USA Gymnastics National Championships

(Redirected from VISA Championships)

The USA Gymnastics National Championships is the annual artistic gymnastics national competition held in the United States for elite-level competition. It is currently organized by USA Gymnastics, the governing body for gymnastics in the United States. The national championships have been held since 1963.

History

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20th century

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Before 1970, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) was the national governing body for gymnastics, so the national championships from 1963 to 1969 were run under the auspieces of that organization.[1][2]

The first USA Gymnastics national championships were held in Park Ridge, Illinois, in June 1963. Since then, the event has been held each year, usually over a period of several days during the summer.

21st century

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In 2012, the top three finishers in the women's all-around were Jordyn Wieber, Gabby Douglas, and Aly Raisman. It was Wieber's second consecutive all-around title. In the individual events, Douglas won on uneven bars, Raisman won on balance beam and floor, and Sacramone won on vault.[3][4] In the men's all-around, the top three finishers were John Orozco, Danell Leyva, and Sam Mikulak. It was Orozco's first all-around title. Leyva won on parallel bars and high bar, Jacob Dalton won on floor, Alexander Naddour won on pommel horse, Jonathan Horton won on rings, and Sean Senters won on vault.[5]

In 2013, the top three finishers in the women's all-around were Simone Biles, Kyla Ross, and Brenna Dowell. In the individual events, Ross won on uneven bars and balance beam and her Olympic teammate McKayla Maroney won on vault and floor exercise; Biles swept the silver medals in each event. In the men's all-around, the top three finishers were Sam Mikulak, Alexander Naddour, and Jacob Dalton.[6][7]

In 2014, the top three finishers in the women's all-around were Simone Biles, Kyla Ross, and Maggie Nichols. It was Biles's second consecutive all-around title. In the individual events, Biles won on both vault and floor exercise, Ross won on balance beam, and Ashton Locklear won on uneven bars. In the men's all-around, the top three finishers were Sam Mikulak, John Orozco, and Jacob Dalton. It was Mikulak's second consecutive all-around title. In the individual events, Dalton won on floor exercise, Mikulak won on pommel horse, Brandon Wynn won on still rings, Donnell Whittenburg won on vault, Danell Leyva won on parallel bars, and Orozco won on high bar.

In 2015, the top three finishers in the women's all-around were Simone Biles, Maggie Nichols, and Aly Raisman. It was Biles's third consecutive all-around title, and she became the first female gymnast since Kim Zmeskal (1990, 1991, and 1992) to win the all-around 3 consecutive times. In the individual events, Biles won on both vault and balance beam, Madison Kocian won on uneven bars, and Raisman won on floor exercise. In the men's all-around, the top three finishers were Sam Mikulak, Donnell Whittenburg, and Chris Brooks. This was Mikulak's third consecutive all-around title, and he became the first male gymnast since Paul Hamm (2002, 2003, and 2004) to win the all-around 3 consecutive times. In the individual events, Steven Legendre won on floor exercise, Alex Naddour won on pommel horse, Whittenburg won on still rings, Mikulak won on both vault and parallel bars, and Brooks won on high bar.

In 2016, the top three finishers in the women's all-around were Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, and Laurie Hernandez. It was Biles's fourth consecutive all-around title, and she became the first female gymnast since Joan Moore-Gnat (1971–1974) to win the all-around 4 consecutive times. In the individual events, Biles won on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise, and Ashton Locklear won on uneven bars. In the men's all-around, the top three finishers were Sam Mikulak, Chris Brooks, and Jake Dalton. This was Mikulak's fourth consecutive all-around title, and he became the first male gymnast since Blaine Wilson (1996–1999) to win the all-around four consecutive times. In the individual events, Dalton won on floor exercise and vault, Eddie Penev won on pommel horse, Donnell Whittenburg won on rings, Brooks won on parallel bars, and Paul Ruggeri won on high bar.

Records

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The women's record, and overall record, of nine titles is held by Simone Biles, who won from 2013 to 2016, 2018 to 2019, 2021 and 2023 to 2024.[8] The record for most men's all-around titles is held by Sam Mikulak, who won six competitions from 2013 to 2016 and 2018 to 2019. Blaine Wilson won five consecutive times from 1996 to 2000. Joan Moore Gnat and John Roethlisberger have both won four times. Kurt Thomas, Kim Zmeskal, Paul Hamm and Brody Malone each won three times. The record for most individual titles across all events is Simone Biles, with twenty.[9] The record for most titles in one event is a tie between Alicia Sacramone, who won six women's vault competitions from 2005 to 2008, 2010, and 2012, and Simone Biles, who won six women's vault competitions from 2014 to 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2021.

Championships

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USA Gymnastics National Championships champions
Year Date Location Women's Champion Men's Champion
1963* June 14–15 Park Ridge, Illinois Donna Schanezer Arthur Shurlock
1964* June 17–18 University of Iowa not held Rusty Mitchell
1965* April 16–17 Nashville, Tennessee Gail Daley Rusty Mitchell
1966* April 15–16 Colorado Springs, Colorado Donna Schanezer Rusty Mitchell
1967* April 13–15
April 28–29
Tucson, Arizona
Iowa City, Iowa
not held Katsutoshi Kanzaki
1968 April 24–25 Memphis, Tennessee Linda Scott Yoshi Hayasaki
1969 April 25–26 Long Beach, California Joyce Tanac Steve Hug
1970 April 23–25 Las Vegas, Nevada Cathy Rigby Makoto Sakamoto
1971 November 18–20 University of Illinois Joan Moore Gnat
Linda Metheny Mulvihill
Yoshi Takei
1972 Georgia Southern University Joan Moore Gnat
Cathy Rigby McCoy
Yoshi Takei
1973 (W) May 4–6
(M) May 4–5
Seattle, Washington
Penn State University
Joan Moore Gnat Marshall Avener
1974 (W) May 30–June 1
(M) May 10–11
Southern Illinois University
Berkeley, California
Joan Moore Gnat John Crosby Jr.
1975 (W) May 22–24
(M) June 12–14
Eugene, Oregon
Southern Illinois University
Tammy Manville Tom Beach
Bart Conner
1976 (W) April 8–10
(M) May 21–22
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Berkeley, California
Denise Cheshire
Robin Huebner
Kurt Thomas
1977 (W) April 21–23
(M) May 6–7
California State
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Donna Turnbow Kurt Thomas
1978 (W) May 4–6
(M) June 1–3
Uniondale, New York
UCLA
Kathy Johnson Kurt Thomas
1979 May 18 Dayton, Ohio Leslie Pyfer Bart Conner
1980 April 19 University of Utah
Columbus, Ohio
Julianne McNamara Peter Vidmar
1981 (W) May 12–14
(M) May 21–23
Lehigh University
University of Nebraska
Tracee Talavera Jim Hartung
1982 (W) May 27–29
(M) June 3–5
University of Utah
Syracuse, New York
Tracee Talavera Peter Vidmar
1983 June 3–8 Chicago, Illinois Dianne Durham Mitch Gaylord
1984 May 11–13 Evanston, Illinois Mary Lou Retton Mitch Gaylord
1985 June 6–9 Jacksonville, Florida Sabrina Mar Brian Babcock
1986 June 19–22 Indianapolis, Indiana Jennifer Sey Tim Daggett
1987 June 18–21 Kansas City, Missouri Kristie Phillips Scott Johnson
1988 July 7–10 Houston, Texas Phoebe Mills Dan Hayden
1989 July 6–9 Minneapolis, Minnesota Brandy Johnson Tim Ryan
1990 June 7–10 Denver, Colorado Kim Zmeskal John Roethlisberger
1991 June 6–9 Cincinnati, Ohio Kim Zmeskal Chris Waller
1992 May 14–17 Columbus, Ohio Kim Zmeskal John Roethlisberger
1993 August 25–28 Salt Lake City, Utah Shannon Miller John Roethlisberger
1994 August 24–27 Nashville, Tennessee Dominique Dawes Scott Keswick
1995 August 16–19 New Orleans, Louisiana Dominique Moceanu John Roethlisberger
1996 June 5–8 Knoxville, Tennessee Shannon Miller Blaine Wilson
1997 August 13–16 Denver, Colorado Vanessa Atler
Kristy Powell
Blaine Wilson
1998 August 19–22 Indianapolis, Indiana Kristen Maloney Blaine Wilson
1999 August 25–28 Sacramento, California Kristen Maloney Blaine Wilson
2000 June 26–29 St. Louis, Missouri Elise Ray Blaine Wilson
2001 August 8–11 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Tasha Schwikert Sean Townsend
2002 August 7–10 Cleveland, Ohio Tasha Schwikert Paul Hamm
2003 June 19–22 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Courtney Kupets Paul Hamm
2004 June 2–5 Nashville, Tennessee Courtney Kupets
Carly Patterson
Paul Hamm
2005 August 10–13 Indianapolis, Indiana Nastia Liukin Todd Thornton
2006 August 16–19 Saint Paul, Minnesota Nastia Liukin Alexander Artemev
2007 August 15–18 San Jose, California Shawn Johnson David Durante
2008 (W) June 5–7
(M) May 22–24
Boston, Massachusetts
Houston, Texas
Shawn Johnson David Sender
2009 August 12–15 Dallas, Texas Bridget Sloan Jonathan Horton
2010 August 11–14 Hartford, Connecticut Rebecca Bross Jonathan Horton
2011 August 17–20 Saint Paul, Minnesota Jordyn Wieber Danell Leyva
2012 June 7–10 St. Louis, Missouri Jordyn Wieber John Orozco
2013 August 15–18 Hartford, Connecticut Simone Biles Sam Mikulak
2014 August 21–24 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Simone Biles Sam Mikulak
2015 August 13–16 Indianapolis, Indiana Simone Biles Sam Mikulak
2016 (W) June 24–26
(M) June 3–5
St. Louis, Missouri
Hartford, Connecticut
Simone Biles Sam Mikulak
2017 August 17–20 Anaheim, California Ragan Smith Yul Moldauer
2018 August 16–19 Boston, Massachusetts Simone Biles Sam Mikulak
2019 August 8–11 Kansas City, Missouri Simone Biles Sam Mikulak
2020 June 4–7 Fort Worth, Texas Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic [10]
2021 June 3–6 Fort Worth, Texas Simone Biles Brody Malone
2022 August 18–21 Tampa, Florida Konnor McClain Brody Malone
2023 August 24–27 San Jose, California Simone Biles Asher Hong
2024 May 30–June 2 Fort Worth, Texas Simone Biles Brody Malone

