Bridget Sloan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bridget Sloan
Sloan performs on the balance beam at the 2008 U.S. National Championships in Boston, MA.
Personal information
Full name	Bridget Elizabeth Sloan
Country represented	United States
Born	(1992-06-23) June 23, 1992 (age 33) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Height	5 ft (152 cm) 1
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Years on national team	2005–2013 (USA)
Club	Sharp's Gymnastics Academy
College team	Florida Gators (2013–2016)
Head coach(es)	Jenny Rowland
Former coach(es)	Marvin Sharp Rhonda Faehn
Retired	April 16, 2016
Medal record Women's artistic gymnastics Representing the  United States Olympic Games Silver 2008 Beijing Team World Championships Gold 2009 London All-Around Silver 2010 Rotterdam Team Pan American Games Gold 2011 Guadalajara Team Pacific Rim Championships Gold 2010 Melbourne Team Representing Florida Gators NCAA National Championships Gold 2013 Los Angeles Team Gold 2013 Los Angeles All-Around Gold 2013 Los Angeles Balance Beam Gold 2014 Birmingham Team Gold 2014 Birmingham Uneven Bars Gold 2015 Fort Worth Team Gold 2016 Fort Worth All-Around Gold 2016 Fort Worth Balance Beam Gold 2016 Fort Worth Uneven Bars Silver 2013 Los Angeles Uneven Bars Silver 2015 Fort Worth Vault Silver 2015 Fort Worth Uneven Bars
Education	Tri-West Hendricks High School

Bridget Elizabeth Sloan (born June 23, 1992) is an American artistic gymnast. She is famous for being the 2009 world champion in the all-around competition. Bridget also won the 2009 United States national championship. She earned a silver medal with the American team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

From 2012 to 2016, Bridget was part of the University of Florida women's gymnastics team. This team won three NCAA National Championships in a row. She also became the 2013 NCAA national champion in the all-around and on the balance beam. In 2014, she won the NCAA championship on the uneven bars. In 2015, she made history as the first University of Florida gymnast to score a perfect 10 on all four events. She was only the seventh NCAA gymnast ever to do this! At the 2016 NCAA Nationals, her last championship, she won the all-around, uneven bars, and balance beam titles.

Early Life and Training

Bridget Elizabeth Sloan was born on June 23, 1992, in Cincinnati, Ohio. She grew up in Pittsboro, Indiana. Bridget started gymnastics when she was just 4 years old. She trained at Sharp's Gymnastics Academy in Indianapolis. She later graduated from Tri-West Hendricks High School.

Elite Gymnastics Career

2007: First Senior Year

In 2007, Bridget competed as a senior gymnast for the first time. She finished fifth in the all-around at the U.S. National Championships. She also placed third on the uneven bars. Bridget was an alternate for the American team at the 2007 World Championships. In December, she won a bronze medal in the all-around at the Good Luck Beijing Olympic test event. She also earned a silver medal on the floor exercise.

2008: Olympic Silver Medal

In March 2008, Bridget had a knee injury while warming up in Italy. She had surgery and worked hard to recover. She was able to compete at the National Championships and the U.S. Olympic Trials. In July 2008, Bridget was chosen for the Olympic team.

At the Olympics, Bridget competed in the qualifying and team final rounds. Her performances were very important in the qualifiers. This was because two teammates were injured, so the team needed all of Bridget's scores. She made small mistakes but performed well overall. In the team finals, she competed on vault. Her score helped the American team win a silver medal!

2009: World Champion

In February 2009, Bridget competed in the American Cup. She placed second. In August, she competed at the U.S. National Championships. There, she won the all-around title, plus gold medals on floor and uneven bars.

In October, Bridget went to the 2009 World Championships in London. She qualified for the all-around and uneven bars finals. In the all-around final, she won the gold medal! She became the fifth American woman to win this world title. She placed sixth in the bars final.

2010: Dealing with Injuries

Bridget faced many injuries in 2010, which limited her competitions. An ankle injury meant she could only compete on bars at the Pacific Rim Championships. The same injury kept her to just the balance beam at the U.S. Classic. A new chest injury stopped her from defending her national all-around title. Even with injuries, she impressed the National Team Coordinator. She was chosen for the World Championships to perform on bars and floor. She finished fourth in the bars final.

2011: Recovery and Pan American Games

Bridget spent most of 2011 recovering from bicep surgery. She decided not to compete in the 2011 National or World Championships. Her main goal was to stay healthy for the 2012 Olympics.

Even though she didn't compete in the National Championships, Bridget was named to the team for the 2011 Pan American Games. She competed only on the uneven bars and floor exercise. She did not qualify for the event finals.

2012: Olympic Dream Ends

Bridget was able to compete at the 2012 National Championships. This was her first time competing in all four events since 2009. She finished sixth on uneven bars and tenth in the all-around. She was chosen for the Olympic Trials. However, on the first night of the Trials, she injured her elbow during warm-ups. She had to withdraw, which ended her chances for the London Olympic Games. This also marked the end of her national team career.

NCAA College Career

Bridget accepted a scholarship to the University of Florida in Gainesville. She joined the Florida Gators women's gymnastics team. She started college in the fall of 2012.

2013: First NCAA Championship

In 2013, Bridget competed in her first NCAA Championship with the Gators. She won the all-around title. She then led her team to their first NCAA Championship title! Bridget also won the balance beam title in the event finals. She was named the 2013 recipient of the Honda Sports Award. This award recognizes the best women's college gymnast. She was only the fourth freshman to win this award.

2014: Second Team Title

2014 was Bridget's second season with the Gators. The team won their second NCAA National Championships in a row. Individually, Bridget became the NCAA National Champion on the uneven bars. She was also named the NACGC Southeast Region Gymnast of the Year.

2015: Perfect 10s

In the first meet of the 2015 season, Bridget scored a perfect 10.0 on vault! She was named the SEC Specialist of the Week for this amazing score. However, she also injured her ankle and missed five meets. She returned to compete later in the season. She helped the Gators win their third NCAA National Championships title in a row. Bridget also made history by becoming the first gymnast from Florida to score perfect 10.0s on all four events.

2016: Final College Year

In her final year at Florida in 2016, Bridget earned her second NCAA All-Around title. She also won the balance beam and uneven bars titles.

Competitive History

Year	Event	Team	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
Junior
2003	U.S. Challenge		5
2005	U.S. National Championships		14		9
2006	Int'l Gymnix
	U.S. National Championships			4	4
Senior
2007	Houston Int'l
	USA-Great Britain Friendly		6
	U.S. Classic
	U.S. National Championships		5		5	10
	Good Luck Beijing Int'l				7	4
	Toyota Cup
2008	Italy-Spain-Poland-USA Friendly
	U.S. National Championships					7
	U.S. Olympic Trials				8	12	14
	Olympic Games
2009	American Cup
	USA-Germany Friendly
	USA-France Friendly
	U.S. National Championships					5
	World Championships				6
2010	Pacific Rim Championships
	U.S. Classic				4
	World Championships				4
2011
	Pan American Games
2012	U.S. National Championships		10		6	15	13
	Olympic Trials		WD
NCAA
2013	NCAA Championships						4
2014	NCAA Championships			6	6
2015	NCAA Championships		6
2016	NCAA Championships	4					4

Floor Music

• Araba (2008–2009)
• Harem (2010–2011)
• Hup (2012)
• Till I Collapse (2013)
• Seven Nation Army (2014)
• Whirlwind by Spoll (2016)

See also

In Spanish: Bridget Sloan para niños