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Alicia Sacramone
Alicia Sacramone performs on the balance beam at the 2008 U.S. National Championships in Boston, MA.
Personal information
Full nameAlicia Marie Sacramone
Country represented United States
HometownWinchester, Massachusetts
Height5 ft 1 in (1.55 m)[1]
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior International
Years on national team7 (2002–2008,2010)
ClubBrestyan's American Gymnastics
College teamBrown University
Head coach(es)Mihai Brestyan
Assistant coach(es)Sylvie Brestyan
MusicSanta Maria (Gotan Project)
Medal record
Women's gymnastics
Representing the  United States
Summer Olympics
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing Team
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2005 Melbourne Floor
Gold medal – first place 2007 Stuttgart Team
Gold medal – first place 2010 Rotterdam Vault
Silver medal – second place 2006 Aarhus Team
Silver medal – second place 2006 Aarhus Vault
Silver medal – second place 2007 Stuttgart Floor
Silver medal – second place 2010 Rotterdam Team
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Melbourne Vault
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Stuttgart Vault
U.S. Senior Nationals
Gold medal – first place 2005 Indianapolis Floor
Gold medal – first place 2005 Indianapolis Vault
Gold medal – first place 2006 St. Paul Floor
Gold medal – first place 2006 St. Paul Vault
Gold medal – first place 2007 San Jose Vault
Gold medal – first place 2008 Boston Vault
Gold medal – first place 2010 Hartford Vault
Silver medal – second place 2004 Nashville Vault
Silver medal – second place 2008 Boston Floor
Silver medal – second place 2010 Hartford Balance beam
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Milwaukee Floor
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Indianapolis Balance beam
Bronze medal – third place 2007 San Jose Balance beam
Bronze medal – third place 2007 San Jose Floor
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Boston Balance beam

Alicia Marie Sacramone (Template:Pron-en; born December 3, 1987) is an American artistic gymnast.

Sacramone began gymnastics at the age of eight, began competing in the elite ranks in 2002 and joined the U.S. national team in 2003. At US National Championships from 2004 to 2008, she won twelve medals, including four golds on vault and two golds on floor exercise. At World Championships from 2005 to 2007, she won seven medals, including a floor exercise gold in 2005 and a team gold in 2007. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she won a team silver medal. In 2010, Sacramone made a comeback by winning the National Championship on Vault. Later in 2010 at the World Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands, she won the World Title on Vault as well[2]. Her gold gave her a total of nine medals overall, joining Shannon Miller and Nastia Liukin as the U.S. athletes with the most medals at the gymnastics world championships.

Sacramone has become noteworthy for supportive leadership of her teammates as well as outspoken remarks in interviews.[3][4]

Personal life

Sacramone was born on December 3, 1987 in Boston, Massachusetts[1][5] to parents Fred, an orthodontist, and Gail Sacramone.[6] She is of Italian descent.[7] Sacramone has an older brother, Jonathan, who is 27 years old.[6] She graduated from Winchester High School in 2006.[8] Sacramone is dating Denver Broncos quarterback Brady Quinn.[9]

Early career

Sacramone began studying dance at the age of three[7] and started training gymnastics five years later, at age eight, in 1996.[6][10] She began her gymnastics career with Romanian coaches Mihai and Silvia Brestyan at Gymnastics and More club and continued to train with them after they opened their own training facility in Ashland. The Brestyans continued to serve as Sacramone's coaches until her retirement in 2008.[5][11]

Sacramone entered the elite ranks in 2002, placing seventh in the all-around and sixth on the vault in the junior division at that year's U.S. Classic competition. At the 2002 U.S. National Championships, she placed 22nd, but achieved a seventh place finish on the balance beam.[12] Her results improved immensely the next year, when she placed 14th in the all-around and won a bronze medal on the vault at the 2003 U.S. Nationals, earning a spot on the U.S. National gymnastics team. Sacramone also participated in her first international competition in 2003, the Massilia Cup in France, where she placed fourth on the floor exercise and ninth on vault.

Senior career

2004

In 2004, Sacramone earned a spot on the US team for the Pacific Alliance Championships in Hawaii. She contributed several scores to help the team to a gold medal finish and won the individual vault title. Sacramone's strong performances caught the attention of the media, who began to consider her a legitimate contender for the American team at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.[7][13]

However, at the 2004 U.S. Nationals, an error-filled performance dashed Sacramone's hopes of an Olympic berth. Although she tied with Mohini Bhardwaj for the silver medal on the vault,[14] she finished in 19th place overall and did not qualify to the Olympic Trials. She also suffered an injury to her back and required time off to recover.[4][7]

Sacramone continued competing in late 2004 as a member of the U.S. national team, and was assigned to several international meets, including the Pan American Individual Event Championships, where she won the vault and floor exercise titles.[15] At the World Cup Finals in Birmingham, England, Sacramone attracted media attention again when she upset reigning Olympic vault champion Monica Roşu to take first place on the event.

