2. • Born in 1994, Aly Raisman started gymnastics at an early
age. She quickly became a strong competitor, winning
the gold in the vault event at the 2009 American Classic
and in the all-around category at the 2011 Cover Girl
Classic. Raisman also helped the U.S. gymnastics team
win the 2011 World Championships. The following
year, she won two gold medals—one in the gymanstics
team competition and the other in the individual floor
exercise—and a bronze medal for the beam at the 2012
Summer Olympics in London.
3. • NAME: Alexandra Raisman
• OCCUPATION: Gymnast
• BIRTH DATE: May 25, 1994 (Age: 18)
• EDUCATION: Needham High School
• PLACE OF BIRTH: Needham, Massachusetts
• AKA: Aly Raisman
• ZODIAC SIGN: Gemini
4. • A member of the U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics
team, Aly Raisman started learning her sport not long
after she began walking. In an interview with USA
Gymnastics, she said, "I was two years old when my
mom put me in mommy and me classes. I always had a
lot of energy so it was the perfect fit!" The oldest of four
children, Raisman is the daughter of two athletic parents.
Her mother was a gymnast in high school and her father
played hockey.
5. • At the age of 10, Raisman took her training to another
level. She started working with Mihai and Sylvie Brestyan
at their American Gymnastics Club in Burlington,
Massachusetts. Around the age of 14, Raisman had
begun to compete on an elite level. She came in twelfth
over all in junior competition at the 2009 Cover Girl
Classic. That same year, Raisman won the junior vault
event at the American Classic.
6. • By 2010, Raisman proved that she had the right stuff to
be a world-class gymnast. She was part of the silver
medal-winning team at the World Championships and
picked three bronze medals at the Visa National
Championships that year. Raisman went on to win the
Cover Girl Classic in 2011, and earned a bronze medal in
the floor exercise at the 2011 World Championships. She
and her teammates—Jordyn Wieber, Gabrielle Douglas,
Sabrina Vega and McKayla Maroney—also took home
the gold medal at the 2011 World Championships, in the
team competition.
7. • Raisman worked hard to balance her love of gymnastics
with her school work. She went to Needham High School
through her junior year, and completed her studies online
in 2012. Though dedicated to her sport, she managed to
find the time to go to graduation with her friends, and
even made it to her senior prom. "The gymnastics
definitely takes a priority, but she's very good with still
trying to keep in touch with friends and having a little bit
of normalcy," her mother, Lynn Raisman, told ESPN. "I
think if you don't have that, it's hard. It's just a very
grueling sport."
8. • Raisman made the U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics
team in 2012. "Making the team is a dream come true,"
she told ESPN. "I am so honored and so excited to
represent my country. It means the world to me." While
the 18-year-old gymnast was selected to be the team's
captain, much of the initial media attention focused on
Raisman's teammates, Jordyn Wieber and Gabby
Douglas. Many experts have predicted that these two
young women are in the running for individual medals at
the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, held in London.
9. • Once the games started, however, Raisman showed the
judges that she was no underdog. She beat out Wieber
for a spot to compete in the all-around finals. According
to Raisman, the victory was bittersweet. "I was really
surprised. I feel awful because she [Wieber] wanted it so
bad. But she should still feel proud. She's an Olympian,"
Raisman said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
10. • In late July 2012, Raisman and her U.S. Olympic
women's gymnastics teammates—Gabrielle Douglas,
Kyla Ross, McKayla Maroney and Jordyn Wieber—took
home a team gold medal. Fans worldwide watched as
judges announced the team's medal win—the first gold
medal for the American women's gymnastics team since
1996. Raisman went on to win a bronze medal for the
beam and a second gold medal, in the individual floor
exercise, at the 2012 Olympics.
