Butch Harmom
Sports Scene
Few high school athletes in mid-Michigan have seen their careers explode like Jordyn Wieber of DeWitt has. A nationally-ranked gymnast for much of her young career, Wieber has taken her game to the next level over the past few months, has emerged as one of USA Gymnastics’ top gymnasts, and will possibly be spearheading the USA gymnastics contingent at this summer’s Olympic Games in London.
Sports Scene will be following Jordyn in the coming months on her quest for Gold this summer, but this month, we are taking a look back at her career and how she arrived at the top of the USA’s gymnastics program.
Jordyn started her gymnastics career in 1999 at the age of four. Three years later she qualified for the National TOP 7-& 8 year old Diamond Team.
Her competitive gymnastics career began expanding in January of 2003 when she competed in the 7th Annual Twistars Invitational, where she scored a 34.025 and placed sixth.
By May of 2003, Jordyn was competing as a Level 5 gymnast, and she won the Michigan Gold State Championship. In the fall of 2003, Wieber began dominating the competition. That October, at the Michigan NAWGJ Judges Cup, she placed first on the bars, beam, floor, and all-around.
Wieber’s career began to get on the fast track in 2004. After beginning the year as a level five gymnast, she moved up to Level Six for the state championships, where she placed second on the beam, third on the floor, and second in the all-around. Later that fall, she competed at the Judges Cup as a Level 7, and by the end of 2004 she was competing in Level 8.
Wieber continued competing as a Level 8 in 2005. Early that year she competed in the Battle of Champions in Florida, where she placed first on the vault, bars, and all-around. At the Michigan State Championships that year, she won gold medals for her performances on the bars, beam, floor, and all-around.
In 2006, Jordyn experienced a breakout year. She moved up to Level 9 and then began competing at Level 10, the highest level in gymnastics. She qualified for the Junior Olympic Nationals, where she won a silver medal. Later in the year, she competed at the United States Championships, placed ninth all-around, and earned a spot on her first national team.
In 2007, Jordyn began establishing herself on the national stage as one of America’s top gymnasts. She won the Twistars Invitational, Hard Rock Invitational, and California Classic. She placed third in the all-around at the United States Championships. In November of 2007, she was named to the 2007 Junior Pan American team and traveled to Guatemala, where she helped the USA team take first place. Jordyn also earned gold medals on the bars and the beam and took a silver in the all-around.
Wieber’s rise to the top continued in 2008. Early that year, she was on the USA team that competed in the Grand Prix in Italy, where she earned a gold medal in the all-around and helped team USA win the gold. In June, she became national champion at the 2008 United States Championships. Later that year, she traveled to Belgium to compete in the Top Gym Competition and won gold medals in the all-around, bars, and beam.
Jordyn battled injuries in 2009, but that didn’t prevent her from adding to her resume. She competed in the American Cup in Chicago where, as the youngest competitor at the event, she earned first in the all-around competition.
Wieber’s injury problems carried over into 2010, but early in the year she recovered and was selected to be on the USA team that traveled to Melbourne, Australia, for the 2010 USA Pacific Rim Competition. Jordyn won individual gold medals in the junior all-around, uneven bars, and floor and helped the USA win the team gold medal. Wieber also won the all-around that year at the United State Classic.
With her injury troubles behind her, Wieber enjoyed a big 2011 season. At the 2011 American Cup she earned a gold medal. Wieber then won the national title at the United States National Championships and also won gold medals in the uneven bars and floor. She helped Team USA win the team gold medal at the 2011 World Championships and added the individual title in the all-around.
In August of 2011, Wieber won the Visa Championships. Her all-around score was the highest ever under the new scoring system, and she also placed first on the bars and the floor.
One of the big highlights of the year came in October when she competed at the World Championships in Tokyo and won gold medals in the team event and in the individual all-around, edging out Victoria Komova of Russia. “I was so surprised to see my name up on the top,“ Wieber told the Los Angeles Times, “but I was so happy at the same time. It was an amazing feeling.”
Wieber, the U.S. all-around champion, in her first senior world championship competition, finished with 59.382 points, .033 ahead of Komova.
Wieber became the sixth American woman to win a world all-around title, joining Kim Zmeskal, Shannon Miller, Chellsie Memmel, Shawn Johnson, and Bridget Sloan.
2012 has the potential to be even more memorable, with the Olympic Trials and the Olympic Games on the agenda, and Sports Scene will be covering Jordyn’s path to the Olympics.