When did Aly Raisman make her Olympic debut? What happened at the event?
Six-time Olympic medalist Aly Raisman is widely considered the third greatest gymnast ever after Shannon Miller and Simone Biles.
In her glorious career, she participated in two Olympics. She made her Olympic debut in 2012 in London where she managed to secure two golds and a bronze medal.
Aly Raisman at London Olympics
At the start of 2012, Aly Raisman was announced as the captain of the American gymnast team named Fierce Five. She won gold medals with Team USA and gold and bronze individually.
Women's artistic team all-around
Aly Raisman contributed to the "Fierce Five" American team's qualification in first place for the team final, second place for the individual all-around with a score of 60.391, fifth place for the beam final with a score of 15.100, and first place for the floor final with a score of 15.325.
She helped the American team win the team competition with scores of 14.933 on the balancing beam and 15.300 on the floor.
The team's overall score was 183.596 with Gabby Douglas leading the table with an overall score of 61.465. Russia placed second with an overall score of 178.530, followed by Romania with 176.414.
Women's floor
Raisman earned the bronze medal in the balancing beam competition. After Marta Károlyi asked for a video review, the judges reevaluated Raisman’s performance and gave her routine an additional tenth in difficulty.
She had previously received a score of 14.966. She finished in third place with a score of 15.066, tied with Cătălina Ponor of Romania, and triumphed in the tie-breaker that gave the execution score precedence over the difficulty score.
Women's balance beam
Aly Raisman became the first American woman to win a gold medal on the floor when she took first place in the floor final with a score of 15.600. Additionally, it was the best floor exercise score ever obtained at a significant international tournament during the Olympic quadrennium (2009–2012).
She dedicated her floor performance to the 11 Israeli Olympians who were slain by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich as she performed to the song "Hava Nagila."
Raisman's career after the 2012 Olympics
Aly Raisman suffered an injury in September 2012 while competing at Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions in Ontario, California. She injured her knees when she slipped while attempting a Maloney on uneven bars and tumbled off the mats. This happened not long after McKayla Maroney, another teammate, hurt herself while doing a flyaway dismount on the same bars.
At the national training camp in October 2014, Aly Raisman made her first appearance in the sport since the Olympics.
Later on, Raisman went on to compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she was again selected as the captain of the Final Five team of the USA. She won a gold medal with the team and two silver medals individually in individual all-around and Floor Exercise.
On January 14, 2020, the artistic gymnast announced her retirement from competitive gymnastics.