Aly Raisman or McKayla Maroney: Who is the more successful gymnast of the two?
Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney are retired phenomenal gymnasts who started their professional careers at the 2012 London Olympics, winning a gold medal for America. Raisman and Maroney have had a terrific start and have successful careers.
Aly Raisman won six Olympic medals, including three gold medals, two silver, and one bronze. Having made her Olympic debut in 2012, Raisman won two more medals in individual events besides winning gold in team events.
She then competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics and won three medals, including one gold in team events and two silvers in individual events.
McKayla Maroney, on the other hand, only has two Olympic medals: one gold in the team event and one silver in the vault. Maroney announced her retirement at the age of 19 due to multiple injuries that made it difficult to compete in the competitions.
An inside glimpse of Aly Raisman's career
Aly Raisman was born on May 25, 1994, in Boston to former high school gymnasts Lynn and Rick Raisman. She is the youngest of three siblings and began gymnastics when she was 18 months old.
In 2010, Aly started her senior year and competed in the American Cup in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Raisman won dozens of medals at the World and Pacific Rim Championships. She won her first world championship in 2011 in Tokyo.
Aly Raisman won four medals at the World Championships, including two golds in team events, one silver in team events, and one bronze in the floor exercise.
She has won eight medals at the Pacific Rim Championships, including three golds and five silvers. Raisman also won two silvers and one bronze at the FIG World Cup.
Aly Raisman finished second behind Simone Biles in the floor final at the 2016 Rio Olympics and received praise for her performance.
McKayla Maroney won three gold medals at the World Championships
Mckayla Maroney was born on December 9, 1995, in Aliso Viejo, California, to Erin and Mike Maroney. She started gymnastics at a very young age.
McKayla revealed in one of her interviews that when she was a kid, she would watch Tarzan and run around the house on all fours.
She said:
"When I was younger, I would be watching Tarzan and running around on all fours. My mom said, 'I need to put this child in gymnastics. She's crazy.' I was technically in gymnastics at the age of two and always felt comfortable in the gym."
McKayla had always dreamed of competing at the Olympics but was greatly concerned about her height. The star gymnast confessed:
"I remember watching Carly Patterson. She was one of my favorites. I loved her floor routine. I went to the Olympic Trials that year with Kyla [Ross]. I remember seeing the gymnasts on the floor, and I loved all of their leotards. I thought they were so little and so amazing. I thought, how am I going to stay this little? I was worried that I was going to be really tall because my dad is 6'3" and my mom is 5'2", so I didn't know which one I was going to be."
McKayla Maroney won three gold medals at the World Championships and three golds at the Pan-American Championships.