Chellsie Memmel facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Chellsie Memmel
Memmel performing on the balance beam at the 2008 USA Gymnastics National Championships in Boston
Personal information
Full name	Chellsie Marie Memmel
Country represented	United States
Born	(1988-06-23) June 23, 1988 (age 37) West Allis, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height	5 ft 2.5 in (159 cm)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Years on national team	2000, 2002–09, 2011–12 (US)
Gym	M&M Gymnastics
Head coach(es)	Andy Memmel
Eponymous skills	Memmel Turn (Floor Routine): Double turn with leg fully extended in a "Y"
Medal record Gymnastics Representing  United States Olympic Games Silver 2008 Beijing Team World Championships Gold 2003 Anaheim Team Gold 2003 Anaheim Uneven Bars Gold 2005 Melbourne All-Around Silver 2005 Melbourne Uneven Bars Silver 2005 Melbourne Balance Beam Silver 2006 Aarhus Team World Cup Final Gold 2004 Birmingham Uneven Bars Pan American Games Gold 2003 Santo Domingo Team Gold 2003 Santo Domingo All-Around Gold 2003 Santo Domingo Uneven Bars Bronze 2003 Santo Domingo Balance Beam Pan American Championships Gold 2004 Maracaibo Uneven Bars Gold 2004 Maracaibo Balance Beam Gold 2005 Rio de Janeiro Team Gold 2005 Rio de Janeiro All-Around Gold 2005 Rio de Janeiro Uneven Bars Gold 2005 Rio de Janeiro Balance Beam Pacific Rim Championships Gold 2006 Honolulu Team Gold 2006 Honolulu All-Around Gold 2006 Honolulu Balance Beam Silver 2006 Honolulu Floor Exercise
Spouse(s)	Kory Maier

Chellsie Marie Memmel (born June 23, 1988) is a famous American gymnast. She won the world all-around championship in 2005. This made her only the third American woman to achieve this. She also became a world champion on the uneven bars in 2003. Chellsie was part of the United States women's gymnastics team at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.

Chellsie Memmel has won seven medals at World Championships and the Olympics. This ties her with Shawn Johnson as one of the most decorated American female gymnasts. Her amazing return to gymnastics in her 30s showed that gymnasts can still perform at a high level as adults. She was recognized for her achievements and joined the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2022.

Chellsie Memmel's Gymnastics Journey

Starting Out in Gymnastics

Chellsie Marie Memmel was born in West Allis, Wisconsin. Her parents, Andy and Jeanelle Memmel, were both gymnastics coaches. They encouraged her to play and learn basic skills in the gym. When she was eight, she started training with Jim Chudy at Salto Gymnastics. She began competing at a high junior level in 2000.

Becoming a Senior Gymnast in 2003

In 2003, Chellsie became a senior international elite gymnast. She placed third at the National Podium Meet and the American Classic. She was also invited to compete at the Pacific Challenge, a competition with Canada and Australia. There, she won the all-around title.

At the 2003 U.S. National Championships, Chellsie was recovering from a hamstring injury. She made some mistakes on her floor exercise and finished tenth in the all-around. However, she was chosen for the Pan American Games team.

She won four medals at the Pan American Games, including gold in the all-around and on the uneven bars. Because other gymnasts on the World Championships team were injured, Chellsie was asked to join the team. She flew straight from the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo to the World Championships in Anaheim, California.

At the World Championships, Chellsie led the American team in the first round. She was the only American to compete on every event in the team finals. The U.S. team won their first-ever team gold medal at the World Championships. In the all-around final, she finished eighth. Chellsie also became a world champion on the uneven bars, sharing the title with her teammate Hollie Vise.

Challenges and Triumphs in 2004

In 2004, Chellsie competed at the American Cup and finished third. Later, she broke a bone in her foot. This injury kept her from competing at the National Championships and Olympic Trials. She was still named as an alternate for the U.S. team at the 2004 Olympics. Later that year, Chellsie won the uneven bars title at the 2004 World Cup Final.

Winning the World All-Around Title in 2005

Chellsie started 2005 strong at the American Cup, winning the uneven bars. She placed fourth at the U.S. Classic and won silver in the all-around at the National Championships. She then won the all-around title and gold medals on beam and bars at the Pan American Championships.

At the 2005 World Championships, Chellsie won the all-around title by a tiny margin. This made her the third American woman to win this title. She also earned silver medals on the balance beam and uneven bars. After this success, Chellsie decided to become a professional gymnast.

Injuries and Comebacks: 2006-2008

In 2006, Chellsie injured her shoulder. She still competed at the National Championships, finishing fourth. At the World Championships, her shoulder injury got worse during the team final. She had to withdraw from the all-around and other event finals.

Chellsie was still recovering in 2007. She only competed on floor exercise at the National Championships. She did not compete at the 2007 World Championships. She made her all-around return at a test event for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. There, she placed fifth in the all-around and third on beam.

