 Kerri Allison Strug's Biography
Kerri Allison Strug's Biography




PERSONAL INFO
Hometown: Tucson, Ariz.
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Date/Place of Birth: November 19, 1977/Tucson, Ariz.
Club: Karolyi's Gymnastics
Coach: Bela and Martha Karolyi
Previous Coaches: Kevin Brown, Steve Nunno, Tom Forster
School: UCLA (Freshman fall of '96)
Years on Senior National Team: 6 (1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95-unranked, 1995-96, 1996-97)
Began Gymnastics: 1982
Favorite Apparatus/Event: Floor exercise and uneven bars
Hobbies: Reading, shopping, spending time with family and friends
Height: 4'9 1/2"




Kerri Strug's latest accomplishment is helping her team win the team 
gold medal at the '96 Olympic games, injuring her left ankle in the 
process. She is also a 1992 Olympic Bronze Medalist and three-time 
World Championships Medalist. She has been a member of five World 
Championships teams since 1991. Kerri won the 1996 McDonald's 
American Cup and has been a senior member on the national team since 
1991. She is also the 1995 U.S. Olympic Festival Champion. At 14, 
Kerri was the youngest American representing the U.S. at the 1992 
Olympic Games, but she was one of the oldest members of the 1996 
Women's Olympic Gymnastics Team. Strug plans to attend UCLA, but will 
defer enrollment until the fall of '96 in order to train for the 
Olympic Games. She would like to study communications at UCLA and has 
decided to renounce her NCAA eligibility. She now has the option of 
accepting up to five million dollars of endorsement deals because of 
her Legendary second vault during optionals at the '96 
Olympics.  Kerri's older brother and sister also competed in 
gymnastics, and her father is a heart surgeon in Tucson, Ariz.




HIGHLIGHTS
1996 Olympic Gold Medalist
1995 World Championships Bronze Medalist
1994 Team World Championships Silver Medalist
1993 World Championships Event Finalist
1992 Olympic Bronze Medalist
1992 World Championships Event Finalist
1991 World Championships Silver Medalist




TV APPEARANCES
1996
- 1996  Maureen O'Boyle (10/10/96)
- 1996  MTV (09/??/96)
- 1996  NBC Today (09/??/96)
- 1996  The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (08/??/96)
- 1996  The Rosie O'Donnell Show (08/??/96)
- 1996  NBC Today (07/24/96)
1994




TOURS
1996
- 1996  The World Gold Gymnastics Tour
- 1996  The Ice Capades




INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
1996
- 1996  Olympic Games, Atlanta, Ga.; 1st-Team, qualified for AA, V, & FX (injury forced her out of all three)
- 1996  McDonald's International Gymnastics Championships, Atlanta, Ga.; 4th (with John Roethlisberger and Jessica Davis)
- 1996  McDonald's American Cup, Ft. Worth, Texas; 1st-AA, 2nd(t)-V & UB, 1st(t)-BB & FX
1995
- 1995  World Championships, Sabae, Japan; 7th-AA, 3rd-Team
1994
- 1994  Team World Championships, Dortmund, Germany; 2nd-Team
1993
    - 1993  DTB Pokal, Stuttgart, Germany; 7th-UB (semi-finals)
    
- 1993  Arthur Gander Memorial, Montreux, Switzerland; 4th-AA
    
- 1993  Swiss Cup, St. Gallen, Switzerland; 10th-AA (with John Roethlisberger)
    
- 1993  Hilton Challenge, Los Angeles, Calif.; 1st-Team, 7th-AA
    
- 1993  World Championships, Birmingham, Great Britain; 5th-AA (Competition I) & V, 6th-FX 
    
- 1993  Reebok International Mixed Pairs, Atlanta, Ga.; 2nd-AA (with Chris Waller)
    
- 1993  McDonald's American Cup, Orlando, Fla.; 2nd-AA, 1st-BB
1992
    - 1992  Olympic Games, Barcelona, Spain; 3rd-Team, 14th-AA (Competition I)
    
- 1992  World Gymnastics Championships, Paris, France; 5th-V, 7th-UB, 10th-FX(semi-finals)
    
- 1992  McDonald's International Mixed Pairs, Tallahassee, Fla.; 12th(t)-AA (with Trent Dimas)
    
- 1992  McDonald's American Cup, Orlando, Fla.; 3rd-AA (preliminaries)
1991
    - 1991  World Gymnastics Championships, Indianapolis, Ind.; 15th-AA (Competition I), 2nd-Team
    
- 1991  USA vs. Romania, Houston, Texas; 8th-AA, 1st(t)-V
    
- 1991  McDonald's American Cup, Orlando, Fla.; 6th-AA (preliminaries)
1990
    - 1990  Dutch Open, Den Haag, Holland; 3rd-AA, 2nd-UB & BB, 3rd-FX, 5th-V
    
- 1990  Junior Pan American Games, Tallahassee, Fla.; 1st-Team, AA, UB & BB, 2nd-FX, 5th-V
1989
    - 1989  Junior Pacific Alliance, Indianapolis, Ind.; 1st-Team,




NATIONAL COMPETITION
1996
    - 1996  U.S. Olympic Trials-Gymnastics, Boston, Mass.; 2nd-AA
    
- 1996  Coca-Cola National Championships, Knoxville, Tenn.; 5th-AA, 2nd-V, 2nd-FX
1995
    - 1995  World Team Trials, Austin, Texas; 4th-AA
    
- 1995  Coca-Cola National Championships, New Orleans, La.; 5th-AA, 3rd-UB, 4th-FX
    
- 1995  U.S. Olympic Festival, Boulder, Colo.; 1st-AA & UB, 3rd(t)-BB 
1994
    - 1994  NationsBank World Team Trials, Richmond, Va.; 2nd-AA
    
- 1994  U.S. Classic, Palm Springs, Calif.; injured--did not complete competition
1993
    - 1993  Coca-Cola National Championships, Salt Lake City, Utah; 3rd-AA & FX, 2nd-UB, 4th-V
    
- 1993  U.S. Olympic Festival, San Antonio, Texas; 2nd-AA, BB & FX, 1st-UB
    
- 1993  American Classic/World Championships Trials, Murray, Utah; 1st-AA, UB, BB & FX, 3rd(t)-V
1992
    - 1992  U.S. Olympic Trials, Baltimore, Md.; 3rd-AA
    
- 1992  U.S. Gymnastics Championships, Columbus, Ohio; 2nd-AA & FX, 1st-V& BB(t), 3rd-UB
1991
    - 1991  World Championships Team Trials, Indianapolis, Ind.; 3rd-AA
    
- 1991  U.S. Gymnastics Championships, Cincinnati, Ohio; 3rd-AA, 1st-V, 3rd(t)-UB, 4th-BB, 4th-FX
1990
    - 1990  American Classic, Tempe, Ariz.; 1st-AA, V , UB & FX, 6th-BB
    
- 1990  U.S. Gymnastics Championships, Denver, Colo.; 4th-AA
1989
    - 1989  American Classic, Dallas, Texas; 2nd-AA, 1st-FX, 3rd-UB, 5th-V, 6th-BB
    
- 1989  American Classic, Oakland, Calif.; 1st-AA, UB, FX & BB




Return to Kerri "Spark Plug" Strug...
Thanks for visiting, and please e-mail comments and suggestions to me.
© 1996 (Last update on November 4th, 1996)
Page created on July 25, 1996