Valerie Le Zimring-Schneiderman (born March 28, 1965 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

) is a former Olympic

rhythmic gymnast Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coordi ...

. She represented the

United States at the 1984 Summer Olympics The United States was the host nation of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. It was the nineteenth time that ''Team USA'' participated, having boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics. 522 competitors, 339 men and 183 women, took part i ...

, and finished 11th in the individual all-around.

Early life

Zimring was born in Los Angeles, and lived in

Cheviot Hills, Los Angeles Cheviot Hills is a neighborhood on the Westside of the city of Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1924, the neighborhood has served as the filming location of movies and television shows due to its convenient location between Sony Studios a ...

. She attended UCLA for college and graduate school, earning a B.A as well as an M.A. in program-dance.

Career

At 11 years of age, Zimring learned she had a

stress fracture A stress fracture is a fatigue-induced bone fracture caused by repeated stress over time. Instead of resulting from a single severe impact, stress fractures are the result of accumulated injury from repeated submaximal loading, such as running or ...

in her back. Having just reached the Class I level in

artistic gymnastics Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates ...

, she had to leave it to pursue rhythmic gymnastics, which she was still able to do. Zimring was a member of the United States National Team for seven years (1979–85) and the USA World Championship team from 1981 to 1983. In 1982, she won the All-Around title at the U.S. Junior National Championship. She also won at the Austrian Invitational in 1983, becoming the first American to win an international Rhythmic Gymnastics competition. She competed at the 1981 World Championships and the 1983 World Championships, finishing 44th and 48th in the all-around respectively. She was the 1984 National All-around Champion, qualifying to compete in the Olympics. She represented the

, and finished 11th in the individual all-around. It was the best finish to date by an American in that event. Zimring is Jewish, and won five

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

s at the

1985 Maccabiah Games The 12th Maccabiah Games brought over 4,000 athletes to Israel from 38 nations to compete in 28 sports. History The Maccabiah Games were first held in 1932. In 1961, they were declared a "Regional Sports Event" by, and under the auspices and super ...

in Israel. Zimring coached the USA National Team in 1987–88.

Halls of Fame

She was inducted into the

Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, in Beverly Hills, California, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring American Jewish athletes, other sports personalities, and teams from Southern California who have distinguished themselves ...

in 1990. She was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zimring, Valerie 1965 births Living people American rhythmic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 1984 Summer Olympics Gymnasts from Los Angeles Jewish American sportspeople Olympic gymnasts for the United States Maccabiah Games medalists in gymnastics Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States Competitors at the 1985 Maccabiah Games University of California, Los Angeles alumni 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women

Early life

Career

Halls of Fame

See also

References