The World Olympic Gymnastics Academy (WOGA) is a two-facility gymnastics club located in Frisco and Plano. The head coaches at WOGA are former

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 traini ...

women's national team coordinator

Valeri Liukin Valeri Viktorovich Liukin (russian: Валерий Викторович Люкин; born 17 December 1966 in Aktyubinsk, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union) is a Soviet-born Russian-American retired artistic gymnast turned gymnastics coach. As a competitor ...

, who was a Soviet medalist at the

1988 Olympic Games 1988 Olympics refers to both: *The 1988 Winter Olympics, which were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada *The 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul ...

, and Yevgeny Marchenko who coached gold medalist

Carly Patterson Carly Rae Patterson (born February 4, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter and former artistic gymnast. She was the all-around champion at the 2004 Olympics, the first all-around champion for the United States at a non-boycotted Olympics, and ...

. Some of the notable past elites are Elizabeth "Lizzy" LeDuc, Katelyn Ohashi, Grace McLaughlin, Briley Casanova,

Ivana Hong Ivana Hong (born December 11, 1992 in Worcester, Massachusetts) is an American former artistic gymnast. She was a member of the gold medal American team at the 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and the all-around bronze medalist at the ...

Rebecca Bross Rebecca Marie Bross (born July 11, 1993) is an American former artistic gymnast and six-time World Championship medalist. Personal life Rebecca Marie Bross is the daughter of Terry Bross and Donna Bross. She has one older brother named Benjami ...

, World Champions Hollie Vise and Alyssa Baumann, as well as Olympic Champions Carly Patterson,

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

Madison Kocian Madison Taylor Kocian (born June 15, 1997) is a retired American artistic gymnast. On the uneven bars, she is one of four 2015 world champions and the 2016 Olympic silver medalist. She was part of the gold medal-winning team dubbed the " Final ...

. Edouard Iarov, former coach of Valeri Liukin, the USSR and Canadian national teams also trained gymnasts at the club.

History

World Olympic Gymnastics Academy (WOGA) opened in 1994 by co-founders

, a 1988 Olympic Champion and Yevgeny Marchenko, a World Sports Acrobatic Champion. In 2003, WOGA gymnasts

and

Hollie Vise Hollie Diane Vise (born December 6, 1987) is an American former Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. A two-time world champion, Vise went on to compete for the University of Oklahoma. Early life and training Born in Dallas, Texas, Vise is not ...

won 2 individual medals and contributed to the first team gold for the US at the World Championships. In 2004,

became the second

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

gymnast to become the Women's Olympic All-Around Gymnastics Champion, and the first American to do so in a non-boycotted Olympics. WOGA is home to three Olympic Champions – Patterson (

Athens 2004 The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

(

Beijing 2008 The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

), and

(

Rio 2016 The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

); and home to six World Champions – Patterson (

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

(

), Liukin (

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

(

), Kocian (

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

), and

Alyssa Baumann Alyssa Lyn Baumann (born May 17, 1998) is a retired American artistic gymnast, and has competed for the United States at international events as well as for University of Florida team. Baumann is the 2014 and 2015 United States silver medalist on ...

(

WOGA Classic

WOGA hosts an annual meet at the

Comerica Center Comerica Center (previously Deja Blue Arena and Dr Pepper Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in Frisco, Texas. It is the home of the Texas Legends of the NBA G League and the Frisco Fighters of the Indoor Football League, as well as the executive o ...

Frisco, Texas Frisco is a city in Collin and Denton counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Its population was 200,509 at the 2 ...

, which has competitions from levels 1-10 as well as an international elite competition which has seen competitors such as

Laurie Hernandez Lauren Zoe Hernandez (born June 9, 2000) is an American artistic gymnast. During her debut year as a senior gymnast, she competed as a member of the U.S. women's gymnastics team dubbed the " Final Five" at the 2016 Summer Olympics; Ultimately, t ...

Katelyn Ohashi Katelyn Michelle Ohashi (born April 12, 1997) is an American former artistic gymnast who competed for the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a six-time All-American and was a four-time member of USA Gymnastics' Junior National Team, t ...

