Denisse López

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Denisse López (born December 12, 1976 in Mexicali, Baja California) is a retired Mexican gymnast. She was the first gymnast from Mexico ever to qualify for an event final at the World Gymnastics Championships and the Olympic Games.

Lopez began gymnastics at the age of seven in 1984. By 1987, she was competing in international meets as a junior, including the 1987 Puerto Rico Cup, where she won a bronze medal on the floor exercise. In 1990, Lopez nearly swept the Mexican national championships, placing second in the all-around and winning the titles on the balance beam, floor exercise and vault. She represented Mexico at the 1991 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, but placed well out of the medals on every event.

Although Mexico did not qualify a full team for the 1992 Olympics, Lopez was able to compete as an individual. In the preliminary round of competition, she finished 80th in the all-around.

Following a five year hiatus from the sport, Lopez made a highly successful return to competition in 1997, winning the all-around and vault titles at the '97 Pan American Championships. Over the next three years she would become known as a vault specialist, winning gold medals on the event at the 1997 World University Games, the 1999 Gymnix International, the 2000 Pacific Alliance Championships, the 2000 Cottbus Cup and the Copa Gimnastica. Even when she did not medal, she never finished lower than sixth on vault in any competition she entered.

At the 1999 World Gymnastics Championships in Tianjin, Lopez placed 50th in the all-around during the preliminary competition; however, she was also ranked third on the vault, qualifying for the event finals. Her eventual sixth-place finish was the highest ever for a Mexican gymnast in a major international competition, and still stands as a record today. Lopez attended her second Olympics in 2000 in Sydney. She competed only on vault, qualifying for the event finals and finishing in eighth place.

Lopez competed in a few meets in 2001, including the Cottbus Cup and the French Telecom International, but was beset by injuries. She retired and, in 2002, graduated from University with a degree in psychology.

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Dnisse in the code of points Before the Sydney Olympic Games, Denisse submited her new second vault to the FIG to get it named after her in the Code of Points.

The description of the vault is: Round off, flic with 1/2 turn on, layout front with 1/2 turn (a layout "Podkopayeva" vault) It was accepted by FIG and it is now named the "López" vault, with number 5.505 The webmasters were confused about why it did get named after her, given that she had a fall when she performed it in the final. Also, because other gymnasts might have submitted it as well. This is the response we got from a brevet judge:

"I read your comment about the "López" vault. In Sydney, Denisse registered her vault as "round off, half turn on, front layout with half turn" (layout Podkopayeva). On the other hand, Raducan and Moya registered "round off, half turn on, half turn, back layout" (layout Khorkina). I think they registered it because, even if she didn't perform it well in competition, during podium training she performed it well many times. Concurso Aparato Lugar Tercera copa puerto rico Ejercicios en piso 3° Competencia dual Mica All-Around 1° Torneo gimnastas 2000 Viga 3° Copa internacional elite All-Around 2° Copa internacional elite Salto 1° Copa internacional elite Viga de equilibrio 3° Copa internacional elite Ejercicios en piso 1° Panamericano de gimnasia Salto 1° Juegos centroamericanos Competencia por equipos 2° Juegos centroamericanos Salto 3° Internacional de Rumania Salto 2° Juegos centroamericanos Competencia por Equipos 2° Juegos centroamericanos All-Around 3° Juegos centroamericanos Salto 3° Juegos centroamericanos Barras asimétricas 2° Copa Puerto Rico Salto 1° Peach Tree Invitational All-Around 3° Peach Tree Invitational Salto 3° Peach Tree Invitational Barras asimétricas 3° Peach Tree Invitational Ejercicios en piso 3° Wild Rose Invitational Salto 1° Campeonato Panamericano All-Around 1° Campeonato Panamericano Salto 1° Campeonato Panamericano Viga de equilibrio 2° Universiada de Verano Salto 1° Internacional de Rumania All-Around 3° Internacional de Rumania Salto 3° Internacional de Rumania Viga de equilibrio 2° Internacional de Rumania Ejercicios en piso 3° Gymnix internacional Salto 1° Le Duel Suiza Salto 2° Alianza Pacífico Salto 1° Copa gimnástica All-around 2° Copa gimnástica Salto 1° Copa gimnástica Ejercicios de piso 3° Internacional de Rumania Salto 3°