Dominique Dawes

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Dominique Dawes

Born November 20, 1976 (1976-11-20) (age 31)
Silver Spring, Maryland
Parents Don and Loretta Dawes
Olympic medal record
Women's Artistic Gymnastics
Gold 1996 Atlanta Team competition
Bronze 1992 Barcelona Team competition
Bronze 1996 Atlanta Floor exercise
World Championships
Silver 1993 Birmingham Uneven bars
Silver 1993 Birmingham Balance beam
Silver 1994 Dortmund Team
Bronze 1996 Puerto Rico Floor exercise

Dominique Margaux Dawes (born November 20, 1976, in Silver Spring, Maryland) is a United States gymnast. She was a long time member of the national team, and a three-time Olympian for the U.S. A graduate of the University of Maryland, former President of the Women's Sports Foundation.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Dominique Margaux Dawes was born in Silver Spring, Maryland on November 20, 1976 to Don and Loretta Dawes. She has an older sister, Danielle and a younger brother, Don Jr.

Birthdate:November 20,1976 Height and Weight: 5ft, 2 1/2in, 110 lbs Hometown: Silver Spring/Takoma Park, Maryland Parents: Don and Loretta Dawes Sibilings: Danielle and Don Club: Hill's Gymnastics Coach: Kelli Hill Began Gymnastics: 1983-1995

[edit] Gymnastics career

Dominique was first introduced to gymnastics at age six, when she signed up for a tumbling class. When she showed up, the class was canceled, and someone suggested to her parents that she take a class at a local gymnastics club called Hill's Angels. It was at this club where Dominique met her one and only coach Kelli Hill.

Dominique first made a splash as a pint-sized 14-year-old during a USA dual meet. Dominique received a raucous standing ovation after an energetic floor routine in which she reincarnated the back-to-back tumbling revolutionized by Soviet star Oksana Omelianchik. The judges were equally impressed, and gave her a perfect 10. Though she was not part of the 1991 World Championship team, Dominique continued to move up on the national and international scene throughout 1991 and 1992.

[edit] 1992 Olympics

The extremely crowd pleasing athlete made the Olympic team easily in 1992, despite battling very painful tendinitis in both ankles. Dominique performed respectably throughout the competition, even having the boldness to try a brand-new move in the team competition--back handspring to three layout stepouts on beam. She also won over the crowd with a solid floor routine, and put up the highest score for her team on that event. The team won bronze, and Dominique alongside Betty Okino became the first African American females to win an Olympic gymnastics medal.

Though Dominique was a solid team player in 1992, she did not breakthrough as an all-around gymnast until 1993. Indeed, she is probably best known for her performances at the 1993 and 1994 World Championships. In 1993, Dominique led the competition after three events, even beating her more famous teammate Shannon Miller. Then, showing the same boldness that she had in 1992, she decided to try her harder vault (1 1/2 twisting layout Yurchenko) which was worth a 10.00 instead of simply a full-twisting layout Yurchenko which had been devalued to a 9.8. She made the first vault, but slipped and fell on the second, immediately bursting into tears. With the new rule that both vaults were averaged in all-around competition, her fall dropped her to 4th overall while Miller won the title. Famously, after the vault fall Dominique's coach Kelli Hill exhorted her to be proud of her performance anyway, stating: "When did you ever think you would be in that position? You have to be happy with yourself. Come on. Be happy. Stand up and wave". Dominique did so, and earned a standing ovation from the crowd. After this disappointment she rebounded in the event finals, winning two silver medals on bars and beam.

The same fate befell her in 1994. Leading after three events, she again came to vault with a chance of winning the title. Uncharacteristically, Dominique completely botched her first vault by over rotating and hurling forward into a somersault. Her low score dropped her to 5th. This time, however, Dominique's mistakes continued throughout the event finals and left the championships without winning a single medal. Dominique would finish her year on a positive note, however. She dominated the National Championships sweeping the all-around and all four event finals at the expense of rival Shannon Miller. Dominique then went on to lead the American team to a silver medal at the World Team Championships in Dortmund, Germany, posting the third highest all-around score in the process.

Dominique struggled through a difficult 1995, riddled by wrist and ankle injuries. She finished 4th at Nationals, and was forced to sit out the World Championships that year. She rebounded in 1996 doing some of the best gymnastics of her career. Though her results were spotty, she finished 1st at the Olympic trials to make her second Olympic team at age 19.

