Albert Chainey Umphrey (born August 2, 1970) is a retired American gymnast. He competed in the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, helping the U.S. team to a 5th-place finish in the team all-around.

Early life

Umphrey was born in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

on August 2, 1970, and took up gymnastics at age 7. He attended

Albuquerque Academy Albuquerque Academy is an independent, co-educational day school for grades 6-12 located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. It is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest

and graduated in 1988. While in Albuquerque, he trained at Gold Cup Gymnastics along with future Olympians Lance Ringnald and

Trent Dimas Trent Dimas (born November 10, 1970) is an Hispanic American gymnast and Olympic champion. Now retired, Dimas was an elite senior level international artistic gymnast. Dimas became a member of the U.S. junior national team at the age of 13 and ma ...

Career

Umphrey competed in college gymnastics at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, where he was an All-American and two-time team captain. He was a member of the U.S. national team from 1989 to 1997, competing at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, and

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

. His best result was a 4th-place finish on the horizontal bar in 1994. He also won a gold medal for the team all-around at the

1995 Pan American Games File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...

. At the 1992 Olympic trials, Umphrey finished 8th, just 0.018 points short of making the seven-person team. He was able to rebound and finished 4th at the 1996 trials to gain a place on the U.S. Olympic team. At the

, he was held out of his best event, the horizontal bar, as well as the vault, a coaching decision that he called "devastating". Nevertheless, he was able to help the U.S. to a 5th-place finish in the team all-around, their best result since winning gold at the Soviet-boycotted 1984 Olympics. Away from competition, Umphrey also worked to promote the sport of gymnastics and appeared at clinics around the United States. He was a guest on the children's program '' Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' in 1986 and again in 1995, demonstrating gymnastics skills and training methods. Umphrey retired from gymnastics in 2000 and returned to UCLA for medical school. He now practices in

Physical medicine and rehabilitation Physical medicine and rehabilitation, also known as physiatry, is a branch of medicine that aims to enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life to people with physical impairments or disabilities. This can include conditions su ...

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

References

External links

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Chainey Umphrey
at USA Gymnastics {{DEFAULTSORT:Umphrey, Chainey 1970 births Living people African-American gymnasts African-American sportsmen American male artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts for the United States Gymnasts at the 1995 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in gymnastics Competitors at the 1993 Summer Universiade Sportspeople from Albuquerque, New Mexico 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople Albuquerque Academy alumni