Ashton Locklear Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

Ashton Locklear

Locklear in 2018

Personal information

Full name

Ashton Taylor Locklear

Country represented

United States

Born

January 13, 1998 (age 27)
Lumberton, North Carolina, U.S.

Hometown

Hamlet, North Carolina, U.S.

Residence

Spring, Texas, U.S.

Height

5 ft 4 in (163 cm)

Discipline

Women's artistic gymnastics

Level

Senior International Elite

Years on national team

2014—18 (US)

Club

World Champions Centre

Head coach(es)

Laurent Landi

Former coach(es)

Qi Han Yiwen Chen Kristie Phillips
Sergei Romanov

Music

Pa'Bailar (2012)

Retired

May 16, 2019

Medal record

World Championships

Representing United States
Gold	2014 Nanning	Team
Pacific Rim Championships
Gold	2016 Everett	Team
Gold	2016 Everett	Uneven Bars
Pan American Championships
Gold	2014 Mississauga	Team
Gold	2014 Mississauga	Uneven Bars

Ashton Taylor Locklear (born January 13, 1998) is a retired American artistic gymnast from North Carolina. She was a key member of the United States team that won a gold medal at the 2014 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. Ashton is also a two-time national champion on the uneven bars, winning titles in 2014 and 2016. She was an uneven bars specialist and an alternate for the 2016 Summer Olympics U.S. gymnastics team, known as the Final Five.

About Ashton Locklear
- Her Early Life
- Starting Gymnastics
Ashton's Gymnastics Career
- Becoming a Senior Gymnast
Competitive history
See also

About Ashton Locklear

Her Early Life

Ashton Locklear was born in Lumberton, North Carolina. Her parents are Carrie and Terry Locklear. She has an older sister named Angelia, who is also a gymnast.

Ashton was homeschooled until the 8th grade. She is a member of the Lumbee Tribe, which is a Native American tribe. In 2017, she became an ambassador for Nike N7, a program that supports Native American and Aboriginal communities.

Starting Gymnastics

When Ashton was very young, she would watch her older sister's gymnastics lessons. She started copying her sister's moves. Watching the 2000 Summer Olympics on TV also inspired her to become a gymnast.

She first started in trampolining, but later switched to artistic gymnastics. She began her training with Terry Barrett in Hamlet, North Carolina.

Ashton won her first championship at age five. It was a state-level title in trampoline and tumbling. After that, she trained at KPAC (Kristie Phillips Athletic Center) with Kristie Phillips. When she was eleven, she moved to Everest Gymnastics in Huntersville, North Carolina. There, she was coached by Qi Han and his wife, Yiwen Chen. Because the gym was far from her hometown, her family kept a second home nearby.

Ashton's Gymnastics Career

Becoming a Senior Gymnast

2014: A Breakout Year

Ashton had a fantastic year in 2014. At the Secret U.S. Classic, she won first place on the uneven bars. She even beat Kyla Ross, who was a world silver medalist on bars.

In August, Ashton competed at the P&G Championships. She became the national champion on the uneven bars. She also placed eighth on the balance beam. After this, she was chosen for the national team and the U.S. team for the Pan American Championships.

At the Pan American Championships in Mississauga, Canada, Ashton and her teammates won the gold medal. They beat Brazil by a lot of points. Ashton also won a gold medal on the uneven bars.

In September, Ashton was chosen to compete at the 2014 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Nanning, China. She helped the U.S. team win a gold medal. She also placed fourth in the uneven bars final.

2015: Overcoming Injury

In early 2015, Ashton hurt her shoulder and needed surgery. After a lot of physical therapy, she returned to competition at the Secret U.S. Classic in July. She only did practice routines then.

In August, Ashton competed on uneven bars and balance beam at the 2015 P&G Championships. She scored very well on bars, placing second behind her 2014 Worlds teammate, Madison Kocian. She also placed 13th on beam. A week later, she was named to the senior national team.

Ashton had planned to go to the University of Florida for college gymnastics. However, she later decided not to compete in NCAA gymnastics.

2016: Olympic Alternate

Ashton started her 2016 season at the City of Jesolo Trophy in Jesolo, Italy. The U.S. team won gold, and Ashton won gold on the uneven bars.

In April, at the 2016 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships, Ashton helped the U.S. team win. She also won the gold medal on uneven bars.

In June 2016, Ashton competed at the U.S. Secret Classic. She won the gold medal on uneven bars, beating the world champion, Madison Kocian. She also placed fourth on beam.

Later in June, Ashton competed at the P&G Championships in St. Louis. She scored very high on uneven bars on both days, winning the national title again. She also placed eighth on balance beam. Ashton was named to the 2016 U.S. National Team and qualified for the Olympic Trials.

At the 2016 Olympic Trials, Ashton performed well on bars. She was chosen as an alternate for the U.S. Olympic team, along with MyKayla Skinner and Ragan Smith.

2017: World Championships

Ashton began 2017 at the City of Jesolo Trophy in Jesolo, Italy. The U.S. team won gold, and Ashton won a bronze medal on uneven bars.

In July, Ashton competed at the U.S. Secret Classic, only performing on balance beam. She tied for eighth place.

In August, Ashton competed at the P&G Championships in Anaheim, California. She placed second on uneven bars and tenth on balance beam.

In September, Ashton was chosen to represent the United States at the 2017 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Montreal. She competed on uneven bars and balance beam. She made it to the uneven bars finals, but an early mistake led to an 8th-place finish. Ashton later said she had re-injured her shoulder during the final.

2018: Recovering from Surgery

After having shoulder surgery, Ashton moved to Spring, Texas. She trained with Simone Biles at World Champions Centre. Later that summer, she had knee surgery and spent the rest of the year recovering.

2019: Retirement

In an interview, Ashton announced she would return to competition in February at the WOGA Classic. She planned to compete on uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. At the WOGA Classic, she scored 12.350 on uneven bars and 12.550 on balance beam.

Later that month, Ashton competed at the World Champion's National Qualifier. She placed first on uneven bars and tied for fourth on balance beam. However, her scores were not high enough to qualify for other major competitions.

On May 16, Ashton officially announced her retirement from gymnastics on Twitter.

Competitive history

Year	Event	AA	UB	BB
2013	Nastia Liukin Cup	7
2014	U.S. Classic			4
	U.S. Championships			8
	Pan American Championships
	World Championships		4
2015	U.S. Championships			13
2016	City of Jesolo Trophy
	Pacific Rim Championships
	U.S. Classic			4
	U.S. Championships			8
	U.S. Olympic Trials			13
	Olympic Games
2017	City of Jesolo Trophy
	U.S. Classic			8
	P&G National Championships			10
	World Championships		8
2018	did not compete
2019	WOGA Classic		6	6
2019	WCC National Qualifier			4