Olympic week-Tuesday

Samantha Peszek


Samantha Peszek is 16 years old and a powerhouse gymnast on the USA National Team. She is the first of two daughters to Ed and Luan Peszek, was born on December 14, 1991 in McCordsville, Indiana. As an energetic toddler Samantha took up gymnastics in 1993 at DeVeau's School of Gymnastics in Fishers, Indiana. She progressed rapidly, and at age 9 was a member of the TOPS National Team. A year later, Samantha was on the TOPS team again as a 10 year old. By 2003, it was evident Samantha's talent was developing quickly, and as an 11 year old level 10 she placed 8th at the Regional Championships. That finish was only a small indicator of things to come.
Samantha jumped into the gymnastics scene in 2004, where she made a name for herself as one of the nation's top junior athletes. She placed an impressive second all-around at the 2004 Junior Olympic National Championships at age 12. Weeks later, she went on to qualify to the Visa Championships where she placed third on vault and eighth in the all-around, becoming the youngest member of the 2004 National Team. In 2005, Sam earned a spot on her second USA National Team and became the national champion on vault. She also placed seventh in the all-around and second on floor. Samantha’s season continued to improve as she earned her third international assignment in Mexico, where she won the all-around, floor and vault titles.

In early 2006 Sam competed in the Gymnix International and won the all-around, vault and beam titles. Later in the year, at the 2006 Visa Championships, she won the all-around bronze medal as well as the silver medal on vault and the bronze medal on bars. She also debuted a double twisting double back on floor, a skill that only a few women in the world can do! Samantha earned a spot to compete in the 2006 Junior Pan American Championships where she helped her team earn the gold medal and also won the gold medal on floor and the silver medal on vault.

2007 was a fantastic year for Sam! Samantha and her USA Teammates became World Champions and made history at the 2007 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, when the USA Team won the title for the first time outside the USA.

The USA was down by one tenth of a point to China after three rounds of competition at the World Championships, but came back strong on the final event, floor, to clinch the team title and bring home the gold medal. The Super 7 appeared on the Today Show a few weeks later to show off their medals and golden smiles.

“It was an awesome feeling to literally be on top of the world,” said Samantha. “I honestly don't think I have ever been happier in my entire life. To work so hard for something, and to have it pay off, was truly a dream come true. And, to win it with such an amazing group of girls made the victory even sweeter!”

Not only did Sam and her teammates win the gold medal at Worlds, but they also won the gold medal at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In fact, in 2007 Samantha competed in five major national and international competitions including the Tyson American Cup, USA vs. Great Britain, Pan American Games, Visa Championships and World Championships. In these five events, she won a total of five gold medals, one silver and one bronze. She traveled to Ireland, Brazil and Germany within a six month time period and was also named USA Gymnastics TOPs Athlete of the Year for 2007.

-http://www.gym-nerd.com/samantha/sam.html