2005–2006

At the 2005 U.S. National Championships, Sacramone won the individual titles on floor and vault, scoring a 9.9 on the latter event, and placed third on the balance beam and fourth in the all-around. She was named to the American team for the 2005 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, where she won a gold medal on floor and placed third on the vault. She also defended her World Cup vault title successfully in 2005, winning the event at both the World Cup qualifier in Ghent and the finals in Paris.[5]

Sacramone continued to compete for the U.S. team in 2006, participating in the 2006 World Championships in Aarhus, where she won a silver medal with the American squad and an individual silver on the vault. She defended her vault and floor titles at that year's U.S. Nationals.[5]

In September 2006, Sacramone enrolled in Brown University and joined the school's gymnastics team. During the 2006–2007 season, she juggled a full NCAA competition schedule with her elite training at Brestyan's. She was the first female American gymnast since Kelly Garrison in the late 1980s to combine full-time university studies and NCAA competition with elite gymnastics.[16]

During Sacramone's first year with the Brown Bears, she broke the school's records for the highest scores in the all-around, vault and floor exercise. She was named ECAC Rookie of the Year[17] and swept the Ivy League Classic, becoming the first gymnast to win all five events and posting the highest all-around total ever recorded at the competition.[18] She qualified as an individual on the floor exercise for the NCAA National Championships, the second Brown gymnast ever to do so, but did not advance beyond the preliminary round.[17]

2007

At the 2007 U.S. National Championships, Sacramone competed on three events, choosing to skip the uneven bars. She defended her title on the vault, placed second on the floor exercise and third on the balance beam. Following Nationals, Sacramone was named to the American team for the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.[19]

During the qualifying round at the World Championships, Sacramone performed well, qualifying for event finals in floor and vault and contributing to the top qualifying position of the American team. Sacramone also posted a score on beam that would have been high enough to qualify her to the beam event final. However, due to the FIG rule only allowing two athletes per country to participate in each event final, and due to the fact that team mates Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson qualified ahead of her with higher scores, Sacramone was unable to compete for a beam medal. For the team final, Sacramone competed on vault, beam, and floor, earning 15.750, 15.600 and 15.325 respectively. When the American team faltered after a difficult beam rotation, in which two gymnasts made major errors, Sacramone gathered the team for a pep talk to refocus them for floor.[4][20] The American team earned 184.400 points overall which was good enough to secure the gold medal ahead of the Chinese and Romanians.[21][22]

In event finals, Sacramone received a bronze medal for her vault performance and a silver on floor behind teammate Shawn Johnson.[23] She was visibly upset by her performances, and fought back tears after floor and during the flower and medal ceremonies.[24]

Both the Brestyans and the U.S. National Team Coordinator, Marta Karolyi, suggested that Sacramone forgo NCAA competition during the 2007–2008 season to concentrate on her preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.[16] In September 2007, Sacramone announced that she was "turning pro" and signed with an agent, forfeiting her remaining NCAA eligibility.[10]

2008 pre-Olympics

Alicia Sacramone at "Frosted Pink With a Twist", San Diego, California, 14 September 2008

In the 2007–2008 academic year, Sacramone continued to work with the Brown Bears gymnastics team as a volunteer assistant coach. She remained a student at Brown, majoring in sociology, but took the spring 2008 semester off to prepare for the Olympics.[25][26][27]

Sacramone competed well at the 2008 U.S. National Championships in Boston and the Olympic Trials in Philadelphia. On July 19, she was named to the 2008 Olympic Team for Beijing.[28]

2008 Summer Olympics

At the Olympics, Sacramone performed on three events in both the qualifying and team final rounds of competition. In the team final, Sacramone posted a 15.675 score on vault but fell on both floor and beam, incurring 1.70 points in deductions.[29][30]

In the day following the Olympic team finals, Sacramone was largely blamed for the American team's silver medal placement, and was the subject of negative commentary in media reports.[31][32] Sacramone herself took responsibility for the results, noting, "It's kinda hard not to blame myself."[32] However, analysts in the gymnastics community, including University of Georgia head coach Suzanne Yoculan, former Olympian John Roethlisberger and International Gymnast editor Paul Ziert, noted that the American team started the competition at a difficult point deficit to the Chinese and that mathematically, Sacramone could not have been personally or exclusively responsible for the U.S. team's results.[30][33][34] Sacramone also received support from the American team. In one interview, team mate Bridget Sloan stated, "We've all made mistakes. It's just really hard to see her go and leave these Olympics knowing that she thinks it's her fault. It is definitely not and we've all been encouraging her very much."[35]

