Kerri Strug Biography

Kerri Allyson Strug, born November 19, 1977, is an American retired gymnast from Tucson, Arizona. Kerri Strug competed as part of the U.S. women's gymnastics team that won the all-around gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics. In January 1991, Strug relocated to Houston, Texas, to begin training under coach Béla Károlyi after previously being coached by Jim Gault. At age 14, she earned a team bronze medal representing the United States at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Throughout the Team Compulsories and Optionals, she and Kim Zmeskal competed for the final US available spot to compete in the all-around. After compulsories, Strug was ranked 9th overall and had placed high enough to qualify herself for the all-around. Elena Dolgopolova completed her floor exercise approximately ten seconds after Kerri Strug sat her initial vault, with Dina Kochetkova and Roza Galieva yet to perform.