Top 10 Most Flexible Women Gymnasts’ Inspiring Life Stories – Rebecca Bross

8. Rebecca Bross, U.S.A.

 Rebecca Bross was born 11th July , 1993 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She is an American artistic gymnast. She is a six-time world medalist. Bross is the daughter of Terry Bross and Donna Bross (nee Brugge). She has one older brother named Benjamin. Her parents put her in a gymnastics class at the age of five. She has since become one of America’s top elite gymnasts. Bross returned to competition—after her knee surgery in late 2008—to compete at the 2009 US Classic in Des Moines, Iowa. She is coached by Valeri Liukin at WOGA Gymnastics.

Rebecca Bross first qualified to Junior International Elite in 2005, where she also qualified to her first US Nationals; she placed 16th all-around and earned a spot on the national team. Rebecca then competed in a few international assignments over the next year. At the 2006 US Nationals Rebecca placed 4th all-around, which also qualified her to the Junior Pan Ams Team. In 2007 Rebecca was then selected for the Pan American Games Team. She then finished 2nd all-around behind teammate Shawn Johnson. During the 2007 US Championships, Rebecca won her first US National Championships despite a fall. She later won the Junior Japan Invitational.

Rebecca was able to compete in some Classic’s and Invitationals in early 2008. She then competed at the Pacific Rim Championships with WOGA teammate Nastia Liukin, where she then won gold medals on the all-around, beam, bars and floor. She then had to sit out the rest of the year due to a broken foot.

On July 25, 2009, at the Covergirl Classic in Des Moines, Iowa, Bross competed on the Uneven Bars, scoring a 13.150 (.050 better than her teammate, Ivana Hong), but was unable to compete on floor, beam, or vault due to an ankle injury suffered during practice a few days earlier. (It should be noted that she competed her bar routine without a dismount, thus lowering her overall score.)

In August 2009, Bross finished third all-around behind Bridget Sloan (first) and Ivana Hong (second) at the U.S. National Championships. Bross also placed third on balance beam and second on floor to end a successful first senior Nationals.

The following October, at the World Championships in London, England, Bross qualified in first place into the all around final. She also qualified second on uneven bars and eighth on floor exercise. She fell on her beam dismount in preliminaries, which prevented her from qualifying on that event. In the all-around final, Bross led the competition going into the final rotation. Needing only a 12.925 to clinch the gold, she fell on her final tumbling pass on floor to just miss the score she needed (the judges awarded her a 12.875). Her American teammate Bridget Sloan claimed the gold, while Bross took the silver. Bross went on to tie Romania’s Ana Porgras for the bronze medal in the uneven bars event final.

In March 2010, she won the all-around at the American Cup. Bross won every event with the exception of the vault, which was won by her teammate Aly Raisman. In April, she won the senior all-around title at the Pacific Rim Championships in Melbourne, Australia. At the 2010 VISA Championships, Bross finished day 1 with a 2 point lead. On Day 2 she finished with a 3 point lead, clinching the event to become the 2010 National Champion. She was selected for the women’s team for the 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands. There, she helped the USA win a silver medal behind the newly dominant Russian team. In the all-around, after a fall on beam, she bounced back on floor to get the bronze medal, scoring a 15.233 – the highest score given on floor out of any women at the entire meet. Russia’s Aliya Mustafina was the winner and China’s Jiang Yuyuan was the silver medalist. In event finals, Bross clinched the bronze on the uneven bars and tied with China’s Deng Linlin for the silver on the balance beam behind Romania’s Ana Porgras.

During night 2 of competition at the 2011 Visa Championships, Bross dislocated her right kneecap during a third rotation vault. Due to the injury, Bross sat out of competition for the remainder of the 2011 season. Despite this, she still earned a second-place finish on floor exercise, with a two-night total of 29.50. She also placed eighth on beam (27.6).

In the summer of 2012, Bross competed in the Olympic Trials in hopes of making the women’s gymnastics Olympic team for London. She competed on the beam and uneven bars, where she finished in last place on both. Bross fell three times off the bars on Night 2, and was instructed by her coach to stop mid-routine. As a result of her low scores, particularly on the uneven bars—an area in which National Team Coordinator Márta Károlyi stated the USA women’s team would need strong competitors —Bross did not make the main Olympic team, nor was she named as an alternate. Sports commentators have speculated that Bross’ defeat at the Trials would likely be a career-ending one due to her previous injuries and age.