What happened to Kerri Strug at the Olympics? All about the 'Magnificent Seven's' most courageous gymnast and her attempt at Atlanta Olympics 1996

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Jul 25, 2024 09:12 GMT

Kerri Strug may not have won as many titles and World Championships as Simone Biles, Olga Korbut, or Nadia Comaneci. But she is still counted among the greatest gymnasts of all time.

Having shown interest in Gymnastics at the tender age of three, this young prodigy had one aim in mind: The Olympic gold medal. However, the manner in which Kerri Strug achieved it at the Atlanta Olympics was commendable, especially since she broke her leg in the vault section of the all-around team finals.

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Kerri Strug's early rise to fame

Kerri Strug along with the bronze medalist USA women's gymnastics team at the Barcelona Olympics 1992 [Image Source: Getty]

At the age of three, Kerri Strug showed an early inclination towards gymnastics. However, it was only when she was eight years old that she decided to pursue artistic gymnastics as her career.

Hailing from Tucson, Arizona, Kerri Strug initially trained under Jim Gault, before she moved to Houston, Texas, to train under Bela Karolyi, a famous gymnastics mentor. Karolyi had coached the likes of Nadia Comaneci and Julianne McNamara.

Kerri Strug made her international debut the same year at the 1991 World Championships when she was almost 14 years old. She won a silver medal for the USA women's gymnastics team in the team all-around event. Only a year later, Kerri Strug tasted her first slice of Olympic glory when she contributed to the bronze medal won by the USA team in the all-around team event at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992.

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Kerri Strug's historical comeback at the Atlanta Olympics

Kerri Strug [3rd from Right] singing the national anthem at the Atlanta Olympics [Image Source: Getty]

At the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, the expectations were sky-high for the American team. To quote Kerri Strug herself (via Olympics.com),

"For me, there were more expectations because we didn't win the first time around." [via Olympics.com]

Kerri Strug was a part of the 'Magnificent Seven', which included talented gymnasts like Shannon Miller, Dominique Dawes, etc.

However, it was at the Atlanta Olympics that Kerri Strug scripted history in what was a moment of acute crisis. Dominique Moceanu needed to score a minimum of 9.43 to seal the deal for USA. Unfortunately, Moceanu could only manage 9.137, which meant that Strug needed to give it her all to bring home an Olympic gold medal. However, none of the spectators expected a disaster in making.

During the team all-around event, Kerri Strug suffered a huge setback as she injured her ankle during the vault event. To make matters worse, she had torn her ligaments within the ankle. Yet, the very first question she asked her team coach Bela Karolyi was if the final move was needed, to which the strict coach responded,

"You can do it..... You better do it!"

With no other option, Kerri Strug bore the excruciating pain as she sprinted for her final vault move. This was a make-or-break moment. If she failed, USA would have to settle for the silver medal, but if she succeeded, USA would create history by becoming the first USA women's gymnastics team to win an Olympic gold.

Kerri Strug went for the move and despite a broken ankle, she created history for the USA, winning the first-ever team all-around gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. It would take another 16 years for an American female gymnastics team to repeat this feat.