Jessica Brizeida López Arocha (born January 22, 1986) is a Venezuelan

artistic gymnast 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 ...

who competes for the Venezuela national team. She competed at the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

and the

2016 Summer Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

, where she qualified to the uneven bars final, becoming the first Venezuelan gymnast to qualify for an individual apparatus final, where she placed sixth.

Career

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 ...

gymnastics, Lopez competed for the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

. She qualified to compete as an individual at the

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 ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

. In 2009, she competed at the

2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 41st World Artistic Gymnastics Championships was held at The O2 Arena in London from 12 to 18 October 2009. Similar to the 2005 World Championships, there were no team competitions. Individual all-around and event finals were contested. C ...

. In March 2010, she won the bronze medal 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 ...

. At the end of March, she won the gold medal in the all around, uneven bars, and floor exercise at the South American Games. She won medals in Moscow, Porto, and Ghent, and at the Glasgow World Cup. In September, she went to compete at the Pre-Panamerican Games, where she won two silver medals (uneven bars and balance beam) and one bronze medal (all around). In October, she competed at the 2010 World Championships, where she qualified for the all-around finals and finished in the tenth place, the best showing ever for a Venezuelan gymnast. Lopez qualified to compete as an individual at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. She finished 18th overall. She carried the Venezuelan flag in the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games. At the 2014 World Championships, she did not qualify to any individual event finals, but finished eighth in the all around, her highest worlds finish. Afterwards she competed at the Central American and Caribbean Games, placing first all around, beam and bars. She competed at the Stuttgart World Cup a few weeks later and won silver in the all around. She competed at the 2015 American Cup and placed 4th, which secured her winning the FIG World Cup series. She qualified to compete at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where she finished seventh in the all around and sixth on uneven bars.

References

External links

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Biography at the University of Denver
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Jessica 1986 births Living people Denver Pioneers women's gymnasts Gymnasts at the 2007 Pan American Games Gymnasts at the 2008 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2012 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2016 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2015 Pan American Games Olympic gymnasts for Venezuela Pan American Games silver medalists for Venezuela Sportspeople from Caracas Venezuelan female artistic gymnasts Pan American Games medalists in gymnastics Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Venezuela Central American and Caribbean Games silver medalists for Venezuela Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for Venezuela Competitors at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games South American Games gold medalists for Venezuela South American Games bronze medalists for Venezuela South American Games medalists in gymnastics Competitors at the 2010 South American Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in gymnastics Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games 21st-century Venezuelan women