Dominique Dawes facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dominique Dawes
Dawes in 1996
Personal information
Full name	Dominique Margaux Dawes
Nickname(s)	Awesome Dawesome
Country represented	United States
Born	(1976-11-20) November 20, 1976 (age 48) Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.
Height	5 ft 2 in (157 cm)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior International
Years on national team	1989–1998; 2000 (USA)
Club	Hill's Angels
Former coach(es)	Kelli Hill
Retired	September 19, 2000
Medal record Representing  United States Women's artistic gymnastics Olympic Games Gold 1996 Atlanta Team Bronze 1992 Barcelona Team Bronze 1996 Atlanta Floor Bronze 2000 Sydney Team World Championships Silver 1993 Birmingham Balance Beam Silver 1993 Birmingham Uneven Bars Silver 1994 Dortmund Team Bronze 1996 Puerto Rico Balance Beam
Co-Chair of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition
In office 2010–2017 Serving with Drew Brees
Preceded by	John Burke
Personal details
Occupation	Gymnast, actress, singer

Dominique Margaux Dawes (born November 20, 1976) is a famous American gymnast who is now retired. She was known as 'Awesome Dawesome' in the gymnastics world. Dominique was on the U.S. national gymnastics team for 10 years.

She was the U.S. all-around senior National Champion in 1994. Dominique competed in three Olympic Games. She won silver and bronze medals at the World Championships. She was also part of the "Magnificent Seven" team that won a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. She also won an Olympic bronze medal for her floor exercise in Atlanta.

Dominique is one of only four American female gymnasts to compete in three Olympics. The others are Muriel Grossfeld, Linda Metheny-Mulvihill, and Simone Biles. Her teams won medals at each Olympics: bronze in Barcelona 1992, gold in Atlanta 1996, and bronze in Sydney 2000. She was the first female gymnast to be on three Olympic medal-winning teams since Ludmilla Tourischeva.

Early Life & Training

Dominique Dawes was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, on November 20, 1976. Her parents are Don and Loretta Dawes. She started gymnastics at age 6 with coach Kelli Hill. She won her first competition when she was 9 years old. Later, she moved to Gaithersburg, Maryland, to be closer to her coach's gym.

Gymnastics Career Highlights

Starting as a Junior Gymnast

Dominique was already competing at a high level as a junior by age 10. She finished 17th in the junior division at her first U.S. National Championships in 1988. In 1989, at age 12, she went to Australia for her first international competition. By the early 1990s, Dominique was doing very well both in the U.S. and around the world. She placed 3rd in the junior all-around at the 1990 U.S. National Championships.

In 1992, at a USA vs. Japan meet, 15-year-old Dominique got a standing ovation. This was after an amazing floor routine. She brought back the difficult back-to-back tumbling moves. The judges were very impressed and gave her a perfect 10. Dominique kept improving in 1991 and 1992.

Olympic Debut and World Championships

Dominique placed 4th at the 1992 Olympic trials. She earned a spot on the United States Olympic team. She had painful tendinitis in her ankles and Osgood-Schlatter disease before the Olympics. Despite this, she performed well. She even tried a new move on the balance beam during the team competition.

She also impressed the crowd with her floor exercise. She tied for the highest score on the American team for that event. The team won a bronze medal. Dominique and her teammate Betty Okino were the first African American females to win an Olympic medal in gymnastics.

Dominique only competed in the team event in 1992. She became a strong all-around gymnast in 1993. She is well-known for her performances at the 1993 and 1994 World Championships. In 1993, she was leading the competition after three events. She was even ahead of her famous teammate Shannon Miller.

However, she tried a harder vault and fell on her second attempt. This dropped her to 4th place overall. Shannon Miller then won the title. After her fall, her coach Kelli Hill told her to be proud. Dominique waved to the crowd and got a standing ovation. She later won two silver medals on bars and beam in the event finals.

A similar thing happened at the 1994 Worlds. She was leading after three events and had a chance to win. But she made a mistake on her first vault. This caused her to drop to 5th place. She did not win any medals at those championships.

However, Dominique ended 1994 on a high note. She won first place in the all-around at the National Championships. She also won all four event finals. This was the first time a gymnast had won every event since 1969. She then helped the American team win a silver medal at the World Team Championships in Dortmund, Germany.

Road to Atlanta 1996

Dominique faced many challenges in 1995 due to wrist and ankle injuries. She finished fourth at nationals and could not compete at the World Championships that year. At the 1996 World Championships, she missed a medal on uneven bars. But she tied for a bronze medal on the balance beam.

At the 1996 U.S. National Championships, Dominique won all four event finals again. She was the first gymnast to do this twice. She also finished first at the Olympic trials. This earned her a spot on the 1996 Olympic team at age 19. Dominique had planned to go to Stanford University in 1995. But she became a professional to train for the 1996 Olympics.

1996 Atlanta Olympic Games

The U.S. team, later called the Magnificent Seven, was amazing in the team competition. Dominique was a key member of the team. She performed without major mistakes. She was the only team member whose scores counted for all eight routines. Along with Shannon Miller, Jaycie Phelps, Dominique Moceanu, Amanda Borden, Amy Chow and Kerri Strug, Dominique won a gold medal. This was the first time an American team won the Olympic title. She also became the first black woman from any country to win an Olympic gymnastics gold medal.

Later in the week, Dominique missed another chance to win a big all-around title. She was expected to win a medal. She was ranked sixth overall after the team event. Her scores were the highest on the American team. Dominique was leading after two rotations. But on her floor routine, she under-rotated a tumbling pass and sat down. This caused her score to drop. She finished 17th overall. In the Event Finals, she placed sixth on Vault and just missed a medal on Uneven Bars. But she won a bronze medal in the Floor Exercise finals. This was her first World Championship or Olympic medal in her best event.

Sydney 2000 Olympics

Between 1996 and 1998, Dominique competed in some professional meets. But she took a break from elite competitions. She returned briefly in 1998 for the Goodwill Games. She placed 19th in the Mixed Pairs event. In 2000, she placed 9th all-around at U.S. Nationals. She was 7th at the Olympic Trials. This earned her a spot on her third Olympic team.

At the Sydney Olympics, Dominique had the second highest score for the American team on uneven bars. She had the lowest score on beam in the team preliminaries. In the team finals, she performed well on three events. She had the team's highest beam score and third highest bars score. The team won a bronze medal on April 28, 2010. This happened after China's 2000 team medal was taken away for having an underage competitor.

Life After Gymnastics

Dominique Dawes went to Montgomery Blair High School and Gaithersburg High School in Maryland. She was the prom queen in 1994. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2002.

After gymnastics, she started a career in acting, modeling, and TV production. She appeared in music videos for Prince and Missy Elliott. She also performed on Broadway in the musical Grease.

Dominique Dawes speaking at a physical fitness rally

Dominique was president of the Women's Sports Foundation from 2004 to 2006. She was the youngest president in the Foundation's history. In 2002, she was the first spokeswoman for the Girl Scouts of the USA's "Uniquely Me" campaign. Dominique's younger brother is autistic, so she supports autism awareness events.

She is on the Advisory Board for Sesame Workshop's "Healthy Habits for Life" program. She also gives motivational speeches, especially to young people. In June 2010, President Obama chose Dominique to be co-chair of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition. She shared this role with football player Drew Brees.

She also provided commentary for Yahoo's coverage of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the 2010 Winter Olympics. She appeared in a commercial for Tide with gymnasts Nadia Comăneci and Simone Biles before the 2016 Summer Olympics. She is also set to appear as herself in an episode of the Disney+ animated series The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.

Gymnastics Skills

Dominique was known for her difficult and exciting routines.

• Vault: She performed complex vaults like the 1.5 twisting Yurchenko.
• Uneven Bars: Her routines included moves like the Shaposhnikova transition and the Hindorff release. She also had her own skill called the "Dawes" (1.5 pirouette).
• Balance Beam: She performed a difficult series of back-handsprings to three layout stepouts. Her dismount was two back-handsprings to a full-in.
• Floor Exercise: Dominique was famous for her tiring and tricky back-to-back tumbling passes. These included double layouts and combinations of twists and punches.

Awards and Honors

Dominique Dawes has received many awards for her achievements:

• Inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, 2009
• Inducted into the USA Olympic Hall of Fame (with the Magnificent Seven), 2008
• AAUW Women of Distinction Award, 2004
• "Caring Hands, Caring Hearts" Award, 2003
• Inducted into USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame, 1998
• Essence Award, 1997
• Olympic gold medalist in Atlanta, Georgia, 1996
• Henry P. Iba Citizen Award, 1995
• Sportsperson of the year by USA Gymnastics, 1994
• Finalist for the AAU Sullivan Award, 1994
• Maryland Women's Hall of Fame, 2019
• Montgomery County Sports Hall of Fame, 2019

Personal Life

Dominique Dawes got engaged to teacher Jeff Thompson in December 2012. She became a Catholic, and they married on May 25, 2013. The couple has four children: Kateri, Quinn, and twins Dakota and Lincoln (born January 22, 2018).

See also

In Spanish: Dominique Dawes para niños

• List of Olympic female gymnasts for the United States