Dominique Dawes
Dominique Dawes was born on November 30, 1976 in Silver Spring, Maryland. She was introduced to gymnastics at age six and began training at Hill's Angels under Kelli Hill, who would coach her for her entire career. By the age of ten, Dawes was competing as a junior elite. In 1992 at just fifteen years old, she received a perfect 10 on her floor routine at the USA vs. Japan dual meet. At the 1992 Olympics, Dawes and teammate Betty Okino became the first African American females to win an Olympic gymnastics medal. She walked away with a bronze team medal. At the 1996 Olympics, Dawes performed without serious error and was the only team member to have all of her eight scores count towards the total. She became the first black woman of any nationality to win an Olympic gold in gymnastics. She also won a bronze medal for her floor exercise performance in 1996. Between 1996 and 1998, Dawes retired from elite gymnastics but returned briefly to compete in the Goodwill Games, where she placed nineteenth all-around. She ended up placing seventh place at the Olympic Trials and earned a spot on her third Olympic team. In the team finals, Dawes performed well on three events and helped contribute to the team's bronze medal, awarded in 2010 when the IOC stripped China of its 2000 team medal for an underage competitor.
After her final Olympics, Dawes pursued a career in acting, modeling, and television production. She graduated with a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2002. Dawes became engaged in 2012 to Catholic school teacher, Jeff Thompson. Dawes converted to Catholicism and the two wed in 2013. The couple had their first child, a daughter, in March of 2014.
After her final Olympics, Dawes pursued a career in acting, modeling, and television production. She graduated with a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2002. Dawes became engaged in 2012 to Catholic school teacher, Jeff Thompson. Dawes converted to Catholicism and the two wed in 2013. The couple had their first child, a daughter, in March of 2014.
Vault | Uneven Bars | Balance Beam | Floor Exercise | All-Around | |
Dominique Dawes | 9.681 | 9.812 | 9.825 | 9.0 | 38.318 |