hatch was named to the 2003 World Championships team after a solid placement at U.S. Nationals. In podium training at Worlds, Hatch looked to once again be the top contender for the gold medal on the vault, but a devastating knee injury—a torn anterior cruciate ligament
Anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament is a cruciate ligament which is one of the four major ligaments of the human knee. In the quadruped stifle , based on its anatomical position, it is referred to as the cranial cruciate ligament.The ACL originates from deep within the notch of the distal femur...
(ACL)—the day before the start of the competition left Hatch on the sidelines.
The recovery time for ACL reconstruction is usually about twelve months. However, Hatch was able to return to competitive gymnastics by the US Nationals and the Olympic Trials in the middle of 2004. She was named to the US squad for the 2004 Olympics. In Athens, Hatch competed only on vault in the team competition, and contributed to the US team's silver medal. Although her ACL was not completely rehabilitated, she still qualified to the vault event final, where she won a silver medal behind Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n Monica Roşu
Monica Rosu
Monica Roşu is an artistic gymnast from Romania. During her career she won two Olympic gold medals , a silver medal with the team at world championships and two gold continental medals ....
.
After the Olympics, Hatch retired from competition. She has since pursued fashion and music while coaching gymnastics.
Hatch and her husband operated a gym called Stars Elite Gymnastics LLC in Westhaven, CT. The couple recently joined the staff at TAG USA Gymnastics in Weston, Florida.
Hatch is now working on her new clothing line. She travels from CT to FL from time to time.
Annia is currently working as an Assistant Team Program Director at the Loudoun Gymnastics center located in Loudoun County Virginia.
External links
- "West Haven celebrates Annia Hatch's Olympic silver medal" - Laura Walsh, Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, August 23, 2004 - "TAG USA Gymnastics" - February 19, 2009
- "Loudoun Gymnastics Center"