[edit] 1996 Olympics

The team, later nicknamed Magnificent 7, dominated the team competition. A key member of the team, Dominique performed without serious error and was the only team member to have all eight of her scores count towards the total. Along with Shannon Miller, Jaycie Phelps, Dominique Moceanu, Amanda Borden, Amy Chow and Kerri Strug, Dominique claimed her gold medal as part of the first American team to take the Olympic title. Another first, she became the first black woman of any nationality to win an Olympic gold in gymnastics.

Later in the week, however, Dominique lost yet another opportunity to win a major all-around title. Going into the AA competition, Dominique was considered one of the heavy favorites to medal. In fact, she had amassed the second highest total during the Team optionals, and was the highest ranked American in that portion of the competition. Dominique led the competition after two rotations, with Shannon Miller right behind her. Miller had a major mistake on her floor routine, knocking her out of the medals. On the middle tumbling pass of Dawes's floor routine, she under-rotated for fear that she might step out of bounds. She sat down the tumbling pass and finished 17th. NBC cameras zoomed in on Dawes, sitting in tears as her score from floor exercise was announced. She finished just out of the medals on uneven bars, but redeemed herself by winning bronze in floor exercise finals, her first World Championship or Olympic medal in what had long been considered her best event.

Dominique reveled in her team's success, performing in several post-Olympic tours with her teammates, as well as landing a role in a Broadway production of Grease.

[edit] 2000 Olympics

She returned to competition at the 1998 Goodwill Games, although her rare appearances in competition did not suggest that she was serious about making the Olympic team in 2000. However, she surprised everyone with stunning performances at Nationals, Olympic trials, and the training camps, and made her third Olympic team. Though her performances were up and down, she competed respectfully in route to a 4th place team finish.

Dominique to date is one of only three American female gymnasts to compete in three Olympics. The others are Muriel Grossfeld and Linda Metheny-Mulvihill; both still coach US girls. Indeed only a handful of gymnasts worldwide have accomplished this feat, including Ludmilla Tourischeva, Svetlana Boginskaya and Svetlana Khorkina. Her explosive tumbling and energetic style earned her the nickname "Awesome Dawesome."

[edit] Education and career

Dawes attended Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland and Gaithersburg High School in Gaithersburg, Maryland, where she was the 1994 prom queen. She graduated with her Bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2002.

Pursuing a career in acting, modeling, and television production, she has appeared in Prince's music video "Betcha By Golly Wow" and Missy Elliott's 2006 video "We Run This" in the role of Missy's gymnastics coach. Her flipping ability has been used as the root metaphor in hip-hop songs by such artists as Ras Kass ("It's a Given," "12") and The Hit Squad ("International", "Zero Tolerance").

Dawes is presently on the Advisory Board of Sesame Workshop's "Healthy Habits for Life" program and served as President of the Women's Sports Federation from 2004-2006.

[edit] Notes

Dominique Dawes was known for her technically difficult and exhausting double tumbling passes. She currently coaches girls at a gym in Maryland.

[edit] Skills

  • Vault: 1.5 twisting Yurchenko
  • Balance Beam: Back-handspring followed by 3 Layout stepouts, Two back-handsprings to Full-in dismount
  • Floor Exercise: Double layout, Whip 2.5 Punch Front, Piked Full-in Back Out.

known for her double twist punch front through to double tuck

Her music for floor routines was:

[edit] Awards

  • AAUW Women of Distinction Award, 2004
  • "Caring Hands, Caring Hearts" Award, Ronald McDonald House Charities and Children Around the World, 2003
  • Inducted into USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame, 1998
  • Essence Award, 1997
  • Henry P. Iba Citizen Award, presented annually to two outstanding athletes who have demonstrated good citizenship, 1995
  • Sportsperson of the year by USA Gymnastics, 1994
  • Finalist for the AAU Sullivan Award, which recognizes the USA's top amateur athlete, 1994

[edit] References


[edit] External links

Olympic champions in artistic gymnastics – women's team competition

1928: Netherlands Netherlands • 1936: Germany Germany • 1948: Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia • 1952: Soviet Union Soviet Union • 1956: Soviet Union Soviet Union • 1960: Soviet Union Soviet Union • 1964: Soviet Union Soviet Union • 1968: Soviet Union Soviet Union • 1972: Soviet Union Soviet Union • 1976: Soviet Union Soviet Union • 1980: Soviet Union Soviet Union • 1984: Romania Romania • 1988: Soviet Union Soviet Union • 1992: Unified Team Unified Team • 1996: United States United States • 2000: Romania Romania • 2004: Romania Romania


Persondata
NAME Dawes, Dominique
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION African-American gymnast that competed in three Olympic Games.
DATE OF BIRTH November 20, 1976
PLACE OF BIRTH Silver Spring, Maryland
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH