Samantha Nicole Peszek (born December 14, 1991)
is an American former
artistic gymnast. She was a member of the U.S. women's gymnastics team at the
2008 Summer Olympics, which won silver.
Following her elite gymnastics career, Peszek competed for the
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) ...
. She is a 17-time
All-America
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
n,
the 2011 and 2015 NCAA
balance beam
The balance beam is a rectangular artistic gymnastics apparatus and an event performed using the apparatus. Both the apparatus and the event are sometimes simply referred to as "beam". The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring i ...
champion,
and the 2015 NCAA all-around co-champion with
Kytra Hunter.
Elite career
In 2007, Peszek was part of the gold-medal-winning American teams at the
World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The Artistic Gymnastics World Championships are the world championships for artistic gymnastics governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). The first edition of the championships was held in 1903, exclusively for male gymna ...
and the
Pan American Games. In March 2008, she competed at the
American Cup
The American Cup (also known as the American Football Association Cup and the American Federation Cup) was the first major U.S. soccer competition open to teams beyond a single league. It was first held in 1885. In the 1910s, it gradually dec ...
and placed third in the all-around, behind U.S. teammates
Nastia Liukin
Anastasia "Nastia" Liukin (; russian: Анастасия Валерьевна Люкина ; born October 30, 1989) is a Russian-born American former artistic gymnast. She is the 2008 Olympic All-Around champion, a five-time Olympic medalist, ...
and
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 ...
.
After solid performances at the 2008
National Championships
A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...
,
Olympic Trials, and Olympic selection camp,
Peszek was chosen as a member of the U.S. Olympic team, along with Johnson, Liukin,
Chellsie Memmel
Chellsie Marie Memmel (born June 23, 1988) is an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2005 world all-around champion (the third American woman, after Kim Zmeskal and Shannon Miller, to win that title) and the 2003 world champion on the uneven ...
,
Alicia Sacramone
Alicia Marie Sacramone Quinn (; born December 3, 1987) is a retired American artistic gymnast. She won a silver medal with the United States team at the 2008 Summer Olympics and is the 2005 World Champion on floor exercise and the 2010 World Ch ...
, and
Bridget Sloan
Bridget Elizabeth Sloan (born June 23, 1992) is an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2009 world champion in the all-around, the 2009 United States national champion, and a silver medalist with the American team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in ...
.
At the 2008 Olympics in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, Peszek injured her ankle during warm-ups just minutes before the women's qualification and was able to compete only on the
uneven bars
The uneven bars or asymmetric bars is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. It is made of a steel frame. The bars are made of fiberglass with wood coating, or less commonly wood. The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is UB or ...
.
She was the second gymnast on the U.S. team to be injured, the other being Memmel.
After the Olympics, Peszek took time off to let her ankle heal before returning to elite competition at the 2009
CoverGirl U.S. Classic, where she placed second on
vault
Vault may refer to:
* Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards
Architecture
* Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space
* Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored
* Burial vault (enclosure ...
.
She then competed at the National Championships, hoping to make the World Championships team as a three-event specialist; she planned to postpone surgery to fix a torn
labrum in her shoulder. She placed second on beam and seventh on
floor exercise
In gymnastics, the floor is a specially prepared exercise surface, which is considered an apparatus. It is used by both male and female gymnasts. The gymnastics event performed on the floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for t ...
at Nationals
and made it to the second and final selection camp for Worlds, but pulled out and decided to get her torn labrum fixed.
NCAA career
In her first season at UCLA, Peszek won the balance beam title at the 2011
NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships
The NCAA women's gymnastics championships are an annual gymnastics competition to determine the best collegiate women's gymnastics team in the country. Unlike most NCAA sports, the women's gymnastics championship is not separated into divisions a ...
, where she became the first college gymnast to do a standing backflip with a full twist on the beam.
She was a first-team All-American on beam in 2011 and 2012.
Peszek
redshirted
Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...
the 2013 NCAA season after suffering a
torn Achilles tendon
Achilles tendon rupture is when the Achilles tendon, at the back of the ankle, breaks. Symptoms include the sudden onset of sharp pain in the heel. A snapping sound may be heard as the tendon breaks and walking becomes difficult.
Rupture typic ...
.
Later in 2013, she became an NACGC/W Scholastic All-American for the third consecutive year,
and was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame as a member of the 2007 World Championships team.
In 2014, she returned to NCAA competition. In a tri-meet against
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
and
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, she competed in the all-around for the first time since 2012 and won with a total score of 39.65 (9.925 on vault, 9.875 on uneven bars, 9.925 on balance beam, and 9.925 on floor exercise). She then posted a career-high 39.70 all-around score during a tri-meet against Utah State and Bowling Green (9.950 on vault, 9.975 on uneven bars, 9.925 on balance beam, and 9.850 on floor exercise).
In March 2014, Peszek competed at the
Pac-12 Conference Championship. She contributed scores of 9.825 on vault, 9.900 on uneven bars, 9.925 on balance beam, and 9.775 on floor exercise to the UCLA team's fourth-place finish. Individually, she was named the 2014 Pac-12 balance beam champion and finished second in the all-around competition.
In 2015, she opted to use her final year of NCAA eligibility as a fifth-year senior. She won the NCAA title on the balance beam with a score of 9.95,
and the all-around title (tied with
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
gymnast Kytra Hunter) with a score of 39.60.
Career Perfect 10.0
Retirement
Peszek retired from competitive gymnastics following the 2015 NCAA National Championships. She ended her career as an Olympic medalist, a World Champion and a 3-time NCAA champion.
Post-retirement
Peszek was hired by the Pac-12 Network as a color commentator for the 2016 gymnastics season.
