Dominique Dawes 905327 225100582 2008-07-11T21:47:49Z DanielEng 2538203 /* Education and life after gymnastics */ disambig link {{Infobox Gymnast |gymnastname= Dominique Dawes |image= |imagesize= |caption= |fullname= Dominique Margeaux Dawes |nickname= |country= {{USA}} |formercountry= |birthdate= {{birth date and age|1976|11|20}} |birthplace= [[Silver Spring, Maryland]] |hometown= |deathdate= |deathplace= |height= |discipline= Women's Artistic Gymnastics |level= Senior International |natlteam= 10 (1989-1998; 2000) |club= |gym= Hill's Angels |collegeteam= |headcoach= |assistcoach= |formercoach=Kelli Hill |choreographer= |music= |eponymousskills= |retired= |medaltemplates= <!-- see [[Template:MedalRelatedTemplates]] --> {{MedalSport| Women's [[Gymnastics at the Summer Olympics|Artistic Gymnastics]]}} {{MedalGold|1996 Atlanta|Team competition}} {{MedalBronze|1992 Barcelona|Team competition}} {{MedalBronze|1996 Atlanta|Floor exercise}} {{MedalCompetition | [[World Gymnastics Championships|World Championships]]}} {{MedalSilver|[[1993 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|1993 Birmingham]]|Uneven bars}} {{MedalSilver|[[1993 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|1993 Birmingham]]|Balance beam}} {{MedalSilver|[[1994 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships (Team)|1994 Dortmund]]|Team}} {{MedalBronze|[[1996 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|1996 Puerto Rico]]|Floor exercise}} }} '''Dominique Margaux Dawes''' (born [[November 20]], [[1976]], in [[Silver Spring, Maryland]]) is a retired [[United States]] [[artistic gymnastics|artistic gymnast]]. She was 10-year member of the U.S. national gymnastics team, the 1994 U.S. all-around senior National Champion a three-time Olympian, a World Championships silver medalist and a member of the gold-medal winning "Magnificent Seven" at the [[1996 Summer Olympics]]. Dawes is also notable as being the first African-American to win an individual Olympic medal in artistic gymnastics.<ref name=espn>[http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blackhistory2008/columns/story?columnist=buckheit_mary&page=dawes/080226 "Catching up with Dominique Dawes"] Mary Buckheit, ESPN, February 22, 2008</ref> She is also one of only three female American gymnasts, along with Muriel Grossfeld and Linda Metheny-Mulvihill, to compete in three Olympics. ==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. She 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 try a local gymnastics club called Hill's Angels. Dawes signed up for classes at Hill's and began working with Kelli Hill, who would coach her for her entire career.<ref name=espn /><ref name=usagbio>[http://web.archive.org/web/20070205215631/http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/athletes/bios/d/ddawes.html Official Bio at USA Gymnastics]</ref> ==Gymnastics career== ===Junior career=== Dawes was competing as a junior elite by the age of 10. She placed 17th in the all-around in the junior division at her first U.S. National Championships in 1988. In 1989, at the age of 12, she was sent to [[Australia]] to compete in her first international meet, the Konica Grand Prix. By the early 1990s, Dawes was achieving success both nationally and internationally. She placed 3rd in the all-around in the junior division at the 1990 U.S. National Championships.<ref name=usagbio /> At the 1992 USA vs. Japan dual meet, the 14-year old Dawes made a splash, and received a raucous standing ovation, after an energetic floor routine in which she revived 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.<ref name=usagbio /> ===1992-1996=== The extremely crowd pleasing athlete placed 4th at the 1992 Olympic trials and was awarded a place on the Barcelona Olympic team.<ref name=usagbio /> Despite battling very painful tendinitis in both ankles and [[Osgood-Schlatter disease]] during pre-Olympic training,<ref name=lgipb>{{cite book | last = Ryan | first = Joan | title = Little Girls in Pretty Boxes | publisher = Doubleday | location = Garden City | year = 1995 | isbn = 9780385477901 }}</ref> Dawes performed respectably throughout the competition, even having the boldness to try a brand-new move in her [[balance beam]] routine in the team competition--[[Handspring (gymnastics)|back handspring]] to three layout stepouts. She also won over the crowd with a solid optional [[floor exercise]] routine and, with a mark of 9.925, tied with [[Kim Zmeskal]] for the highest score for the American team on the event.