Individually, Sacramone placed third overall on vault in the preliminary round of competition and qualified to the individual event final on that event. In the vault final, Sacramone placed fourth, just out of the medals.[36] Behind Hong Un Jong , Oksana Chusovitina and Cheng Fei (somewhat controversally, since Cheng fell on her first vault) She also placed fourth overall on beam in preliminaries behind Li Shanshan of China and teammates Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson, but did not advance to the event finals due to the "two per country" rule.[37]

2008 temporary retirement

In interviews, Sacramone alluded to retiring after the 2008 Beijing Olympics.[38] She confirmed her retirement in February 2009 during an interview at a Boston Bruins ice hockey game.[39]

2009-2010 return to training and competition

On August 6, 2009, Sacramone announced her return to training for elite competition.[40] But slowly returned, after having shoulder surgery earlier that year.

On 24 July 2010, Sacramone competed in the Cover Girl Classic. She placed first in both beam and vault, not competing on floor or bars. Her return to competitive form was judged dramatically successful by meet commentators[41] and she was named USA Today's "Athlete of the Week".[42]

Sacramone competed in the U.S. National Championships in August, performing only vault and balance beam. She placed first on vault (her fifth national title on that apparatus) and second on balance beam. She was also named Sportsperson of the Year.[43]

At the World Championships in October, Sacramone won a gold medal on the vault and a silver medal in the team competition. She now has nine world medals, tying her with Shannon Miller and Nastia Liukin for the most world medals by an American female gymnast.[44]

Other activities

In June 2008, Sacramone and her team mates Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin became the first female athletes ever to be signed as CoverGirl spokesmodels.[45] Sacramone is also a member of Team 24 Fitness and serves as a spokeswoman for the fitness company.[46] In 2009, she also appeared in a Gatorade commercial that spoofed Monty Python and the Holy Grail as "Alicia, The Girl Who Made Horse Trotting Noises."[47]

During the summer of 2009, Sacramone briefly stayed in Los Angeles, California and she designed for Tank Farm, a men's fashion company.[40][48] She has discussed her intent to return to college in the media,[39] but announced in August 2009 that she was not intending to return to Brown University. In an interview with Inside Gymnastics Magazine, she stated, "“I plan to continue school [but] I’m looking into transferring somewhere in Boston,” she explains. “Brown is a great school and I loved it, but it was just not the best atmosphere for me; maybe a little too liberal. It was a great two years and I learned a lot about myself and from the professors and coaches there. I’m looking at Boston University, Boston College and Harvard. I want to weigh my options before I make an ultimate decision, but I would love to transfer to Harvard. I think that would be pretty much ideal."[40]

Competitive history

Year Event AA Team VT BB UB FX
2002 U.S. National Championships (junior) 22 7
2003 U.S. National Championships 14 4 3rd
2004 U.S. National Championships 19 2nd
Pacific Alliance Championships 1st 1st
World Cup Ghent 1st 4
World Cup Birmingham 1st
2005 U.S. National Championships 4 1st 3rd 1st
World Championships 3rd 1st
World Cup Ghent 1st 1st
World Cup Paris 1st 6
American Cup 1st 2nd
2006 U.S. National Championships 5 1st 6 8 1st
World Championships 2nd 2nd
World Cup Ghent 2nd
2007 U.S. National Championships 1st 3rd 3rd
World Championships 1st 3rd 2nd
2008 U.S. National Championships 1st 3rd 2nd
U.S. Olympic Trials 1st 5 5
Olympic Games 2nd 4
2010 U.S. National Championships 1st 2nd
World Championships 2nd 1st 5

