Samantha Peszek
Encyclopedia
Samantha Nicole Peszek is an American national team gymnast
. She was a member of the United States' 2008 Olympic women's gymnastics team
.
and the 2007 Pan American Games
.
In March 2008, she competed at the American Cup
. She placed 3rd in the all-around competition, behind teammates Nastia Liukin
and Shawn Johnson
.
After a solid performance at the 2008 U.S. National Championships, Peszek continued to prove her worth to the U.S. team at the Olympic Trials. At the conclusion of the meet, when she was invited to the final Olympic selection camp, most experts, including NBC's analysts, predicted she would be selected for the team. Indeed, she was selected on July 19, 2008 at the conclusion of the selection camp in New Waverly, Texas
. Along with Peszek, Shawn Johnson
, Nastia Liukin
, Chellsie Memmel
, Alicia Sacramone
, and Bridget Sloan
were selected for the team.
During the 2008 Summer Olympics
, Peszek was injured during warm-ups just minutes before the women's qualifier and was restricted to the Uneven Bars. She was the second gymnast to be injured on the 2008 Women's gymnastics Olympic team, the other being Chellsie Memmel
.
After the Beijing Olympics, Samantha expressed her desire to continue her elite gymnastics career.
After letting her ankle heal Samantha competed for the first time after the Olympics at the 2009 CoverGirl Classic, where she competed only vault and beam, where she placed 2nd and 9th. She then decided to compete at the VISA Championships with hopes of making the world team as a 3-event specialist, due to a torn labrum in her shoulder she was waiting until after the World Championships to have surgery on. During the Championships she placed 2nd on beam and 7th on floor. Samantha was then added to the US National Team and made it to the 2nd and final selection camp, during which she pulled out and decided to get her torn labrum fixed. She signed with UCLA
and has expressed a desire to compete at both NCAA and Elite gymnastics at the same time.
In 2011, she won the balance beam title at the NCAA Women's Gymnastics championship
.
. She is Catholic and graduated from Cathedral High School in 2010. She also attended St.Simon the Apostle Grade School where she got high honors.
After Beijing, Peter Zhao, Peszek's long-time coach at DeVeau's School of Gymnastics, retired from coaching and returned to China to help with his family business. Peszek transferred to Sharp's Gymnastics Academy. She currently trains alongside Olympic teammate Bridget Sloan
.
In April 2009 Peszek announced on her Twitter
that she had committed to UCLA to compete in NCAA gymnastics for the Bruins. She was the first of the 2008 US Women's Gymnastics team, apart from former collegiate athlete Alicia Sacramone
, to announce NCAA intent.
2008: "Whatever Lola Wants" by The Gotan Project
2007: "My Number One" by Helena Paparizou
2006: ?
2005: "Mr. Pinstripe Suit" by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
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...
. She was a member of the United States' 2008 Olympic women's gymnastics team
United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics
The United States competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. American athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games since the 1896 Summer Olympics except the 1980 Summer Olympics, which the U.S. boycotted. The United States entered the Games as the most successful nation in...
.
Career
In 2007, Peszek competed on the gold medal-winning U.S. team at the 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 40th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle in Stuttgart, Germany, from 1 to 9 September 2007.Oldest and youngest competitors- Men :- Women :- Finals :- Qualifications :- Floor :...
and the 2007 Pan American Games
2007 Pan American Games
The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to July 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Committees competed in 332 events in 34 sports and in...
.
In March 2008, she competed at the American Cup
American Cup
The American Cup was the first major U.S. soccer competition open to teams beyond a single league. It was first held in 1885. In the 1910s, it gradually declined in importance with the establishment of the National Challenge Cup...
