Kim Zmeskal

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Olympic medal record
Women's Artistic Gymnastics
Bronze	1992 Barcelona	Team competition

Kimberly Lyn Zmeskal (Burdette, born February 6, 1976 in Houston, Texas) is an American gymnast and coach. As a young girl, Zmeskal was one of the first to sign up for gymnastics classes under the tutelage of coaching great Béla Károlyi who had recently bought a run-down gym in her Houston neighbourhood. An energetic child of parents David and Clarice, it was a natural choice that she join a gymnastics class.

Attending classes Zmeskal had the opportunity to closely observe and interact with her heroine, Mary Lou Retton. Her assets were unyielding determination and ability to focus under stressful situations. Although she was sometimes criticised by coach Károlyi for a lack of discipline, she had the uncanny ability to rise to the occasion when it counted.

In 1989, at the age of 13, Zmeskal became the U.S. Junior National Champion. This was to be the start of her rise to the top of the gymnastics world. Before the year was out she had also taken first place in the American Classic, the Swiss Cup Mixed Pairs (with Lance Ringnald), and the Arthur Gander Memorial. Zmeskal went on to become the three-time consecutive U.S. National Champion. A rilavry even began to emerge between her and the Soviet Union's Svetlana Boguinskaya.

Proving her ability to excel was not a fluke, in 1991, Zmeskal became the first American gymnast, (male or female) to win the all-around title at the World Gymnastics Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana (vault: 9.962, uneven bars: 9.937, beam: 9.962, floor: 9.987). Thwarting critics that had said that Zmeskal had won the championship title only because the competition was held in the United States, Zmeskal turned out two gold medal performances at the Individual Apparatus Championships in Paris. (However, many pointed out that the field at this World Chapionships was not very strong, nor were the competitors in peak form). Nevertheless, she was named ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year, an award she shared with track and field legend Carl Lewis.

Naturally, Zmeskal was endowed with American hopes for its first team gold medal and a plethora of gold medals in the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games. She was featured on the cover of both Time and Newsweek magazine. On the road to the Olympics, Zmeskal frequently battled an emerging Shannon Miller in what was portrayed as a great rivalry (although the two later became great friends). Weeks before the Olympics, Miller defeated Zmeskal at the U.S. Olympic Trials confirming the intense competitive battle. Unfortunately, at the Olympics, Zmeskal would fall off the balance beam during her compulsory routine the first night of competition. The moment would be replayed over and over again during the course of the Olympics, symbolizing to many the end of Zmeskal's era and the beginning of Miller's. However, after a magical rebound performance on the floor, vault, and bars, Zmeskal was in 32nd place after the compulsories and 5th on the American team.

With impressive scores of 9.912 on beam, 9.95 on vault, 9.9 on uneven bars, and a crowd pleasing 9.925 on floor during the finals of the team competition, Zmeskal rocketed into 12th place and into the all-around competition by finishing third among the American women. Her combined score of 39.687 for the night was the highest of any competitor, even Shannon Miller. Zmeskal would have her chance to go head to head with Miller and longtime rival Svetlana Boguinskaya.

Although reaching the all-around competition, Zmeskal would falter during her first event, the floor exercise, stepping out of bounds. Instantly eliminated from medal contention, her U.S. teammate Shannon Miller went on to duel for the title with the Ukraine's Tatiana Gutsu. Ultimately, Zmeskal's 39.687 from the Team Optionals would have not been enough to challenge their scores of 37.725 and 37.737. However, it would later be revealed that Zmeskal was suffering from a stress fracture in her ankle before the Olympics began. Zmeskal, however, did not use this as an excuse for her performance.

Her dreams for a comeback in Atlanta during the 1996 Olympic Games would be dashed due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee suffered during a floor exercise.

In 1998, Zmeskal returned to competition and had a decent showing at the U.S. National Championships in Indiannapolis. By 1999, she was even considered a possibility for the 2000 Olympic team and represented the U.S. internationally. However, a torn achilles tendon on a double tuck on floor ended her career that year.

That same year, she married coach Chris Burdette whom she had met during a clinic. Zmeskal now spends time with her husband, speaking and coaching, and had recently opened a coaching program in Coppell, Texas for girls who wish to follow in her footsteps. She has coached an athlete to nationals standard, unusual for so young and relatively inexperienced a coach. The Burdettes had their first child, son Robert Ryder, in May of 2005.

Trademarks include:

Kim Zmeskal was most recognized for her middle tumbling pass on floor which consisted of the following elements: Round-Off, Three consecutive Whip-Backs, Back-Handspring, into a double-back in the tucked position (Kim had also performed this pass with an incredible four whips into double-back).

Another of Kim's tradmarks was the way in which she would flare her arms out during full-twisting elements, most notably on her full-twisting yurchenko vault.

Trivia:

Kim is the first, and thusfar only, American gymnast to win four consecutive National all-around titles (Junior National Champion 1989, Senior National Champion 1990-1992)

First and only American gymnast to win three consecutive Senior National all-around titles.

First gymnast from the United States, male or female, to become a World all-around champion.

Kim was the first American gymnast to hold three World titles at once (1991 AA Champion, 1992 Beam and Floor Champion).

At the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Kim Zmeskal accumulated the highest all-around total of any gymnast, during the optional portion of the women's team competition.

According to the United States Olympics Committee, in the wake of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, no other athlete, in any sport, received more fan mail than Kim Zmeskal.

[edit] External links

• Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique profile for Kim Zmeskal