Created by: René Solar
Kerri Strug
Fast Facts
Hometown: Tucson, Ariz.
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Date/Place of Birth: November 19, 1977/Tucson, Ariz.
Club: Karolyi's Gymnastics
Coach: Bela and Martha Karolyi
School: UCLA
Years on Senior National Team: 6 (1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95-unranked, 1995-96, 1996-97)
Began Gymnastics: 1982
Hobbies: Reading, shopping, spending time with family and friends, arts & crafts
Biography
Kerri Allison Strug was born on November 19th, 1977. Idolizing her older sister Lisa Strug, Kerri began gymnastics at the age of 3 when entering a mom and tot'd gymnastics class. She used to tumble around in the living room, wanting to do everything her older sister did.
At the age of 6, she was coached by Jim Gault, the coach at the University of Arizona. The elder girls at the University team taught her new things all the time and Kerri became better and better. At first her dream was to continue doing gymnastics at collegiate level. Until she saw Mary Lou Retton. Her aim was clear. She was going to follow Mary Lou Retton's footstep and become an Olympian champion. 8 years old only, Kerri participated in her first competition.
As the Olympics neared, Kerri decided it was time for her to move away from home in order to be trained by the legendary Bela Karolyi in Houston, Texas. He was famous for producing champions like Nadia Comaneci, Mary Lou Retton, and Kim Zmeskal.
In January 1991, Kerri left home at the age of 13 in order to live up to her dream. She had an aunt and uncle there, Ann and Don Mangold. But for her own benefit she decided to go and live near the gym instead with a host family. She worked up to 8 hours day. Every weekend she went to visit her aunt and uncle and every couple of weeks her parents came and visited her.
Then came Baltimore, Maryland. The Olympic Trials. At first everything seemed to go perfect, but then something went wrong and Kerri fell on floor. Despite this, Kerri came fourth and became the youngest member of the American national gymnastics team. The team claimed bronze medal in the Barcelona Games in 1992. But it wasn't quite what Kerri had wanted. She wanted to prove herself with an individual medal and she was just pushed out of the medal chase by Kim Zmeskal with .014 of a point! But being the tough girl she is, she didn't give up. She wanted another chance to prove her ability. To prove that she was an Olympic Champion.
After the games, Bela announced retirement. Kerri was left without a coach. She had to find a new one who could help her fulfill her dream. But it wasn't that easy. No one was capable of preparing her the way Bela did. She moved to Florida and joined Browns Gym. Then Oklahoma City to train with Steve Nunno. This is when it happened. Kerri tore her stomach muscle and returned to Tucson, Arizona to let it heal for six months.
Kerri still needed a coach and headed off to Colorado Springs to train with Doni Thompson. All this traveling across the country was in vain. Kerri had high expectations and no one seemed to be able to live up to them.
In 1994, it happened again. Kerri was doing her uneven bar routine when suddenly her grip slipped and she hit the mat, injuring her neck. Recovering consumed another six months. During this period, she focused on her studies and in the summer of 95, she graduated from Greenfield Country Day school with a Grade Point Average of 4.0!
Gymnastics and injuries often appeared in the same sentence when it came to Kerri's life. She has suffered several sprained ankles, neck injuries, torn ligaments, and ripped stomach muscles. But nothing could stop her from working hard. Her mom used to tell her to be less perfect, but Kerri knew what she wanted and wasn't ready to give up that easily. Going through pain as every day life, she continued chasing her dream.
Unable to adapt to anyone else's style, Kerri moved back to Houston in November 95 as she learned that Bela came out of retirement to coach the media darling Dominique Moceanu. Once again, Kerri was left behind in the shadows of a more popular gymnast.
In March 1996, Kerri was still on the top! She won the America's Cup gold medal and showed her ability. The Olympic trials in Boston came. Kerri did great and placed second. In fact, she scored highest on both floor and vault. Martha Karolyi and Mary Lee Tracy gave her anchor position in these two events in the Olympics.