Floor music

2002: "Jazz Machine" - Black Machine
2003–2004: "Explosive" by Bond (band)
2005: "Que Locura" by Christian Reyes
2006–2008: "Santa Maria (Del Buen Ayre)" by the Gotan Project[49]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Alicia Sacramone's official 2008 Olympics biography". Beijing Olympic Committee. 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-12.
  2. ^ Associated Press (2010-10-23). "Alicia Sacramone wins world vault title". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2010-10-23. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ Pucin, Diane (2008-06-20). "Don't Mess with Alicia". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ a b c Macur, Juliet (2008-07-18). "Sacramone Is Still Waiting for That Call". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ a b c d "Alicia Sacramone's current national team biography". USA Gymnastics. 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  6. ^ a b c "Alicia Sacramone's 2004 USAG biography" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. 2004. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  7. ^ a b c d "Inside Chat with Alicia Sacramone". Inside Gymnastics. 2007-07-22. Retrieved 2007-12-29. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ "Olympian Sacramone to Drop Puck Saturday". Boston Bruins Official site. January 29, 2009. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
  9. ^ [1]
  10. ^ a b Swift, E.M. (2007-09-09). "What we learned: U.S. women amazingly deep; men aren't bad, either". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2007-12-29. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ "American Classic bounds into Boston March 14–16". USA Gymnastics. 2003-01-31. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  12. ^ "Scores from 2002 Nationals". USA Gymnastics. 2002. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  13. ^ Wen, Grace (2004-04-17). "Matching Jewelry". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 2007-12-29. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ "WAG event final results, 2004 Nationals". International Gymnast. 2004. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ "1st Pan American Event Championships". Athlete News, USA Gymnastics. 2004-12-05. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ a b Garcia, Marlen (2007). "Double-duty gymnast sets bar high". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-12-29. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  17. ^ a b "Sacramone's Gymnastics Season Comes to an End at 2007 NCAA Championships". Brown Gymnastics. 2007-04-27. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
  18. ^ "Bears place fourth at Ivy League Classic". Brown Gymnastics. 2007-02-26. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
  19. ^ "USA Gymnastics names U.S. Women's Team for 2007 World Championships". USA Gymnastics. 2007-08-18. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
  20. ^ "Personality puts Sacramone in front". Associated Press. 2008-06-17. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  21. ^ "U.S. women advance to team finals, qualify for 2008 Olympic Games". USA Gymnastics. 2007-09-02. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
  22. ^ "U.S. women win team title at World Championships". USA Gymnastics. 2007-09-05. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
  23. ^ "U.S. women win three more medals at 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships". USA Gymnastics. 2007-09-09. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
  24. ^ Pucin, Diana (2007-09-10). "World is at Johnson's feet". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-12-29. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) [dead link]
  25. ^ Powers, John (2007-09-27). "Sacramone has balancing act down". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-12-29. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  26. ^ "Sacramone's official Brown University biography". Brown Bears Gymnastics. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
  27. ^ Garcia, Marlen (2008-06-03). "Sacramone's love, commitment inspire others to succeed". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-06-30. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  28. ^ Armour, Nancy (2008-07-19). "Four years later, Memmel, Sacramone make Olympics". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  29. ^ "Team final scores". NBC Olympics. 2008-08-12. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
  30. ^ a b Yoculan, Suzanne (2008-08-12). "Analysis of the Women's Gymnastics Team Final". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-13. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  31. ^ Metcalfe, Jeff (2008-08-12). "Sacramone falls cost U.S. women in gym final". Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  32. ^ a b Alyssa Roenigk (2008-08-13). "Team final results should not define Sacramone". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
  33. ^ Ziert, Paul (2008-08-13). "Ziert Alert: Alicia, It's Not Your Fault". International Gymnast. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  34. ^ Roethlisberger, John (2008-08-13). "Don't throw Alicia under the bus (video commentary)". NBC Olympics. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  35. ^ Tiernon, Anne Marie (2008-08-12). "Hoosier gymnasts weigh second-place finish". WTHR Indianapolis. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  36. ^ "Vault event final scores". NBC Olympics. 2008-08-17. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
  37. ^ "Team qualifying round apparatus scores". NBC Olympics. 2008-08-10. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
  38. ^ Garcia, Marlen (2008-08-08). ["http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2008-05-28-sacramoneqanda_N.htm "A star on vault, Sacramone discusses life outside gym"]. USA Today. Retrieved 2009-02-25. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  39. ^ a b http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa5yKLgTuOg
  40. ^ a b c ["http://www.insidegymnastics.com/content/show/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=561&zoneid=1 "Sacramone on comeback path"]. USA Gymanstics. 2009-09-06. Retrieved 2009-09-06. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  41. ^ 24 JUL 2010, Universal (NBC) coverage of the Cover Girl Classic. Television program. Commentary by Tim Dagget and Tasha Shweikert.
  42. ^ Karimian, Arin (2010-07-26). "Athlete of the Week: Return of Alicia Sacramone is a success". USA Today.
  43. ^ http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/pages/post.html?PostID=6058&prog=
  44. ^ http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/pages/post.html?PostID=6572&prog=
  45. ^ "CoverGirl Flips for USA Gymnastics". PR Newswire. June 26, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
  46. ^ "24 Hour Fitness Announces Partnership with Six U.S. Olympic Hopefuls for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games". May 1, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  47. ^ http://www.missiong.com/video/The-Quest-for-G
  48. ^ "Catching up With Alicia Sacramone". USA Gymnastics. May 14, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
  49. ^ http://www.designedbytim.com/gymnstands/music2.htm
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