<ref>[http://www.gymn-forum.net/Results/Olympics/1992_Barcelona/1992_women_team_1-3.html Scores by gymnast for the 1992 Olympics team competition] Gymn-Forum</ref> The team won bronze, and Dawes and teammate [[Betty Okino]] became the first African American females to win an Olympic gymnastics medal. Though Dawes was a solid team player in 1992, she did not break through 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, Dawes 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 (vault)|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.<ref name=nyt1 /><ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n3_v84/ai_13829339 "Dominique Dawes wins 2 silver medals during World Gymnastic events"] ''Jet'' magazine, May 17 1993</ref> 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". Dawes did so, and earned a standing ovation from the crowd.<ref>Eurosport coverage of the 1993 World Championships</ref> After this disappointment she rebounded in the event finals, winning two silver medals on bars and beam.<ref name=usagbio /> The same fate befell her in at the [[1994 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|1994 Worlds]]. Leading after three events, she again came to vault with a chance of winning the title. Uncharacteristically, Dawes completely botched her first vault by over rotating and hurling forward into a somersault. Her low score dropped her to 5th. Her mistakes continued throughout the event finals and left the championships without winning a single medal. Dawes would finish her year on a positive note, however. She dominated the National Championships, placing first in the all-around and all four event finals at the expense of rival [[Shannon Miller]]. It was the first year since 1969 that a gymnast had swept the competition.<ref name=ebony>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n7_v50/ai_16878136 "3 for the future"] ''Ebony'' magazine, May 1995</ref><ref name=sweeps>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n19_v86/ai_15779839?tag=content;col1 "Dominique Dawes sweeps each event at National Gymnastics Championships"] ''Jet'' magazine, September 12 1994</ref> She went on to lead the American team to a silver medal at the [[1994 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships (Team)|World Team Championships]] in [[Dortmund]], [[Germany]], posting the third highest all-around score in the process. Dawes 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. At the [[1996 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships|1996 World Championships]], mistakes kept her out of the medals on all events.<ref name=nyt1>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A07E2D61739F93BA15754C0A960958260 "Team Gold for Dawes Was Only Part of Plan"] Christopher Clarey, ''The New York Times,'' July 28 1996</ref><ref name=nyt2>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F07EED61E39F932A15757C0A960958260 "Competitors Keeping Olympic Test in Mind"] Christopher Clarey, ''The New York Times,'' April 21 1996</ref> However, she rebounded at the 1996 U.S. National Championships to sweep all four event finals and finished first at the Olympic trials, earning a berth on the 1996 Olympic team at the age of 19.<ref name=usagbio /> ===1996 Olympics=== The team, later nicknamed [[Magnificent Seven (Gymnastics)|Magnificent 7]], dominated the team competition. A key member of the team, Dawes 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]], Dawes 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.<ref name=espn /> Later in the week, however, Dawes lost yet another opportunity to win a major all-around title. Going into the competition, she was considered one of the heavy favorites to medal. She was ranked sixth overall among all competitors after the team event, and her scores from team optionals were the highest on the American team and the second highest overall.<ref>[http://www.gymn-forum.net/Results/Olympics/1996_Atlanta/1996_women_team_USA_RUS_ROM.html Scores by gymnast for the team optionals at the 1996 Olympics]Gymn-Forum</ref><ref>[http://www.gymn-forum.net/Results/Olympics/1996_Atlanta/1996_women_aa_qualifiers.html Women's all-around qualifiers] Gymn-Forum</ref>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. Dawes 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.<ref name=nyt1 /><ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/19971109035234/http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/events/1996/olympics/event2.html Event finals notes]USA Gymnastics, 1996</ref> ===2000 Olympics=== Between 1996 and 1998 Dawes competed in various professional meets but retreated from elite competition. She returned briefly in 1998 to participate in the [[Goodwill Games]], where she placed 19th in the Mixed Pairs event with Chainey Humphrey. However, she placed 7th all-around at 2000 U.S. Nationals and 7th at the Olympic Trials, and earned a spot on her third Olympic team.