In a huge surprise during the women’s gymnastics qualifying events on Sunday, July 29, Aly Raisman, along with Gabby Douglas, were chosen as the two USA gymnasts who will compete for gold in the all-around competition on Thursday. Nearly every follower of women’s gymnastics thought that it would be world all-around champion Jordyn Wiebe who would compete with Douglas for the gold in all-around at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Even Raisman was surprised when she qualified. As reported by Yahoo! Sports, when Raisman’s coach, Mihai Brestyan, broke the news to her, she responded:
“Really? Who told you? Where does it say that?”
Now that gymnast Aly Raisman has been pushed into the world’s spotlight during the 2012 Summer Games, the world will be wondering about the girl who beat out the favored Wieber in the women’s all-around.
Here is everything you would ever want to know about USA gymnast Aly Raisman:
Name: Alexandra “Aly” Raisman
Age: 18
Birthdate: May 25, 1994
Zodiac Sign: Gemini
Height: 5’2″
Weight: 115 pounds
Hometown: Needham, Massachusetts
Father: Rick Raisman
Mother: Lynn (Faber) Raisman
Siblings: Brett, Chloe, Madison
Religion: Jewish
High School: Needham High School
Favorite Subject in School: English
Achievements: Raisman placed second in the all-around competition at the American Cup in Worchester, Mass., in March of 2010. In May of the same year, Raisman helped the U.S. team win first place at the Pacific Rim Championships in Melbourne, Australia. In July of 2011, Raisman got first place in all-around at the CoverGirl Classic in Chicago, Ill. In March of 2012, Raisman got second place in all-around at the American Cup in New York City, N.Y.
Tidbits about Raisman: She started her gymnastics career at 2 years old when her mother took her to “mommy and me” classes. In July of 2012, Raisman was the center subject of the documentary “Aly Raisman: Quest for Gold,” which aired on Comcast.
Americans are excited to see how Aly Raisman will do at the Olympic Games now that she is well on her way to scoring individual gold, in addition to propelling Team USA toward team gold.
Sources:
sports.yahoo.com
sports.yahoo.com/profiles
usagym.com
Ruqaiyya Noor is a student English teacher at Marshall University and is a featured contributor in education for Yahoo! Voices. She is an avid fan of the Olympics and can be found glued to the television for the entirety of the Olympic Games.