In 2017, Peszek started ''Beam Queen Bootcamp'', a camp where she helps young gymnasts gain confidence and understand judging on the balance beam. In 2018 Peszek announced that she had started a
podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...
called
I Have Cool Friends'' on which she interviews prominent figures in the sport of gymnastics, including athletes and coaches.
Personal life
Both of Samantha's parents were athletes at the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...
. Her father Ed was a wrestler and a hockey player; her mother Luan was a gymnast and, more recently, vice-president of the women's program at
USA Gymnastics
United States of America Gymnastics (USA Gymnastics or USAG) is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. Established in 1963 as the U.S. Gymnastics Federation (USGF), USA Gymnastics is responsible for selecting and train ...
. Samantha's mom put her in gymnastics at the age 3. Samantha's younger sister Jessica is also a gymnast, at
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...
.
Peszek is
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and graduated from
Cathedral High School in 2010.
After the 2008 Olympics, Peter Zhao, Peszek's longtime coach at DeVeau's School of Gymnastics, retired from coaching and returned to China to help with his family's business.
[Peszek Joins Sloan at Sharp's]
. ''International Gymnast''. November 25, 2008. Accessed on March 22, 2009. Peszek transferred to Sharp's Gymnastics Academy, where she trained alongside Olympic teammate
Bridget Sloan
Bridget Elizabeth Sloan (born June 23, 1992) is an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2009 world champion in the all-around, the 2009 United States national champion, and a silver medalist with the American team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in ...
.
Peszek graduated from UCLA and lives in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
.
In light of the
USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal
The USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal relates to the sexual abuse of gymnasts—primarily minors at the time of the abuse—over two decades in the United States, starting in the 1990s. More than 368 people alleged that they were sexually assault ...
, Peszek has revealed that people have been wishing death and rape onto her and her family throughout
Larry Nassar
Lawrence "Larry" Gerard Nassar (born August 16, 1963) is an American former physician and convicted child rapist. For 18 years, he was the team doctor of the United States women's national gymnastics team. He used his employment as the ...
's trial due to the fact that her mother is vice president of program development for
USA Gymnastics
United States of America Gymnastics (USA Gymnastics or USAG) is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. Established in 1963 as the U.S. Gymnastics Federation (USGF), USA Gymnastics is responsible for selecting and train ...
.
Routines
Elite (2008)
*
Vault
Vault may refer to:
* Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards
Architecture
* Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space
* Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored
* Burial vault (enclosure ...
– Double-twisting laid-out
Yurchenko Yurchenko is a Ukrainian patronymic surname that comes from the name Yuriy. It may refer to:
* David Yurchenko (born 1986), Russian-Armenian footballer
* Denys Yurchenko (born 1978), Ukrainian pole vaulter
* Ihor Yurchenko (born 1960), Soviet a ...
*
Uneven bars
The uneven bars or asymmetric bars is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. It is made of a steel frame. The bars are made of fiberglass with wood coating, or less commonly wood. The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is UB or ...
– Straight mount to high bar; kip; swing 1.5; Jaeger; clear hip 1/2 to
Gienger The Gienger is a gymnastics skill performed on the uneven bars for women and the high bar for men. It is named after German gymnast Eberhard Gienger. The release move looks like a half-turn layout "flyaway" above the bar to catch the same bar. Its ...
; clear hip; bail to handstand on low bar; stalder transition to high bar; giant full; full-twisting double layout dismount
*
Balance Beam
The balance beam is a rectangular artistic gymnastics apparatus and an event performed using the apparatus. Both the apparatus and the event are sometimes simply referred to as "beam". The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring i ...
– Back tuck 1/1 to back pike; front aerial to back handspring to layout step-out; switch side leap; front tuck; aerial cartwheel; full turn with leg at horizontal; wolf hop to switch leap to gainer layout step-out; round-off double pike dismount
*
Floor Exercise
In gymnastics, the floor is a specially prepared exercise surface, which is considered an apparatus. It is used by both male and female gymnasts. The gymnastics event performed on the floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for t ...
– 1.5 twist to double back tuck; double layout; ring leap to switch 1/2; Arabian double front; triple turn; switch 1/1; double pike
NCAA (2014)
* Vault – Full-twisting laid-out Yurchenko
* Uneven bars – Glide kip; squat on low bar to hang on high bar; kip, cast to handstand; giant 1/1, Gienger; kip, cast to handstand; bail to handstand on low bar; toe-on to high bar; double layout dismount
* Floor Exercise – Double layout; front layout 1/1, front layout; split leap; split leap 1/2; double pike; double spin, wolf jump 1/1
* Balance Beam – Back tuck 1/1; front aerial, back tuck; switch leap, straddle jump; full turn; back handspring, layout step-out, layout 1/1 dismount
Floor music
* 2009: "Reflejo de Luna" by Alacran and "It's You" by N.O.H.A.
* 2008: "Whatever Lola Wants" by The Gotan Project
* 2007: "My Number One" by Helena Paparizou
* 2005: "Mr. Pinstripe Suit" by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Competitive history
References
External links
*
*
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*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Peszek, Samantha
1991 births
American female artistic gymnasts
Gymnasts at the 2007 Pan American Games
Gymnasts at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Living people
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
Olympic silver medalists for the United States in gymnastics
Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States
People from Hancock County, Indiana
Sportspeople from Indianapolis
UCLA Bruins women's gymnasts
University of California, Los Angeles alumni
Pan American Games medalists in gymnastics
Gymnasts from Indiana
Catholics from Indiana
U.S. women's national team gymnasts
Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games
NCAA gymnasts who have scored a perfect 10