*Unofficial national champion[1][2][11]

Medalists

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Multi-time Women's National Champions
Shannon Miller
1993 & 1996
Nastia Liukin
2005 & 2006
Shawn Johnson
2007 & 2008
Jordyn Wieber
2011 & 2012
Simone Biles
2013–16, 2018–19, 2021, & 2023–24
Multi-time Men's National Champions
Bart Conner
1975 & 1979
Mitch Gaylord
1983 & 1984
Paul Hamm
2002, 2003, & 2004
Sam Mikulak
2013–16 & 2018–19
Brody Malone
2021–22, & 2024

Event name

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In recent years, the USA Gymnastics National Championships has been sponsored by various companies, and the event is typically named for the sponsoring company.[12]

Year Sponsor Event Name
1987–1988 McDonald's McDonald's U.S. Gymnastics Championships
1992 Phar-Mor Phar-Mor U.S. Gymnastics Championships
1993–1996 Coca-Cola Coca-Cola National Championships
1997–2000 John Hancock Financial John Hancock U.S. Gymnastics Championships
2004 Visa Visa U.S. Gymnastics Championships
2005–2012 Visa Visa Championships
2013–2017 Procter & Gamble P&G Gymnastics Championships
2018–2021 National Broadcasting Company NBC Gymnastics Championships
2022 OOFOS OOFOS U.S. Gymnastics Championships[13]
2023–present Xfinity Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Former Women's National Champions". usagym.org. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "U.S. National Champions - Men". usagym.org. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  3. ^ "Wieber wins back-to-back Visa Championships all-around titles". usagym.org. June 10, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  4. ^ Gregorian, Vahe. "Wieber wins women's title, but U.S. team remains in flux". stltoday.com. June 11, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  5. ^ "Orozco comes from behind to win first U.S. all-around title at 2012 Visa Championships". usagym.org. June 9, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  6. ^ "Biles wins women's all-around at 2013 P&G Championships". usagym.org. August 17, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  7. ^ "Mikulak wins men's all-around at 2013 P&G Gymnastics Championships". usagym.org. August 18, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  8. ^ "Biles sweeps all to extend historical run; Senior Women's National Team announced at Xfinity U.S. Championships". USA Gymnastics. June 2, 2024.
  9. ^ "Showing Skills No One Has Done Before, Simone Biles Blows The Doors Off A Sixth U.S. Gymnastics Title". teamusa.org. August 11, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  10. ^ "USA Gymnastics will not hold national championships in 2020, sets 2021 meets". NBC Sports. May 12, 2020.
  11. ^ "Locations and Dates for USA Gymnastics National Championships". usagym.org. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  12. ^ USA Gymnastics. "Artistic Gymnastics National Championships Results".
  13. ^ "OOFOS teams up with USA Gymnastics as title sponsor of U.S. Gymnastics Championships". July 19, 2022.
  14. ^ "Comcast Becomes Proud Partner of USA Gymnastics". USA Gymnastics. August 14, 2023.
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