Kim Zmeskal facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kim Zmeskal
Zmeskal in Jesolo in March 2014
Personal information
Full name	Kimberly Lynn Zmeskal Burdette
Nickname(s)	Kimbo; President of the Pumpkin Federation
Country represented	United States
Born	(1976-02-06) February 6, 1976 (age 49) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Hometown	Coppell, Texas, U.S.
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior international elite
Years on national team	1988–1993; 1998–2000 (USA)
Club	Karolyi's Gymnastics, CGA Texas Dreams (coach)
Former coach(es)	Béla Károlyi, Mary Lee Tracy
Choreographer	Geza Poszar
Retired	January 28, 2000
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 0 0 1 World Championships 3 1 1 Goodwill Games 0 1 2 American Cup 2 1 0 Event 1st 2nd 3rd All-Around (OG/WC) 1 1 1 Uneven Bars (OG/WC) 0 0 0 Balance Beam (OG/WC) 1 0 0 Vault (OG/WC) 0 0 0 Floor Exercise (OG/WC) 1 0 1 Women's artistic gymnastics Representing  United States Olympic Games Bronze 1992 Barcelona Team World Championships Gold 1991 Indianapolis All around Gold 1992 Paris Balance beam Gold 1992 Paris Floor exercise Silver 1991 Indianapolis Team Bronze 1991 Indianapolis Floor exercise Goodwill Games Silver 1990 Seattle Team Bronze 1990 Seattle Uneven Bars Bronze 1990 Seattle Floor Exercise American Cup Gold 1990 Fairfax All around Gold 1992 Orlando All around Silver 1991 Orlando All around

Kimberly Lynn Zmeskal Burdette (born February 6, 1976) is a famous American retired gymnast. She is known for being the 1991 World All-Around champion. This made her the first American woman to win this important title.

Kim Zmeskal was also part of the U.S. team that won a silver medal at the 1991 World Championships. This was the first team medal ever for American women at a World Championships. She also won two more world titles in 1992, for balance beam and floor exercise. At the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain, she helped the U.S. team win a bronze medal. This was the first U.S. team medal at a fully attended Olympic Games.

Kim Zmeskal was known for her powerful moves and tumbling on vault and floor. Many people consider her one of the best female gymnasts of the early 1990s. Her all-around win helped start a time of American success in women's gymnastics. Since 1992, many American women have won world all-around titles.

Today, Kim Zmeskal coaches gymnastics and owns Texas Dreams Gymnastics in Coppell, Texas. She also hosts a gymnastics event called Kim Zmeskal's Texas Prime Meet every year.

Early Life and Training

Kim Zmeskal was born in Houston, Texas. Her parents are Clarice and David Zmeskal. She has a younger sister, Melissa, and a younger brother, Eric.

From a young age, Kim trained with the famous coach Béla Károlyi. His gym was close to her home in Houston. This allowed Kim to watch and meet her hero, Mary Lou Retton. Mary Lou won the Olympic all-around gold medal in 1984, when Kim was eight years old. Kim went to Westfield High School, like many of Károlyi's other top gymnasts, to fit her training schedule. She graduated in 1994.

In 1989, when she was 13, Kim Zmeskal became the U.S. Junior National Champion. She also won first place at the American Classic and other international events. She began a friendly competition with Svetlana Boginskaya from the Soviet Union.

In 1990, Kim won her first senior title at the American Cup. Later that year, she won her first U.S. Senior National All-Around title in Denver. She was ahead of her friend and training partner Betty Okino. She also won silver medals on bars, balance beam, and floor exercise.

Kim Zmeskal defended her U.S. National All-Around title in 1991 in Cincinnati. She also won the national title on floor exercise, sharing it with Dominique Dawes. She placed second on the balance beam.

At the 1991 World Championships in Indianapolis, Kim helped the U.S. team win the silver medal. This was the first team medal for American women at a World Championship. She also made history by scoring a perfect 10.000 on the vault. This was one of only two perfect 10s at the championships. Kim Zmeskal became the first American woman to win the World all-around gold medal. She beat the reigning world champion, Svetlana Boginskaya. Kim also won a bronze medal on the floor exercise.

The 1992 Barcelona Olympics

After becoming the world all-around champion, people had high hopes for Kim Zmeskal and the U.S. team at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games. Kim even appeared on the covers of Time and Newsweek magazines before the Games.

To show her all-around title was not a lucky win, Kim won two more World titles in 1992. She won gold medals on the balance beam and the floor exercise at the individual apparatus World Championships in Paris. At the U.S. National Championships and the Olympic Trials, Kim competed closely with Shannon Miller. Kim won her third U.S. National All-Around title in a row. She was the first female gymnast to do this. She also won national titles on beam and floor.

Kim's Olympics started with a challenge when she fell off the balance beam. However, she performed well on other events. She moved up in the rankings during the team competition. The American women won the bronze medal in the team competition. This was their first team medal at an Olympic Games that was not boycotted. Kim also qualified for the event finals on vault and floor exercise.

Even though she qualified for the all-around final, Kim had some difficulties. She stepped out of bounds on her floor exercise and had a shaky beam routine. She finished 10th in the all-around final. In the event finals, she placed 8th on vault and 6th on floor. It was later found out that Kim was dealing with a tibial stress fracture before and during the Olympics.

Kim Zmeskal later said about her Olympic experience, "I've learned that you don't have to win first place to win." She felt that her performance in the Team Final, where she overcame her beam fall and injury, was her greatest athletic achievement. She also felt proud standing with her teammates to receive their Olympic bronze medals.

Comeback and Retirement

Kim Zmeskal hoped to compete in the 1996 Olympic Games. However, she tore a ligament in her right knee (an anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL) during a floor exercise. This injury made her recovery very slow, and her dreams of the 1996 Olympics ended.

In 1998, Kim returned to competition at the U.S. National Championships. She finished 11th all-around. By 1999, some even thought she might make the 2000 Olympics team. She represented the U.S. internationally in China in late 1998. However, she ruptured her right achilles tendon in July 1999. Then, she tore a calf muscle in the same leg. These injuries ended her gymnastics career in January 2000.

Kim Zmeskal was honored for her achievements in May 2012. She was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

Personal Life

Kim Zmeskal married Chris Burdette on October 23, 1999. They have three children together. Kim now owns and runs Texas Dreams Gymnastics.

Gymnastic Trademarks

Kim Zmeskal was known for her powerful middle tumbling pass on floor exercise. It often included several whip-backs into a double-back flip. Another signature move was how she would spread her arms out during full-twisting moves, especially on her full-twisting Yurchenko vault.

She also had a unique opening move on the balance beam. It was a reverse planche with one bent leg. This move is now part of the Texas Dreams Gymnastics logo.

Images for kids

• 

  Zmeskal as a coach at the inaugural Junior World Championships

See also

In Spanish: Kim Zmeskal para niños