Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute, commonly referred to as Chow's, is an American women's artistic gymnastics academy based in

West Des Moines, Iowa West Des Moines is a city in Polk County, Iowa, Polk, Dallas County, Iowa, Dallas, Warren County, Iowa, Warren, and Madison County, Iowa, Madison counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. A majority of the city is located in Polk County, a minority of ...

. The academy was founded by

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

former artistic gymnast

Liang Chow Liang Chow (also known as Qiao Liang; ) (born January 1, 1968) is a Chinese-American former artistic gymnast. He is the founder, owner, and head coach of Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines, Iowa. He is notable for being the ...

. One of the country's most prestigious gymnastics academies, the club has produced Olympic champions,

Shawn Johnson Shawn Johnson East (born Shawn Machel Johnson; January 19, 1992) is an American former artistic gymnast. She is the 2008 Olympic balance beam gold medalist and team, all-around and floor exercise silver medalist. Johnson is also the 2007 al ...

and

Gabrielle Douglas Gabrielle Christina Victoria Douglas (born December 31, 1995) is an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2012 Olympic all around champion and the 2015 World all-around silver medalist. She was a member of the gold-winning teams at both the 2 ...

, and several upcoming elites such as

Norah Flatley Norah Irene Flatley (born March 10, 2000, in San Diego, California) is an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2014 Pacific Rim junior balance beam champion. She previously competed for the UCLA Bruins and also competed for the Arkansas Razo ...

and

Rachel Gowey Rachel Kathryn Gowey (born October 3, 1997) is a former American artistic gymnast. She was a U.S. National Team member, from 2014 until her retirement from elite gymnastics in 2016, following her performance at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Gowey w ...

History

1998–04: Foundations and the inception of Shawn Johnson

Chow's was opened on August 23, 1998 by former Chinese national gymnast and

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 22 sports, 8 for men and 14 for women; a 15th women's sport will be added in 2023. The teams partici ...

assistant coach,

and his wife, Liwen Zhuang. In 2004, Level 10 protegee,

, finished fourth at the 2004 J.O. Nationals. As a result, she is the first Chow gymnast to make the J.O. National Team.

2005–07: Level 10 progression and the National rise of Shawn Johnson

At the 2005 Level 9 Eastern Championships, Chow's was represented 3 times. Jessa Hansen won two individual medals also. Although Chow's didn't have any participants at the 2005 Level 10 J.O. Nationals, Shawn Johnson qualified to Junior International Elite status; the first of any Chow gymnast. In her first competition as an elite, the 2005 U.S. Classic, she finished third in the all-around. As a result, she qualified to U.S. Nationals. At the competition, Johnson finished tenth in the all-around. Her result at the competition was enough to be named to the Junior Natitonal Team – the first of any Chow gymnast. Now a National Team member, she was invited to represent the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at the 2006 Pacific Alliance Championships, held in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

. She won the individual all-around competition, storming to win of just under a whole mark difference.https://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_06pacalliance_jraa.pdf

Notable Gymnasts and Alumni

: * 2008 Olympic balance beam champion and team, all-around, and floor exercise silver medalist * 2007 World team, all-around, and floor exercise champion *

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Com ...

team, all-around, uneven bars, and balance beam champion, floor exercise silver medalist *

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

team champion and uneven bars silver medalist * 2007 American Cup Champion; 2008 silver medalist * 2007

Longines Prize for Elegance The Longines Prize for Elegance is an award given by Longines to a male and female currently at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships. The winners receive a trophy, a cheque, and a Longines watc ...

recipient

Gabby Douglas Gabrielle Christina Victoria Douglas (born December 31, 1995) is an American artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. She is the Gymnastics at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012 Olympic all around champion and the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Champi ...

: * 2012 Olympic team and all-around champion * 2016 Olympic team champion * 2011 World team champion * 2015 World team champion and all-around silver medalist * 2012 Pacific Rim team and uneven bars champion * 2010 Pan American team and uneven bars champion * 2016 American Cup champion

: * 2014 Pacific Rim junior team and balance beam champion * 2019 NCAA Championships team bronze medalist *

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

gymnastics

: *

2015 Pan American Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...

team and uneven bars champion * 2018 NCAA Championships team bronze medalist *

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

gymnastics

References

{{coord, 41.5553, -93.7364, type:landmark, display=title Gymnastics academies in the United States