Elise Ray
Encyclopedia
Mary Elise Ray is an American gymnast
who represented the United States at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney
and the 1999 World Championships.
under Kelli Hill, former coach of Olympic medalists Dominique Dawes
and Courtney Kupets
. She earned her first US national team berth as a junior in 1996 and turned in a strong performance in her international debut, the 1996 Junior Pan American Championships, placing second in the all-around and winning gold on the uneven bars and floor exercise. She continued to excel in the years that followed, picking up an uneven bars silver medal at the 1998 Goodwill Games
. At the 1999 World Championships in Tianjin
, China
, Ray was the highest-ranked American of the competition, finishing eighth in the all-around.
apparatus 5 cm too low; the situation was not remedied until the competition was halfway over. The change completely altered gymnasts' entry and postflight and caused several crashes. Ray was one of the gymnasts who vaulted before the error was discovered; consequently she fell on both her warmup and competition vaults. On one of her warm up vaults, she came inches away from crashing on her head. Although Ray escaped injury, the experience left her shaken, and she also fell from beam. It is impossible to tell how much her subsequent performances were affected. Gymnasts who had vaulted on the incorrectly set apparatus were invited to redo their vaults at the end of the session; Ray accepted this offer and ended up in 13th place with her revised score. Like most gymnasts who had used the incorrectly set vault, Ray felt that it had a negative effect on her performance: she opined during a post competition interview with NBC that she could have medalled had it not happened.
on a full athletic scholarship, where she majored in English. She crowned a very successful NCAA
career by leading her team to the Super Six finals in 2005, and winning a silver on beam. She visits back to Ann Arbor, occasionally to cheer on the team that she used to compete with. Previously, she tied (with Onnie Willis of UCLA) for the All Around title in 2001) and won golds in the balance beam (2002) and uneven bars (2004) events. She performed for three years in Cirque du Soleil
, where she was a member of the Cadre team in the Las Vegas
resident show O
. She also performed in the Cirque Show, Love. Ray also serves occasionally as a color commentator for Big Ten Network broadcasts of women's gymnastics. She coaches at Carroll Gymnastics Center. in Hampstead, Maryland.
On April 28, 2010 Elise and the other women on the 2000 Olympic team were awarded the bronze medal in the team competition when the it was discovered that the previous medal winners, the Chinese team, had falsified the age of team member Dong Fangxiao
. As a result of the falsification, Dong's results were nullified, and the Chinese team was stripped of the medal by the IOC.
The U.S. team was given their bronze medals at a special ceremony prior to the Men's competition at the U.S. Championships in August 2010.
On September 22, 2011, Elise joined the Washington Huskies
gymnastics program as an assistant coach, replacing her former Michigan teammate Shanna Hannan. She is reunited with head coach Joanne Bowers, who was an assistant coach at Michigan.
Elise Ray is the Big Ten Conference
's all-time leader in Gymnast of the Week citations, earning nine in her career.
Gymnast
Gymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia...
who represented the United States at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and the 1999 World Championships.
Biography and early career
Ray attended Steven's Forest Elementary School in Columbia, Maryland and went on to train at Hill's Angels club in MarylandMaryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
under Kelli Hill, former coach of Olympic medalists Dominique Dawes
Dominique Dawes
Dominique Margaux Dawes is a retired United States artistic gymnast. She was 10-year member of the U.S. national gymnastics team, the 1994 U.S. all-around senior National Champion, a three-time Olympian, a World Championships silver medalist and a member of the gold-medal winning "Magnificent...
and Courtney Kupets
Courtney Kupets
Courtney Anne Kupets is an American gymnast. She is best known for her 2003 and 2004 all-around national championships ; her membership on the 2002 and 2003 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and 2004 Olympic teams; and her individual bronze medal on the uneven bars at the 2004...
. She earned her first US national team berth as a junior in 1996 and turned in a strong performance in her international debut, the 1996 Junior Pan American Championships, placing second in the all-around and winning gold on the uneven bars and floor exercise. She continued to excel in the years that followed, picking up an uneven bars silver medal at the 1998 Goodwill Games
Goodwill Games
The Goodwill Games was an international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s...
. At the 1999 World Championships in Tianjin
Tianjin
' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Ray was the highest-ranked American of the competition, finishing eighth in the all-around.
Sydney Olympics and vault scandal
Ray won both the US National Championships and the Olympic Trials in 2000. At the Sydney Olympics, Ray was the only American woman to qualify for an event final, balance beam. In spite of this, she would encounter major difficulties at the Olympics. In the all-around finals, officials mistakenly set the vaultVault (architecture)
A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
apparatus 5 cm too low; the situation was not remedied until the competition was halfway over. The change completely altered gymnasts' entry and postflight and caused several crashes. Ray was one of the gymnasts who vaulted before the error was discovered; consequently she fell on both her warmup and competition vaults. On one of her warm up vaults, she came inches away from crashing on her head. Although Ray escaped injury, the experience left her shaken, and she also fell from beam. It is impossible to tell how much her subsequent performances were affected. Gymnasts who had vaulted on the incorrectly set apparatus were invited to redo their vaults at the end of the session; Ray accepted this offer and ended up in 13th place with her revised score. Like most gymnasts who had used the incorrectly set vault, Ray felt that it had a negative effect on her performance: she opined during a post competition interview with NBC that she could have medalled had it not happened.
Post Olympics
After Sydney, Elise attended the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
on a full athletic scholarship, where she majored in English. She crowned a very successful NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
career by leading her team to the Super Six finals in 2005, and winning a silver on beam. She visits back to Ann Arbor, occasionally to cheer on the team that she used to compete with. Previously, she tied (with Onnie Willis of UCLA) for the All Around title in 2001) and won golds in the balance beam (2002) and uneven bars (2004) events. She performed for three years in Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil , is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment." Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy...
, where she was a member of the Cadre team in the Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
resident show O
O (Cirque du Soleil)
O is a water-themed stage production by Cirque du Soleil, a Canadian circus and entertainment company. The show has been in permanent residence at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, since October 1998...
. She also performed in the Cirque Show, Love. Ray also serves occasionally as a color commentator for Big Ten Network broadcasts of women's gymnastics. She coaches at Carroll Gymnastics Center. in Hampstead, Maryland.
On April 28, 2010 Elise and the other women on the 2000 Olympic team were awarded the bronze medal in the team competition when the it was discovered that the previous medal winners, the Chinese team, had falsified the age of team member Dong Fangxiao
Dong Fangxiao
Dong Fangxiao is a retired Chinese gymnast. She now lives in New Zealand with her husband, and competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She originally won a bronze medal with the Chinese team, however following an investigation, the International Gymnastics Federation ruled that she was under the...
. As a result of the falsification, Dong's results were nullified, and the Chinese team was stripped of the medal by the IOC.
The U.S. team was given their bronze medals at a special ceremony prior to the Men's competition at the U.S. Championships in August 2010.
On September 22, 2011, Elise joined the Washington Huskies
Washington Huskies
Washington Huskies is the nickname of the University of Washington's athletic teams. The school is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference. The athletic program is made up of 9 men's sports and 10 women's sports Washington Huskies is the nickname of the University of Washington's athletic teams. The...
gymnastics program as an assistant coach, replacing her former Michigan teammate Shanna Hannan. She is reunited with head coach Joanne Bowers, who was an assistant coach at Michigan.
Notable skills
Elise Ray has three uneven bars skills named after her in the Code of Points:- Ray I: Facing inward, a stalder backward with release and counter movement forward in flight to hang
- Ray II: Toe-on Tkatchev release move (rated D in the most recent Code of Points)
- Ray III: Double twisting double layout dismount rated G - the highest difficulty rating possible
Additional achievements
Elise Ray graduated from the University of Michigan with the most All-America honors (14) in the program's history.Elise Ray is the Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
's all-time leader in Gymnast of the Week citations, earning nine in her career.