Hilary Coplin Grivich (May 23, 1977 – May 4, 1997) was an American gymnast and diver. She was a member of the silver-medal-winning American team at the

1991 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 26th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Indianapolis, United States, in the Hoosier Dome The RCA Dome (originally Hoosier Dome) was a domed stadium in Indianapolis. It was the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise ...

and the 1990 junior national champion in gymnastics. One of the original members of the "Károlyi six-pack", Grivich trained under Béla Károlyi in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. In her first season at the senior level, she was a member of the silver-medal-winning American team at the 1991 World Championships, acting as the leadoff gymnast during compulsories and competing second in the lineup on all four events in team finals. Grivich was a contender for the

1992 Olympics 1992 Olympics may refer to: *1992 Summer Olympics, which were held in Barcelona, Spain *1992 Winter Olympics ) , nations = 64 , athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women) , events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines) , opening = 8 ...

, placing seventh in the all-around and third on balance beam and floor exercise at that year's national championships. However, at the Olympic Trials, she placed eighth and did not qualify for the Olympic squad. Béla and

Márta Károlyi Márta Károlyi (; ; born August 29, 1942) is a Hungarian-American gymnastics coach and the former national team coordinator for USA Gymnastics. She and her husband, Béla, are ethnic Hungarians from Transylvania, Romania, who trained athletes ...

, and some other gymnastics insiders, claimed that U.S. judges had deliberately underscored Grivich to keep the team from having too many Károlyi club gymnasts. John Lopez, ''Houston Chronicle'' 1999 Grivich retired from gymnastics after the Olympics. In 1993, she switched her focus to

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

. After only two years in the sport, she earned a scholarship to the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

. She excelled in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

competition and hoped to eventually make the U.S. Olympic team as a diver. Luan Peszek, USA Gymnastics press release, May 5, 1997 Less than a month before her 20th birthday, Grivich was killed in a car accident on a Houston highway. A scholarship with the Strake Jesuit Scholarship Fund was established in her name. In addition, Grivich's diving club, Woodlands Diving Academy, used to hold an annual elite meet in her honor, the Hilary Grivich Memorial Invitational, before renaming it the "Laura Wilkinson Golden Invitational."Information on the Hilary Grivich Memorial Invitational from US Diving
/ref>

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grivich, Hilary 1977 births 1997 deaths American female artistic gymnasts Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Road incident deaths in Texas University of Houston alumni U.S. women's national team gymnasts 20th-century American women 20th-century American people Sportspeople from Houston