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
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 on November 20, 1976, is a famous American gymnast who is now retired. She was known as 'Awesome Dawesome' in the gymnastics world. Dominique was a member of 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 a key part of the "Magnificent Seven" team. This team 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 Dawes is one of only four American female gymnasts to compete in three Olympics. The others are Muriel Grossfeld, Linda Metheny-Mulvihill, and Simone Biles. Dominique's teams won medals at all three Olympics: bronze in Barcelona 1992, gold in Atlanta 1996, and bronze in Sydney 2000. She was the first female gymnast to be part of three Olympic-medal-winning teams since Ludmilla Tourischeva.

Early Life and 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. By age 9, she won her first competition. To be closer to her coach's gym, she moved to Gaithersburg, Maryland, during high school.

Dominique's Gymnastics Journey

Starting as a Junior Gymnast

Dominique was competing as a junior elite gymnast by the time she was 10. In 1988, she placed 17th in the junior all-around at her first U.S. National Championships. At 12, in 1989, she went to Australia for her first international competition, the Konica Grand Prix. By the early 1990s, Dominique was doing very well both in the U.S. and internationally. She finished 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 received a standing ovation. This was after an amazing floor routine. She brought back the back-to-back tumbling style. The judges were very impressed and gave her a perfect 10. Dominique continued to improve in 1991 and 1992.

Olympic Debut and World Championships

Dominique placed 4th at the 1992 Olympic trials. This earned her a spot on the United States Olympic team. She faced 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. This was a back handspring to three layout stepouts.

Her optional floor exercise routine was also very strong. She tied with teammate Kim Zmeskal for the highest score for the American team on that event. The team won a bronze medal. Dominique and teammate Betty Okino became 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 the second attempt. This dropped her to 4th place overall. Shannon Miller won the title. Dominique's coach, Kelli Hill, encouraged her to be proud. Dominique then won two silver medals on bars and beam in the event finals.

A similar situation happened at the 1994 Worlds. She was leading after three events again. But she made a mistake on her first vault. This caused her to drop to 5th place. She did not win any medals at these 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 since 1969 that a gymnast had won every event. She then helped the American team win a silver medal at the World Team Championships in Dortmund, Germany.

The Magnificent Seven and Olympic Gold

Dominique had a tough year in 1995 due to wrist and ankle injuries. She finished fourth at nationals and could not compete at the World Championships. At the 1996 World Championships, she tied for a bronze medal on the balance beam. In 1996, Dominique swept all four event finals at the U.S. National Championships for the second time. This made her 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.

The team, later called the Magnificent Seven, was amazing in the team competition. Dominique was a key member. She performed without major errors. 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.

Later in the week, Dominique had another chance to win a major all-around title. She was a favorite to win a medal. She was ranked sixth overall after the team event. Her scores were the highest on the American team. She was leading after two rotations. But during 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. However, she won a bronze medal in the Floor Exercise finals. This was her first World Championship or Olympic medal in her best event.

Return to the Olympics in 2000

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

At the Sydney Olympics, Dominique performed well in the team preliminaries. In the team finals, she did well on three events. She had the highest beam score and third highest bars score for her team. Her team was awarded a bronze medal on April 28, 2010. This happened after the International Olympic Committee found that China had an underage competitor in 2000.

Life After Gymnastics

Dominique Dawes attended 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.

She has pursued careers in acting, modeling, and television. She appeared in music videos for Prince and Missy Elliott. Dominique also performed on Broadway in the musical Grease.

Dominique Dawes speaking at a fitness event.

Dominique was the president of the Women's Sports Foundation from 2004 to 2006. She was the youngest president in its 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. She has supported events for autism awareness. She is on the Advisory Board for Sesame Workshop's "Healthy Habits for Life" program. She also works as a motivational speaker, focusing on youth issues. In June 2010, President Obama appointed her as co-chair of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. She served alongside New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

She also provided commentary for the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the 2010 Winter Olympics. Dominique appeared in a commercial for Tide with gymnasts Nadia Comăneci and Simone Biles. This commercial was called "The Evolution of Power" and aired before the 2016 Summer Olympics.

She was a guest star as herself with Gabby Douglas and Laurie Hernandez. This was in an episode of the Disney+ animated series The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. They judged a gymnastics competition in the episode "A Perfect 10."

Gymnastics Skills

Dominique Dawes was known for her powerful and complex routines.

• Vault: She performed a 1.5 twisting Yurchenko and a Phelps (Tsukahara to layout Arabian front).
• Uneven Bars: Her skills included a Shaposhnikova transition to high bar, a Hindorff release, and a 1.5 pirouette (which is named after her, the Dawes). She also used a full pirouette and a full-in dismount.
• Balance Beam: She performed a back-handspring followed by 3 layout stepouts. Her dismount was two back-handsprings to a full-in.
• Floor Exercise: She was famous for her difficult back-to-back tumbling passes. These included a double layout, and combinations like whip, back handspring, 2.5 twist, punch front.

Her floor routine music included:

• 1994 - Malagueña by Stanley Black Orchestra
• 1996 - Ukrainian Fantasy & Near the Valley by Kovriga Balalaika Orchestra
• 2000 - Samba by Armik

Awards and Recognition

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, Ronald McDonald House Charities and Children Around the World, 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 became engaged to teacher Jeff Thompson in December 2012. They married on May 25, 2013. Dominique converted to Catholicism. The couple has four children: Kateri, Quinn, and twins Dakota and Lincoln, who were born on January 22, 2018.

See also

In Spanish: Dominique Dawes para niños

• List of Olympic female gymnasts for the United States