In June 2008, Chellsie placed third in the all-around at the National Championships. At the U.S. Olympic Trials, she performed very well. She was named to the Olympic team for the 2008 Beijing Games. However, she suffered a minor ankle injury during training in Beijing. She competed only on the uneven bars. It was later revealed that she had competed on a broken ankle, which was a more serious injury.

More Comebacks and Retirement: 2011-2012

On July 23, 2011, Chellsie returned to competition at the U.S. Classic. She won the silver medal in the all-around. At the National Championships in August, she earned a silver medal on balance beam. However, she dislocated her shoulder during her bars routine on the second night.

She was chosen for the Pan American Games team but withdrew to recover from her shoulder injury. She had surgery to fix a torn tendon in her right shoulder. In February 2012, she had a second shoulder surgery. She tried to make the 2012 Olympic team but was unable to compete at the National Championships. On November 14, 2012, Chellsie announced her retirement from gymnastics.

The Amazing 2020 Comeback

In April 2020, Chellsie Memmel started training seriously again. She posted a video of herself doing a difficult beam dismount. On July 31, she officially announced her return as an elite gymnast on YouTube.

Chellsie competed again at the 2021 U.S. Classic in May. She performed on vault and balance beam. This was her first competition in nine years! In August, she joined Simone Biles' Gold Over America Tour.

Becoming a U.S. National Team Coach

In May 2022, Chellsie Memmel was named "technical lead" for the U.S. National women's artistic gymnastics team. In this important role, she helps top gymnasts create routines that will earn them the highest scores. She also helps decide which gymnasts compete on which events in team competitions. She helped coach the U.S. team to a world championship in 2022.

Chellsie Memmel's Life Outside the Gym

Chellsie married Kory Maier, who is a mechanical engineer, in August 2013. They have two children. Their son was born in February 2015, and their daughter was born in November 2017.

Gymnastics Skills Named After Chellsie

What is an Eponymous Skill?

An "eponymous skill" is a gymnastics move that is named after the gymnast who was the first to perform it successfully in a major competition. Chellsie Memmel has one skill named after her in the official Code of Points.

Skills Chellsie Performed in Competitions

Here are some of the amazing skills Chellsie performed in her routines:

Vault Skills

• Double-twisting Yurchenko (a very difficult vault with two twists)
• 1.5-twisting Yurchenko (a Yurchenko vault with one and a half twists)
• Full-twisting Yurchenko (a Yurchenko vault with one full twist)

Uneven Bars Skills

• Jump to mount on high bar
• Kip, cast to handstand (KCH) + clear hip circle to Tkatchev (Hindorff) + Pak salto
• KCH + stalder Shaposhnikova (Chow) + overshoot to handstand + stalder shoot up to high bar (Ray)
• KCH + toe-on circle + giant 1/1 + Tkatchev
• KCH + giant 1/2 + jam to handstand (Luo) + tucked double front dismount (her ending move)

Balance Beam Skills

• Stoop to rear support mount (how she started her routine)
• Split jump + wolf jump
• Piked Barani (a front pike with a half twist)
• Switch split leap + back tuck
• Standing Arabian (a difficult standing flip)
• Illusion turn
• Front tuck + back handspring step-out + layout step-out
• Front aerial walkover
• Free aerial cartwheel
• Round-off + double pike dismount (her ending move)

Floor Exercise Skills

• Round-off + back handspring + piked Arabian double front (Dos Santos I)
• Round-off + back handspring + double layout
• Double turn with leg held in split (the "Memmel" skill)
• Switch split ring leap + split leap 1/1
• Round-off + back handspring + back layout 5/2 + front layout
• Straddle jump 3/2
• Round-off + back handspring + back layout 2/1
• Round-off + back handspring + double pike (her ending move)

Chellsie Memmel's Competition Results

Year	Event	Team	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
Junior Competitions
2000	American Classic		7
	Puerto Rico Cup
	USA vs. France
2002	American Classic		10			4	8
	USA/Belgium
	Intl Gymnastics Championships
	Podium Meet					9	4
	U.S. Classic		4		9
	USA Gymnastics Championships				5
	USA/Mexico Friendship Competition
Senior Competitions
2003	American Classic
	Pacific Challenge (USA/CAN/AUS)
	National Podium Meet			5	5
	USA Gymnastics Championships		10		7	6
	Pan American Games
	World Championships		8			6
2004	American Cup
	Pan American Championships
	World Cup Final
2005	American Cup
	USA/SUI
	USA/GBR
	Pan American Championships
	U.S. Classic		4	7			14
	USA Gymnastics Championships
	World Championships
2006	Pacific Alliance Championships
	USA Gymnastics Championships		4		5	4
	World Championships
2007	U.S. Classic			5
	Good Luck Beijing Intl Tournament		5
	Toyota Cup
2008	Friendship International Exchange					5
	USA Gymnastics Championships					4	4
	Olympic Trials
	Olympic Games
2009	USA Gymnastics Championships					8
2011	U.S. Classic			5	6	5	4
	U.S. National Championships		8				6
2012	U.S. Classic					21
did not compete from 2013–2020
2021	U.S. Classic					29
	U.S. National Championships				26	13

See also

In Spanish: Chellsie Memmel para niños