Madeline Gardiner Madeline Gardiner (born January 27, 1995) is a Canadians, Canadian retired artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast and an alternate for the 2012 Summer Olympics team. Junior career 2010 In April, Gardiner competed at the Pacific Rim Champion ...

Marine Brevet Marine Brevet (born 23 November 1994, in Viriat) is a former French artistic gymnast. She was a member of the team that won a bronze medal at the 2016 European Championships. She was supposed to represent France at the 2012 Summer Olympics ...

, Mira Boumejmajen and

Jordyn Wieber Jordyn Marie Wieber (born July 12, 1995) is an American former artistic gymnast turned gymnastics coach. Since April 2019, she has been the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks gymnastics team. Wieber was a member of the gold medal-winning ...

Notable Gymnasts and Alumni

Women's Artistic Gymnastics

: * 2004 Olympic

All-Around The All-Around is an award given to a rodeo competitor who is most successful in two or more events. Most individual rodeos and championships determine the winner of this award at the conclusion of the other events or championships. Championshi ...

Champion,

Team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...

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 ...

Silver Medalist * 2003 World All-Around Silver Medalist, 2003 World Team Gold Medalist * 2004 National All-Around Champion * 2003 and 2004 American Cup Champion

: * 2003 World Team and Uneven Bars Champion *

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Run ...

gymnastics scholarship

: * 2008 Olympic

Champion,

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 ...

, and

Silver Medalist,

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 ...

Bronze Medalist * 2007 World Balance Beam and Team Champion, Uneven Bars Silver Medalist * 2006 World Uneven Bars and Team Silver Medalist * 2005 World Uneven Bars and Balance Beam Champion, All-Around and Floor Exercise Silver Medalist * 2006 and 2005 US National Gymnastics All-Around Champion, 13x National Championships medalist *

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 Champion and Uneven Bars and Balance Beam Silver Medalist * 2006 and 2008

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 ...

Champion

: *

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...

U.S. Team Alternate * 2007 World Team Champion * 2009 World Bronze Medalist on Balance Beam *

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

gymnastics scholarship

: * 2009 World All-Around Silver and Uneven Bars Bronze Medalist * 2010 World Team and Balance Beam Silver and All-Around and Uneven Bars Bronze medalist * 2010 US National Gymnastics All-Around Champion; 8x National Championships medalist *

Team and Floor Exercise gold medalist * 2010

Champion

Briley Casanova Briley Casanova (born November 17, 1994) is an American gymnast. She is a former International Elite who competed for the Michigan Wolverines women's gymnastics The Michigan Wolverines women's gymnastics team represents the University of Michig ...

: * competed in the 2009 Visa championships and finished 8th all-around

Grace McLaughlin Grace Taylor McLaughlin (born September 5, 1995) is a retired American artistic gymnast that competed for the Florida Gators women's gymnastics team. Grace did not only excel on the competition floor, but also outside in her community. Grace spe ...

: * 2011 Pan-American Games Team Gold 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 scholarship * 2015 NCAA National Team Champion *

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

and 2018 NCAA National Team Bronze Medalist

: * 2011 US National Gymnastics Junior All-Around Champion * 2013

gold 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 scholarship * 2018 NCAA National Team and Floor Exercise Champion * 2019 NCAA National Team and Balance Beam Bronze medalist

: * 2016 Olympic

Champion and

silver medalist * 2014 Team World Champion * 2015 Team and Uneven Bars World Champion * 2015 Uneven Bars National Champion *

gymnastics scholarship * 2018 NCAA National Team Champion * 2019 NCAA National Team Bronze medalist

: * 2014 World Champion (team) *

and 2015 National Balance Beam Silver Medalist *

gymnastics scholarship * 2018 NCAA National Team and Floor Exercise Bronze Medalist

Irina Alexeeva Irina Nikolayevna Alexeeva or Alekseeva (russian: Ири́на Никола́евна Алексе́ева, born 20 April 2002) is a Russian artistic gymnast and a former member of the Russian National Team. She was part of the teams that won t ...

