Shannon Miller facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Shannon Miller
Miller at the Art of the Olympians in Fort Myers, Florida in July 2015
Personal information
Full name	Shannon Lee Miller
Country represented	United States
Born	(1977-03-10) March 10, 1977 (age 48) Rolla, Missouri, U.S.
Hometown	Edmond, Oklahoma, U.S.
Height	5 ft (152 cm)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior international elite
Years on national team	1989–1997 (USA)
Club	Dynamo
Former coach(es)	Steve Nunno, Peggy Liddick
Retired	August 20, 2000
Medal record International gymnastics competitions Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 2 2 3 World Championships 5 3 1 Goodwill Games 2 3 0 Pan American Games 4 1 0 Event 1st 2nd 3rd All-Around (OG/WC) 3 3 2 Uneven Bars (OG/WC) 1 1 1 Balance Beam (OG/WC) 2 1 0 Vault (OG/WC) 0 0 0 Floor Exercise (OG/WC) 1 0 1 Women's artistic gymnastics Representing  United States Olympic Games Gold 1996 Atlanta Team Gold 1996 Atlanta Balance Beam Silver 1992 Barcelona All Around Silver 1992 Barcelona Balance Beam Bronze 1992 Barcelona Team Bronze 1992 Barcelona Uneven Bars Bronze 1992 Barcelona Floor Exercise World Championships Gold 1993 Birmingham All Around Gold 1993 Birmingham Uneven Bars Gold 1993 Birmingham Floor Exercise Gold 1994 Brisbane All Around Gold 1994 Brisbane Balance Beam Silver 1991 Indianapolis Team Silver 1991 Indianapolis Uneven Bars Silver 1994 Dortmund Team Bronze 1995 Sabae Team Goodwill Games Gold 1994 St Petersburg Balance Beam Gold 1994 St Petersburg Floor Exercise Silver 1994 St Petersburg All-Around Silver 1994 St Petersburg Vault Silver 1994 St Petersburg Uneven Bars Pan American Games Gold 1995 Mar del Plata Team Gold 1995 Mar del Plata All Around Gold 1995 Mar del Plata Uneven Bars Gold 1995 Mar del Plata Floor Exercise Silver 1995 Mar del Plata Vault

Shannon Lee Miller (born March 10, 1977) is a famous American former gymnast. She was a two-time world champion in 1993 and 1994. She also won a silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics and a gold medal on the balance beam at the 1996 Olympics. Shannon was part of the amazing "Magnificent Seven" team that won gold at the 1996 Olympics.

Shannon Miller is one of the most successful U.S. gymnasts in Olympic history. She has won seven Olympic medals in total. Only Simone Biles has won more since 2024. With 16 medals from World Championships and the Olympics between 1991 and 1996, she is also one of the most decorated American gymnasts ever. At the 1992 Olympics, she won five medals, more than any other American athlete there.

Early Life and Training

Shannon Miller was born in Rolla, Missouri. When she was just six months old, her family moved to Edmond, Oklahoma. She started gymnastics when she was five years old. By the age of nine, she traveled to Moscow with her mother to attend a special gymnastics camp.

As a teenager, Shannon went to Edmond North High School. Her school helped her by offering a flexible schedule. This allowed her to train, travel, and compete in gymnastics.

Gymnastics Career Highlights

Starting Strong: 1989–1991

For most of her gymnastics career, Shannon was coached by Steve Nunno and Peggy Liddick. Peggy later became the national coach for the Australian women's gymnastics team.

When Shannon was 12, she placed third at the 1989 Olympic Festival. This event was created to show off new, talented gymnasts. In 1990 and 1991, she competed in Europe. She even scored a perfect 10 on the balance beam at two different events. At the 1991 Arthur Gander Memorial, she won the all-around title with a very high score.

At her first World Championships in 1991, held in Indianapolis, Shannon won two silver medals. One was for the uneven bars, and the other was with her team.

Olympic Debut: 1992 Barcelona Games

Shannon missed the 1992 World Championships due to an injury. Even though she wasn't at her best, she won the Olympic Trials. This win was a bit controversial, as she beat Kim Zmeskal, the 1991 world champion.

At the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Shannon performed incredibly well. She had the highest score in the team competition, helping the U.S. women's team win a bronze medal. In the all-around final, she came in second, missing the gold medal by a tiny amount (0.012 points).

She also won three more individual medals: a silver on balance beam and bronzes on uneven bars and floor exercise. Her five Olympic medals were the most won by any American athlete at those Games. Shannon was one of only two female gymnasts to compete in every event final. She performed all sixteen of her routines without any big mistakes.

Shannon Miller holds the record for winning the most medals at a single Olympic Games without winning a gold medal.

World Champion Years: 1993–1994

At the 1993 World Championships in Birmingham, Shannon was incredibly dominant. She won every event in the first rounds. Experts said she was as dominant as Nadia Comăneci was in 1976. Shannon won the all-around title, plus gold medals on bars and floor.

At the 1994 World Championships in Brisbane, Shannon won the all-around title again. This made her the first American gymnast to win two world all-around titles in a row! She also won the balance beam title that year.

Later in 1994, at the Goodwill Games, she won gold medals on beam and floor, and silver medals on vault and bars.

Road to Atlanta: 1995–1996

In 1995, Shannon won the American Classic. However, she lost the National Championships to a younger gymnast, Dominique Moceanu. At the 1995 World Championships in Japan, she had the highest score for the American team but didn't win an individual medal.

In 1996, even with injuries to her wrist and hamstring, Shannon won the National Championships. She was able to join the American team for the Olympics because she was the top performer at Nationals. Her injuries had healed enough for her to compete.

Shannon led the American team, known as the "Magnificent Seven", to a gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics. This was a huge win for the U.S. team. Shannon was the team's highest scorer. She also became the first American to win the balance beam final at the Olympics. She was also the first American woman to win an individual gold medal in gymnastics at a fully attended Olympics. She finished her amazing career with seven Olympic medals.

After the Olympics: 1997–2000

After the 1996 Olympics, Shannon and her teammates went on a big tour. In 1997, she competed in her last international meet, winning the all-around title at the World University Games.

In 2000, Shannon tried to make a comeback for the Sydney Olympics. She competed in the Olympic Trials but decided to stop after a fall.

Honors and Recognition

Shannon Miller has been honored many times. She is a member of the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame, the United States Olympic Hall of Fame, and the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. She is the only woman in any sport to be inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame twice, both as an individual and as part of her team.

With seven Olympic and nine World Championship medals, Shannon is one of the most decorated American gymnasts ever. In 1998, a section of Interstate 35 in Edmond, Oklahoma, was named the Shannon Miller Parkway in her honor.

Life After Gymnastics

Miller in 2014

After retiring from gymnastics, Shannon went to college. In 2003, she earned a degree in marketing and entrepreneurship from the University of Houston. She then went to Boston College Law School and graduated in 2007.

Shannon is now the president of Shannon Miller Lifestyle. She also leads the Shannon Miller Foundation, which works to help fight childhood obesity. She has written an autobiography called It's Not About Perfect: Competing for My Country and Fighting for My Life.

Personal Life

Shannon Miller is married to John Falconetti. They have two children, a son named John Rocco and a daughter named Sterling Diane.

In 2011, Shannon faced a health challenge. She bravely went through treatment and was given a clean bill of health by her doctor later that year.

Images for kids

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  Olympic rings

See also

In Spanish: Shannon Miller para niños

• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists at a single Games
• List of Olympic female gymnasts for the United States
• List of Olympic medal leaders in women's gymnastics
• List of top female medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships