Alaina Sue Kwan (born July 29, 1998) is an American artistic gymnast. She is the daughter of 1984 Olympic diver, Andy Kwan.

Personal life

Kwan was born on July 29, 1998, in

Mission Viejo, California Mission Viejo ( ; corruption of ''Misión Vieja'', Spanish for "Old Mission") is a commuter city in the Saddleback Valley in Orange County, California, United States. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities eve ...

to parents, Andy and Amy Kwan. She has one younger sister, Ally (b.

circa Circa is a word of Latin origin meaning 'approximately'. Circa or CIRCA may also refer to: * CIRCA (art platform), art platform based in London * Circa (band), a progressive rock supergroup * Circa (company), an American skateboard footwear com ...

2001), who is also a gymnast. She attended Pacific Coast High School and graduated in 2016. She joined the University of Kentucky Gymnastics Team in 2016 and studies Broadcast Journalism.

Gymnastics career

2013–15: Level 10 career

Kwan started competing Level 10 for the 2013 season, following a move to

All Olympia Gymnastics Center The All Olympia Gymnastics Center or AOGC is a one-facility gymnastics gym in Calabasas. The head coaches are 1983 World Vault Champion Artur Akopyan and 1980 Olympian Galina Marinova. Their notable elite gymnasts are 2012 Olympic Champion McKa ...

. She placed twenty-third in the all-around at States; competing only two events. In March 2014, Alaina participated in the National Elite Qualifier in California but failed to meet the qualification requirement. During the championship season, she finished eighth in the all-around at States and fifteenth at Regionals. On October 22, 2014, Kwan committed to the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 ...

women's gymnastics team. Kwan placed second in the all-around at States, behind Kennedi Edney, and also won two silver medals on vault and bars. In addition, she was the floor champion too. At Regionals, she ended up third in the all-around and took home the floor title again. Kwan qualified to J.O. Nationals but elected not to attend.

2015–present: Elite career

A year before, in 2014, Kwan took part in an Elite Qualifier but didn't qualify to elite status. In March 2015, she participated in the National Elite Qualifier in Los Angeles and qualified to Senior International Elite status. At the 2015 U.S. Classic in Chicago, Kwan was ninth in the all-around. She did not advance to U.S. Nationals. On September 30, 2015,

International Gymnast Magazine ''International Gymnast Magazine'', often shortened to ''IG'', is an American sports magazine about gymnastics and the first gymnastics publication. The editor of the magazine is Paul Ziert, former Oklahoma Sooners gymnastics coach. Ziert's Okla ...

announced that she and

elite teammate,

Kylie Dickson Kylie Rei Dickson (born February 12, 1999) is an American artistic gymnast who represented Belarus in international competition. Level 10 career Dickson started her Level 10 career in 2013. She qualified to the Junior Olympic Nationals and f ...

, had joined the Belarusian National Gymnastics team; despite having no affiliation to the country. The process was co-ordinated by the pair's coaches, Artur Akopyan who is Soviet Armenian and Galina Marinova; a Bulgarian, as well as

Nellie Kim Nelly (born 1974) is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. Nelly or Nellie may also refer to: Places * Nellie, Ohio, an American village * Nellie, Assam, a town in Nagaon district * Nelly Island, Antarctica * Nelly Island, Bermu ...

, President of the Women's Artistic Gymnastics Technical Committee and fellow countrywoman. This sparked outrage from gymnastics fans, criticizing Kim and the AOGC coaches. She represented Belarus with Dickson at the

2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships was the forty-sixth edition of the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships. The competition was held from 23 October – 1 November 2015 at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, United Kingdom, and is the fir ...

. Kwan competed at the 2015 World Championships for Belarus on October 24, 2015. A month later, she signed the

National Letter of Intent National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

to the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwan, Alaina 1998 births American female artistic gymnasts Kentucky Wildcats women's gymnasts People from Mission Viejo, California All Olympia Gymnastics Center Living people Belarusian female artistic gymnasts 21st-century American women