(representing Russia): * 2018 World Team Silver Medalist * 2018 European Team Champion * Member of the Russian National Team *

2016 U.S. Classic The 2016 U.S. Classic, known as the 2016 Secret U.S. Classic for sponsorship reasons, was the 33rd edition of the U.S. Classic gymnastics tournament. The competition was held on June 4, 2016, at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut. Historicall ...

Junior champion *

gymnastics scholarship

Skye Blakely Skye Amiel Blakely (born February 4, 2005) is an American Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. She was a member of the teams who won gold at the 2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, 2022 World Championships, silver at the 2022 Pan Ame ...

: * 2022 World Champion (team) * 2019 Junior World Championships Team bronze medalist *

gymnastics scholarship

Konnor McClain Konnor McClain (born February 1, 2005) is an American Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast and a member of the United States women's national gymnastics team. She is the 2022 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships, 2022 U.S National Champion an ...

: *

2021 World Championships 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

team member * 2022 National Champion

Madray Johnson Madray Emmanuelle Johnson (born July 16, 2007) is an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2021 Junior Pan American Games champion on uneven bars and balance beam and is the 2022 U.S. junior national champion. Gymnastics career Junior 202 ...

: * 2021 Junior Pan American Champion (team, balance beam), silver medalist (all-around, uneven bars) * 2021 Junior Pan American Games Champion (team, uneven bars, balance beam) Brenda Magaña (representing Mexico): * 2002 World Championships competitor *

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America. Al ...

floor exercise silver medalist and vault bronze medalist * 1997 Pan American Championships vault silver medalist

Vanessa Atler Vanessa Marie Atler (born February 17, 1982) is an American former elite gymnast. She is the 1997 U.S. national all-around champion, the 1998 Goodwill Games gold medalist on the floor exercise and vault, and a four-time national champion in the ...

: * 1999 World Championships competitor *

1998 Goodwill Games The 1998 Goodwill Games was the fourth edition of the international sports competition the Goodwill Games, which were created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. The competition was held i ...

Champion (vault and floor exercise) McKenzie Wofford: *

gymnastics scholarship

Men's Artistic Gymnastics

Glenn McCuen Glenn McCuen (born February 3, 1991) is an American actor, model and former gymnast, best known for his supporting role as Bodie in the 2010 family film ''Marmaduke'', and for his starring role as the narcissistic surfer, Aloe on the Nickelodeon ...

* 2008 Regional Champion; 2008 Texas State Champion * Star of Nickelodeon's teen sitcom, ''

Bucket & Skinner's Epic Adventures ''Bucket & Skinner's Epic Adventures'' is an American teen sitcom. The series aired on Nickelodeon from July 1, 2011 until June 9, 2012. The remaining episodes of the series were broadcast on TeenNick from December 22, 2012 to May 1, 2013. Premise ...

Acrobatic Gymnastics

Dylan Inserra: * 2008-2010 All-Around National Champion (acrobatic gymnastics) * 2009 - 2011 Senior National Team Member * 2010 World Finalist - Acrobatic Gymnastics (partner Axel Osborne) Axl Osborne * 2008-2010 All-Around National Champion (acrobatic gymnastics) * 2009 - 2011 Senior National Team Member * 2010 World Finalist - Acrobatic Gymnastics (partner Dylan Inserra)

Lawsuit

In 2006 a WOGA coach was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a 14 year old gymnast. The gymnast and her family filed a lawsuit against the owners of World Olympic Gymnastics Academy alleging that they had failed to properly screen and supervise the coach. The suit does not seek a specific amount of money from the academy owners and doesn't accuse them of abuse. Bill Boyd, the gym's attorney, has said all instructors receive a criminal background check and the gym was not aware of any accusations until a police investigation in 2005, after Wagoner had left. Wagoner was arrested in Jacksonville, Florida and received a 15 year prison sentence after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting the gymnast.

References

External links

WOGA Home Page
* ] {{coord missing, Texas World Olympic Gymnastics Academy, American companies established in 1994 Gymnastics clubs in the United States Gymnastics venues in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex 1994 establishments in Texas Sports clubs established in 1994 Sports in Frisco, Texas Companies based in Frisco, Texas