<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9504E4D9113EF932A1575BC0A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 "Miller Out, But Dawes And Chow Make Team"] Selena Roberts, ''The New York Times,'' August 21 2000</ref> In team preliminaries at the Sydney Olympics, Dawes posted the highest score of the American team on [[uneven bars]] but the lowest on beam.<ref>[http://www.gymn-forum.net/Results/Olympics/2000_Sydney/2000_women_quali_teams_1-6.html Scores by gymnast for team prelims at the 2000 Olympics] Gymn-Forum</ref> In the team finals, she performed well on three events and contributed to the team's 4th place finish.<ref>[http://www.gymn-forum.net/Results/Olympics/2000_Sydney/2000_women_team_finals.html Scores by gymnast for team finals at the 2000 Olympics] Gymn-Forum</ref><ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4191/is_20000919/ai_n9973962 "U.S. women, golden last time, would be happy with bronze"] Jocelyn Noveck, ''Colorado Springs Gazette,'' September 19, 2000</ref> ==Education and life after gymnastics== Dawes attended [[Montgomery Blair High School]] in Silver Spring, Maryland and [[Gaithersburg High School]] in Gaithersburg, Maryland, where she was the 1994 [[prom queen]].<ref name=sweeps /> She graduated with a 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 also briefly appeared on Broadway in a revival of the musical ''[[Grease (musical)|Grease]]'', playing cheerleader Patty Simcox.<ref>[http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1009289/index.htm "Hopelessly Devoted"] Kimberly Wong, ''Sports Illustrated,'' December 30 1996</ref> Dawes served as President of the Women's Sports Federation from 2004-2006; she was the youngest President in the Foundation's history.<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806E2D6113FF932A15756C0A9629C8B63 "Ex-Gymnast's Next Routine Is Getting Girls Off Couch"] Frank Litsky, ''The New York Times,'' May 21 2004</ref> She is presently on the Advisory Board of [[Sesame Workshop|Sesame Workshop's]] "[[Healthy Habits for Life]]" program and also works as a motivational speaker, concentrating on youth issues.<ref>[http://www.apbspeakers.com/themes/DefaultView/SpeakerPages/Dominique%20Dawes.aspx Speaker profile at The American Program Bureau]</ref> ==Skills== *Vault: 1.5 twisting [[Yurchenko (vault)|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 (combination); piked full-in back out; double twist-punch front through to double tuck (back-to-back tumbling run). On floor, Dawes was known for her exhausting and technically intricate back-to-back tumbling passes. Her music for floor routines was: ** ''1994'': ''[[MalagueƱa (song)|MalagueƱa]]'' by [[Ernesto Lecuona]] ** ''1996'': ''[[Fantasy Quick (Jordan Edit)]]'' ==Awards== *Inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame (with the Magnificent Seven), 2008 *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 ==References== {{reflist|2}} ==External links== *[http://www.dominiquedawes.com/ Dominique Dawes official website] *{{imdb name|id=1756301|name=Dominique Dawes}} *{{ibdb name|id=89353|name=Dominique Dawes}} *[http://web.archive.org/web/20070205215631/http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/athletes/bios/d/ddawes.html USA Gymnastics Official Biography: Dominique Dawes] *[http://www.fig-gymnastics.com/events/athletes/bio.jsp?ID=4402 International Federation of Gymnastics' profile on Dawes] *[http://www.gymn-forum.net/bios/women/dawes.html List of competitive results at Gymn Forum] {{NavigationOlympicChampionsArtisticGymnasticsWomenTC}} <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] --> {{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= }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Dawes, Dominique}} [[Category:1976 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:African American sportspeople]] [[Category:American gymnasts]] [[Category:Olympic gymnasts of the United States]] [[Category:Gymnasts at the 1992 Summer Olympics]] [[Category:Gymnasts at the 1996 Summer Olympics]] [[Category:Gymnasts at the 2000 Summer Olympics]] [[Category:University of Maryland, College Park alumni]] [[Category:People from Maryland]] [[Category:Originators of elements in artistic gymnastics]] [[Category:Medalists at World Gymnastics Championships]] [[Category:People from Montgomery County, Maryland]]