. She placed 3rd in the all-around competition, behind teammates Nastia Liukin
Nastia Liukin
Anastasia Valeryevna "Nastia" Liukin is a Russian-American artistic gymnast. She was the 2008 Olympic individual all-around Champion, the 2005 and 2007 World Champion on the balance beam, and the 2005 World Champion on the uneven bars...
and Shawn Johnson
Shawn Johnson
Shawn Machel Johnson is an American artistic gymnast. She was the 2008 Olympic balance beam gold medalist and all-around, and floor exercise silver medalist, the 2007 all-around World Champion, and the 2007 and 2008 U.S. all-around champion...
.
After a solid performance at the 2008 U.S. National Championships, Peszek continued to prove her worth to the U.S. team at the Olympic Trials. At the conclusion of the meet, when she was invited to the final Olympic selection camp, most experts, including NBC's analysts, predicted she would be selected for the team. Indeed, she was selected on July 19, 2008 at the conclusion of the selection camp in New Waverly, Texas
New Waverly, Texas
New Waverly is a city in Walker County, Texas, United States. The population was 950 at the 2000 census.-Geography:New Waverly is located at ....
. Along with Peszek, Shawn Johnson
Shawn Johnson
Shawn Machel Johnson is an American artistic gymnast. She was the 2008 Olympic balance beam gold medalist and all-around, and floor exercise silver medalist, the 2007 all-around World Champion, and the 2007 and 2008 U.S. all-around champion...
, Nastia Liukin
Nastia Liukin
Anastasia Valeryevna "Nastia" Liukin is a Russian-American artistic gymnast. She was the 2008 Olympic individual all-around Champion, the 2005 and 2007 World Champion on the balance beam, and the 2005 World Champion on the uneven bars...
, Chellsie Memmel
Chellsie Memmel
Chellsie Marie Memmel is an American gymnast. She is the 2005 World All-Around Champion, making her the third American woman, after Kim Zmeskal and Shannon Miller, to become World Champion in the All-Around. She is also a World Champion on the uneven bars and as part of the U.S. team...
, Alicia Sacramone
Alicia Sacramone
Alicia Marie Sacramone is an American artistic gymnast.Sacramone began gymnastics at the age of eight, began competing in the elite ranks in 2002 and joined the U.S. national team in 2003. At US National Championships from 2004 to 2008, she won twelve medals, including four golds on vault and two...
, and Bridget Sloan
Bridget Sloan
Bridget Elizabeth Sloan is an American gymnast. She is the 2009 All-Around World Champion and the 2009 All-Around U.S. National Champion. Sloan was a member of the silver medal U.S. women's gymnastics team at the 2008 Olympics....
were selected for the team.
During the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
, Peszek was injured during warm-ups just minutes before the women's qualifier and was restricted to the Uneven Bars. She was the second gymnast to be injured on the 2008 Women's gymnastics Olympic team, the other being Chellsie Memmel
Chellsie Memmel
Chellsie Marie Memmel is an American gymnast. She is the 2005 World All-Around Champion, making her the third American woman, after Kim Zmeskal and Shannon Miller, to become World Champion in the All-Around. She is also a World Champion on the uneven bars and as part of the U.S. team...
.
After the Beijing Olympics, Samantha expressed her desire to continue her elite gymnastics career.
After letting her ankle heal Samantha competed for the first time after the Olympics at the 2009 CoverGirl Classic, where she competed only vault and beam, where she placed 2nd and 9th. She then decided to compete at the VISA Championships with hopes of making the world team as a 3-event specialist, due to a torn labrum in her shoulder she was waiting until after the World Championships to have surgery on. During the Championships she placed 2nd on beam and 7th on floor. Samantha was then added to the US National Team and made it to the 2nd and final selection camp, during which she pulled out and decided to get her torn labrum fixed. She signed with UCLA
UCLA Bruins gymnastics team
The UCLA Bruins women's gymnastics team represents the University of California at Los Angeles and competes in the Pacific 12 Conference. They currently compete in Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA...
and has expressed a desire to compete at both NCAA and Elite gymnastics at the same time.
In 2011, she won the balance beam title at the NCAA Women's Gymnastics championship
NCAA Women's Gymnastics championship
The NCAA introduced Women's Gymnastics as a championship sport in 1982. Since then, only four universities have claimed the overall Division I championship; Division II competition was discontinued in 1987. During the early years of competition, the University of Utah under the leadership of head...
.
Personal life
Peszek is from McCordsville, IndianaMcCordsville, Indiana
McCordsville is a town in Vernon Township, Hancock County, Indiana, United States. The population was 4,797 at the 2010 census.-Geography:McCordsville is located at ....
. She is Catholic and graduated from Cathedral High School in 2010. She also attended St.Simon the Apostle Grade School where she got high honors.
After Beijing, Peter Zhao, Peszek's long-time coach at DeVeau's School of Gymnastics, retired from coaching and returned to China to help with his family business. Peszek transferred to Sharp's Gymnastics Academy. She currently trains alongside Olympic teammate Bridget Sloan
Bridget Sloan
Bridget Elizabeth Sloan is an American gymnast. She is the 2009 All-Around World Champion and the 2009 All-Around U.S. National Champion. Sloan was a member of the silver medal U.S. women's gymnastics team at the 2008 Olympics....
.
In April 2009 Peszek announced on her Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
that she had committed to UCLA to compete in NCAA gymnastics for the Bruins. She was the first of the 2008 US Women's Gymnastics team, apart from former collegiate athlete Alicia Sacramone
Alicia Sacramone
Alicia Marie Sacramone is an American artistic gymnast.Sacramone began gymnastics at the age of eight, began competing in the elite ranks in 2002 and joined the U.S. national team in 2003. At US National Championships from 2004 to 2008, she won twelve medals, including four golds on vault and two...
, to announce NCAA intent.
Routine Skills
- VaultVault (gymnastics)The vault is an artistic gymnastics apparatus, as well as the skill performed using that apparatus. Vaulting is also the action of performing a vault. Both male and female gymnasts perform the vault...
- Double Twisting laid out YurchenkoYurchenko (vault)Yurchenko is the name of both a specific vault and a vault family in artistic gymnastics. The Yurchenko was named after Soviet gymnast Natalia Yurchenko, who originated the vault in the early 1980s.... - Uneven bars - Straight Mount to High Bar; Kip; Swing 1.5; Jaegar; Clear Hip 1/2 to Gienger; Clear Hip; Bail Handstand; Stalder Transition to High Bar; Giant Full; 1/1 Double Layout Dismount
- Floor ExerciseFloor (gymnastics)In gymnastics, the floor refers to a specially prepared exercise surface, which is considered an apparatus. It is used by both male and female gymnasts. The event in gymnastics performed on floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is FX.A spring...
- 1.5 Twist to Double Back Tuck; Double Layout; Ring Leap to Switch 1/2; Arabian Double Front; Triple Turn; Switch 1/1; Double Pike - Balance Beam - Back Tuck 1/1 to Back Pike; Front Aerial to Flip Flop to Layout Step Out; Switch Side; Front Tuck; Aerial Cartwheel; Full Turn with leg at Horizontal; Wolf Hop to Switch Leap to Gainer Layout Step Out; Round Off Double Pike Dismount
2011 season
| Year | Competition | Location | Event | Final-Rank | Final-Score | Qualifying Rank | Qualifying Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | |||||||
| NCAA Women's Gymnastics championship NCAA Women's Gymnastics championship The NCAA introduced Women's Gymnastics as a championship sport in 1982. Since then, only four universities have claimed the overall Division I championship; Division II competition was discontinued in 1987. During the early years of competition, the University of Utah under the leadership of head... |
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border... |
