13 Black Women Who Changed The Face Of Gymnastics

Rachaell Davis Jul, 18, 2016

1 of 13 ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP/Getty Images

Dominique Dawes

Three-time Olympian; first Black person to win an Olympic gold medal in gymnastics; first Black woman to win an individual Olympic medal in artists gymnastics

2 of 13 Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Gabrielle Douglas

First Black woman in history to become individual all-around Olympic champion; only American all-around champion to win multiple gold medals in a single Olympic games; member of 2016 U.S. Olympic Team.

3 of 13 Harry How/Getty Images

Simone Biles

Holds record for most gold medals won by a female gymnast in World Championships history; first African-American to become World all-around champion; member of 2016 U.S. Olympic Team.

4 of 13 Getty Images

Diane Durham

First elite U.S. Gymnast to train under legendary coach Bella Karolyi. Two-time Junior National Champion; Senior National Champion.

5 of 13 Getty Images

Luci Collins

Became the first Black female to make an Olympics team in 1980.

6 of 13 Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

Kyla Ross

Olympic Gold Medalist of the “fierce five” 2012 U.S. Gymnastics Team

7 of 13 Tony Duffy /Allsport

Betty Okino

World Gymnastics Championships Silver Medalist of the 1991 U.S. Gymnastics Team; Olympic Bronze Medalist of the 1992 U.S. Gymnastics Team.

8 of 13 AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

Sophina DeJesus

Elite gymnast of the UCLA Bruins gymnastics team since 2012; gained notoriety in 2016 for viral video of floor exercise routine incorporating popular Hip Hop dance moves.