These women’s gymnasts are fittest, flexible, beautiful and are like fairies flying in the air. Women Fitness has made an attempt to select Top 10 most flexible women gymnasts of the world. We sincerely hope their life stories shall be an inspiration and will quench the thirst to know more about them to the budding women gymnasts and all fitness inclined women at large.
1. Jordyn Wieber, U.S.A
Wieber was born on July 12, 1995, in DeWitt, Michigan, the daughter of Rita (née Reifsnyder) Wieber, who is an emergency room nurse and exercise physiologist, and David Wieber, who is a director at a health-care subsidiary. She is the third oldest of four children, and her family attends the St. Jude Catholic Church in Dewitt. Her maternal grandmother is of Lebanese descent.
Wieber started gymnastics at a young age. “I was probably two or three. My parents noticed that I had unusually bigger muscles than a typical little kid, so they put me in gymnastics. A little fun class where I could run around and play and stuff and just have fun. Then I actually stopped for a little bit to do dance class. When I was four I went back to gymnastics and that’s kind of when I started getting really into it.” She later enrolled with John Geddert, who handpicked her to his Silverstars program, and by age 10, she had qualified to Level 10 in the Junior Olympic program, and then qualified for international elite a year later in 2006.
In February, Wieber competed at the American Cup in Chicago, Illinois. She won the all-around competition with a score of 60.200.In August, an injury prevented her from attending the Visa Championships.
In April, Wieber competed at the 2010 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships in Melbourne, Australia. She helped the American team place first. Individually, she won the all-around competition with a score of 59.550.
In July, Wieber competed at the Covergirl Classic in Chicago, Illinois. She won the all-around competition with a score of 59.950.In August, Wieber attended the Visa championships but sprained her ankle on the balance beam and withdrew from competition.
In March, Wieber participated in her first senior elite competition at the American Cup in Jacksonville, Florida, where she filled in for an injured athlete. She won the all-around competition with a score of 59.899. “It felt great to win my second American Cup title,” Wieber said. “It’s such an honor.”
Later in March, Wieber competed at the City of Jesolo Trophy in Jesolo, Italy. She placed second behind teammate McKayla Maroney in the all-around competition with a score of 57.700. The Americans also won the team title.
In July, Wieber competed at the Covergirl Classic in Chicago, Illinois. She placed first on uneven bars with a score of 15.200 and tied for first on balance beam with Olympic medalist Alicia Sacramone. Both girls scored 15.200.
In August, Wieber competed at the Visa Championships in Saint Paul, Minnesota. After the first day, she said, “I wasn’t too nervous, but I just had to get a few jitters out. I definitely think floor and vault were really strong. I’m definitely going to focus on bars and beam on Saturday.” She won the all-around competition with a two day combined score of 121.300. In the event finals, she placed first on uneven bars scoring 29.750, third on balance beam scoring 29.900 and first on floor scoring 29.900. Wieber said, “It feels really good. Just how aggressive and confident I was, I want to put into my training.”
Wieber was a finalist for the James E. Sullivan Award, which is given annually by the Amateur Athletic Union.
In January, Wieber appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
At the beginning of March, Wieber competed at the American Cup in New York City, New York. She won the all-around competition with a score of 61.320. “It feels amazing to win my third American Cup,” said Wieber. “I’m really excited to get started with the Olympic year.”
Later in March, Wieber competed at the 2012 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships in Everett, Washington. She helped the American team place first. Individually, she won the all-around competition with a score of 61.050. Wieber said, “I was pretty happy that I hit four solid events, because it’s been a few meets since I’ve (done that).” In the event finals, she placed sixth on balance beam scoring 13.700 and first on floor scoring 15.125.
In May, Wieber competed at the Secret U.S. Classic in Chicago, Illinois. She placed 8th on uneven bars with a score of 14.250 and first on balance beam with a score of 15.000.
In June, Wieber competed at the Visa Championships in St. Louis, Missouri. She won the all-around competition with a two-day combined score of 121.900. In the event finals, she placed fifth on uneven bars scoring 30.100, fifth on balance beam scoring 29.750, and second on floor scoring 30.500. “I’m just happy to be here, especially in the Olympic year,” Wieber said. “I feel like all my hard work is paying off.”
In early July, Wieber competed at the Olympic Trials in San Jose, California. After the first day, Wieber said, “Today went pretty well. My main goal was to go out there and do confident routines. The crowd was awesome – I love seeing the stands full and hearing them cheer before I go up for a routine.” She placed second in the all-around competition with a two-day combined score of 123.350. In the event finals, she placed fourth on uneven bars scoring 30.700, third on balance beam scoring 29.950, and second on floor scoring 31.000. Wieber was chosen as a member of the American team for the 2012 Summer Olympics. “It feels amazing to be an Olympian,” Wieber said. “This is definitely the best day of my life and knowing that all of my hard work has paid off is amazing. I’m just so proud of each and every girl who competed here today.”
Wieber was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the rest of the USA Women’s Olympic Gymnastics team on the July 18, 2012, issue of Olympic Preview. This marked the first time an entire Olympic gymnastics team had been featured on the cover of “Sports Illustrated”.
At the end of July, Wieber competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. In qualifications, she placed fourth overall with a score of 60.032 behind teammates Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas, meaning that she would not advance to the all-around final due to the rule limiting participating countries to having a maximum of two competitors in the all-around final. Wieber would still compete in the team final where the American team qualified first and the floor final where she qualified sixth with a score of 14.666. She said, “It was hard because of course I wanted that spot, but I also wanted Aly to do her best also for the team and for herself. It’s always been a dream of mine to compete in the all around at the Olympics and shoot for that gold medal. I’m really proud of Aly and Gabby both and I’m happy that they both made it to the all around and I’m glad that I’ll be able to help the team out in team finals.” Her coach, John Geddert said, “I’m basically devastated for her. She has trained her entire life for this day and to have it turn out anything less than she deserves is going to be devastating. She has waited her entire career for this. She is happy for her teammates and disappointed that she doesn’t get (to) move on.”
In the team final, Wieber contributed scores of 15.933 on vault, 14.666 on uneven bars, and 15.000 on floor toward the American team’s first place finish. Though all three of her scores were the lowest of the Americans’, Wieber is considered to be a good “lead off” gymnast. Wieber said, “I was pretty disappointed, but I had to put it together mentally, especially for this team. A team gold medal was also officially a goal of mine, and I had to pull myself together and move on and be stronger mentally for the team. The feeling was incredible. To have this gold medal around your neck, it’s really an indescribable feeling.” The team was nicknamed the “Fierce Five”.
In the floor final, Wieber placed seventh with a score of 14.500. She said, “I knew that it was going to have to take a lot of details in the routine with all the landings. I did step out of bounds, and I knew at that point that it wouldn’t be enough. I tried to still fight through and finish the routine strong.”
After the Olympics, Wieber announced that she had been competing with a stress fracture in her right leg caused by a heel injury. She said, “Once I got out on the floor, adrenaline took over and I didn’t really feel it that much.” She was forced to limit her training to protect the injury. “That affected me a little bit,” Wieber said. “I know that eventually affected my performance. In the end, I have no regrets. I know injuries come with the sport and you have to deal with it and I’m glad I fought through and finished out to the end.”