Balance Beam | 1 | 9.9 | N/A | N/A | |
2009 season
| Year | Competition | Location | Event | Final-Rank | Final-Score | Qualifying Rank | Qualifying Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | |||||||
| Cover Girl Classic | Des Moines Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857... |
Vault | 2 | 14.850 | N/A | N/A | |
| Balance Beam | 9 | 13.500 | N/A | N/A | |||
| U.S. Championships | Dallas Dallas, Texas Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States... |
Balance Beam | 2 | 15.100 | 2 | 15.000 | |
| Floor Exercise | 7 | 14.050 | 6 | 14.200 |
2008 season
| Year | Competition | Location | Event | Final-Rank | Final-Score | Qualifying Rank | Qualifying Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 2008 Summer Olympics 2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events... |
Beijing Beijing Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's... |
Team | 2 | 186.525 | 2 | 246.800 |
| Uneven Bars | DNQ | N/A | 23 | 14.800 | |||
| Olympic Trials | Philadelphia Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,... |
All Around | 4 | 61.850 | 4 | 61.400 | |
| Balance Beam | 4 | 15.550 | 4 | 15.800 | |||
| Floor Exercise | 2 | 15.500 | 3 | 15.650 | |||
| Uneven Bars | 6 | 15.200 | 5 | 15.300 | |||
| Vault | 4 | 15.150 | 3 | 15.100 | |||
| U.S. Championships | Boston Boston Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had... |
All Around | 4 | 61.250 | 4 | 60.750 | |
| Balance beam | 5 | 16.000 | 5 | 15.400 | |||
| Floor Exercise | 10 | 14.750 | 4 | 15.200 | |||
| Uneven Bars | 6 | 15.550 | 6 | 15.150 | |||
| American Cup | New York City New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and... |
All Around | 3 | 63.075 | 3 | 63.075 | |
2007 season
| Year | Competition | Location | Event | Final-Rank | Final-Score | Qualifying Rank | Qualifying Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | World Championships 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 40th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle in Stuttgart, Germany, from 1 to 9 September 2007.Oldest and youngest competitors- Men :- Women :- Finals :- Qualifications :- Floor :... |
Stuttgart Stuttgart Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million .... |
Team | 1 | 184.400 | 1 | 245.025 |
| Vault | N/A | DNQ | N/A | 15.050 | |||
| Uneven Bars | N/A | DNQ | N/A | 14.875 | |||
| Floor Exercise | N/A | DNQ | N/A | 14.500 | |||
| U.S Championships | San Jose San Jose, California San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay... |
All Around | 7 | 59.850 | 11 | 56.450 | |
| Uneven Bars | 10 | 14.700 | 13 | 13.950 | |||
| Balance Beam | 9 | 15.000 | 13 | 13.950 | |||
| Floor Exercise | 10 | 15.050 | 15 | 13.550 | |||
| Pan American Games | Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th... |
Team | 1 | 243.225 | 1 | 243.225 | |
2006 season (Junior Career)
| Year | Competition | Location | Event | Final-Rank | Final-Score | Qualifying Rank | Qualifying Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | U.S Championships | Saint Paul Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city... |
All Around | 3 | 59.650 | 3 | 59.800 |
| Balance Beam | 7 | 14.900 | 7 | 14.700 | |||
| Uneven Bars | 3 | 15.200 | 3 | 15.050 | |||
| Floor Exercise | 5 | 14.350 | 5 | 14.600 | |||
| Vault | 2 | 15.200 | 2 | 15.300 | |||
| Pan American Championships | Gatineau | Team | 1 | 179.500 | 1 | ||
| All Around | 4 | 59.250 | |||||
| Floor Exercise | 1 | 15.100 | |||||
| Vault | 2 | 14.387 |
- Scores from U.S. National Championships and Olympic Trials are totaled from 1st and 2nd day meets to produce a final score.
Floor Music
2009: "Reflejo de Luna" by Alacran and It's 'You' by N.O.H.A.2008: "Whatever Lola Wants" by The Gotan Project
2007: "My Number One" by Helena Paparizou
2006: ?
2005: "Mr. Pinstripe Suit" by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy