Samantha Peszek

American artistic gymnast

Samantha Peszek

Peszek (age 16) at the 2008 U.S. nationals

Personal information
Full name| Samantha Nicole Peszek
Nickname(s)| Sam
Country represented|  United States
Born|  (1991-12-14) December 14, 1991 (age 32)
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Hometown| McCordsville, Indiana, U.S.
Residence| Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Height| 5 ft (152 cm)
Discipline| Women's artistic gymnastics
Level| Senior International Elite
Years on national team| 2004–2010 (USA)
Club| Sharp's Gymnastics Academy
College team| UCLA Bruins
Head coach(es)| Marvin Sharp
Former coach(es)| Peter Zhao
Music| "Reflejo de Luna" by Cranial and "It's You" by N.O.H.A.
Retired| April 19, 2015

Medal record

Women's artistic gymnastics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
|  2008 Beijing | Team
World Championships
|  2007 Stuttgart | Team
Pan American Games
|  2007 Rio de Janeiro | Team
Representing UCLA Bruins
NCAA Championships
|  2015 Fort Worth | All Around
|  2015 Fort Worth | Balance Beam
|  2011 Cleveland | Balance Beam
|  2011 Cleveland | Team
|  2012 Duluth | Team

Samantha Nicole Peszek (born December 14, 1991)[1] is an American former artistic gymnast. She was a member of the U.S. women's gymnastics team at the 2008 Summer Olympics, which won silver.[1]

Following her elite gymnastics career, Peszek competed for the UCLA Bruins. She is a 17-time All-American,[2] the 2011 and 2015 NCAA balance beam champion,[2] and the 2015 NCAA all-around co-champion with Kytra Hunter.[3]

## Elite career[edit]

Samantha was part of the gold medal-winning 2007 World Championships team.

After solid performances at the 2008 National Championships, Olympic Trials, and Olympic selection camp,[4] Peszek was chosen as a member of the U.S. Olympic team, along with Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, Chellsie Memmel, Alicia Sacramone, and Bridget Sloan.[5]

At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Peszek injured her ankle during warm-ups just minutes before the women's qualification and was able to compete only on the uneven bars.[4][6] She was the second gymnast on the U.S. team to be injured, the other being Memmel.[6] The women went on to finish second in the team final, earning the silver medal.

After the Olympics, Peszek took time off to let her ankle heal before returning to elite competition at the 2009 CoverGirl U.S. Classic, where she placed second on vault.[1] She then competed at the National Championships, hoping to make the World Championships team as a three-event specialist; she planned to postpone surgery to fix a torn labrum in her shoulder. She placed second on beam and seventh on floor exercise at Nationals[1] and made it to the second and final selection camp for Worlds, but pulled out in order to have the surgical repair performed.[7]

## NCAA career[edit]

Peszek redshirted the 2013 NCAA season after suffering a torn Achilles tendon.[2][8] Later in 2013, she became an NACGC/W Scholastic All-American for the third consecutive year,[2] and was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame as a member of the 2007 World Championships team.[9]

In 2014, she returned to NCAA competition. In a tri-meet against Michigan and Utah, she competed in the all-around for the first time since 2012[10] and won with a total score of 39.65 (9.925 on vault, 9.875 on uneven bars, 9.925 on balance beam, and 9.925 on floor exercise).[11] She then posted a career-high 39.70 all-around score during a tri-meet against Utah State and Bowling Green (9.950 on vault, 9.975 on uneven bars, 9.925 on balance beam, and 9.850 on floor exercise).[12]

In March 2014, Peszek competed at the Pac-12 Conference Championship. She contributed scores of 9.825 on vault, 9.900 on uneven bars, 9.925 on balance beam, and 9.775 on floor exercise to the UCLA team's fourth-place finish. Individually, she was named the 2014 Pac-12 balance beam champion and finished second in the all-around competition.[2]

In 2015, she opted to use her final year of NCAA eligibility as a fifth-year senior. She won the NCAA title on the balance beam with a score of 9.95,[13][14] and the all-around title (tied with University of Florida gymnast Kytra Hunter) with a score of 39.60.[3]

### Career Perfect 10.0[edit]

Season | Date | Event | Meet

|
|
|

2014 | February 8, 2014 | Uneven Bars | UCLA vs Arizona State

## Retirement[edit]

Peszek retired from competitive gymnastics following the 2015 NCAA National Championships. She ended her career as an Olympic medalist, a World Champion and a 3-time NCAA champion. [13]

## Post-retirement[edit]

Peszek was hired by the Pac-12 Network as a color commentator for the 2016 gymnastics season.[15] In 2017, Peszek started Beam Queen Bootcamp, a camp where she helps young gymnasts gain confidence and understand judging on the balance beam.[16] In 2018 Peszek announced that she had started a podcast called I Have Cool Friends, on which she interviews prominent figures in the sport of gymnastics, including athletes and coaches.[17]

## Personal life[edit]

Both of Samantha's parents were athletes at the University of Illinois. Her father Ed was a wrestler and a hockey player; her mother Luan was a gymnast and, more recently, vice-president of the women's program at USA Gymnastics. Samantha's mom put her in gymnastics at the age 3. Samantha's younger sister Jessica is also a gymnast, at Western Michigan University.

Peszek is Catholic and graduated from Cathedral High School in 2010.[18]

After the 2008 Olympics, Peter Zhao, Peszek's longtime coach at DeVeau's School of Gymnastics, retired from coaching and returned to China to help with his family's business.[19] Peszek transferred to Sharp's Gymnastics Academy, where she trained alongside Olympic teammate Bridget Sloan.[19]

Peszek graduated from UCLA and lives in Los Angeles.[1]

In light of the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal, Peszek has revealed that people have been wishing death and rape onto her and her family throughout Larry Nassar's trial due to the fact that her mother is vice president of program development for USA Gymnastics.[20][21]

## Routines[edit]

### Elite (2008)[edit]

* Vault – Double-twisting laid-out Yurchenko
* Uneven bars – Straight mount to high bar; kip; swing 1.5; Jaeger; clear hip 1/2 to Gienger; clear hip; bail to handstand on low bar; stalder transition to high bar; giant full; full-twisting double layout dismount
* Balance Beam – Back tuck 1/1 to back pike; front aerial to back handspring to layout step-out; switch side leap; front tuck; aerial cartwheel; full turn with leg at horizontal; wolf hop to switch leap to gainer layout step-out; round-off double pike dismount
* Floor Exercise – 1.5 twist to double back tuck; double layout; ring leap to switch 1/2; Arabian double front; triple turn; switch 1/1; double pike

### NCAA (2014)[edit]

* Vault – Full-twisting laid-out Yurchenko
* Uneven bars – Glide kip; squat on low bar to hang on high bar; kip, cast to handstand; giant 1/1, Gienger; kip, cast to handstand; bail to handstand on low bar; toe-on to high bar; double layout dismount
* Floor Exercise – Double layout; front layout 1/1, front layout; split leap; split leap 1/2; double pike; double spin, wolf jump 1/1
* Balance Beam – Back tuck 1/1; front aerial, back tuck; switch leap, straddle jump; full turn; back handspring, layout step-out, layout 1/1 dismount

## Floor music[edit]

* 2009: "Reflejo de Luna" by Alacran and "It's You" by N.O.H.A.
* 2008: "Whatever Lola Wants" by The Gotan Project
* 2007: "My Number One" by Helena Paparizou
* 2005: "Mr. Pinstripe Suit" by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

## Competitive history[edit]

Year  | Event  | Team  | AA  | VT | UB | BB | FX

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Junior
2004 | USA-Canada Friendly |  |  |  |  |  |
U.S. Classic |  | 11 | 7 |  |  | 10
U.S. National Championships |  | 8 |  | 10 |  | 9
2005 | Mexican Int'l Invitational |  |  |  |  |  |
U.S. Classic |  | 8 |  |  | 9 |
U.S. National Championships |  | 7 |  |  |  |
2006 | Int'l Gymnix |  |  |  |  |  |
Pan American Championships |  | 4 |  |  |  |
U.S. Classic |  |  |  | 4 |  |
U.S. National Championships |  |  |  |  | 7 | 5
Senior
2007 | USA-Great Britain Friendly |  |  |  |  |  |
Rio de Janeiro Pan American Games |  |  |  |  |  |
U.S. National Championships |  | 7 |  | 10 | 9 | 10
Stuttgart World Championships |  |  |  |  |  |
2008 | American Cup |  |  |  |  |  |
Italy-Spain-Poland-USA Friendly |  |  |  |  |  |
U.S. National Championships |  | 4 |  | 6 | 5 | 10
U.S. Olympic Trials |  | 4 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
Beijing Olympic Games |  |  |  |  |  |
2009 | U.S. Classic |  |  |  |  |  |
U.S. National Championships |  |  |  |  |  | 7
NCAA
2011 | NCAA Championships |  |  |  |  |  |
2012 | NCAA Championships |  |  |  |  | 7 |
2014 | NCAA Championships |  | 4 |  |  |  |
2015 | NCAA Championships |  |  |  |  |  |

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e "USA Gymnastics | Samantha Peszek". usagym.org. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
2. ^ a b c d e "Samantha Peszek - 2011 Gymnastics Roster - UCLA Athletics". www.uclabruins.com. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
3. ^ a b Woods, David (2015-04-18). "Samantha Peszek ties for NCAA gymnastics all-around title". Indy Star. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
4. ^ a b Grimala, Mike (2010-02-18). "Peszek parts with work overload". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
5. ^ Garcia, Marlen (2008-07-19). "Final members of U.S. women's gymnastics team named". usatoday.com. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
6. ^ a b Macur, Juliet (2008-08-10). "U.S. Gymnasts Overcome Injuries in Qualifying". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
7. ^ Normile, Dwight. "Peszek Withdraws From Worlds Selection". International Gymnast Magazine Online. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
8. ^ Epps, Michelle (2013-01-07). "Gymnast Sam Peszek tears Achilles tendon, out for season". dailybruin.com. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
9. ^ "Biography: Super Seven". www.usghof.org. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
10. ^ Lemos, Zachary (2014-03-10). "UCLA takes second at gymnastics tri-meet, beating Utah". Daily Bruin. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
11. ^ "Peszek All-Around Win Leads UCLA to Second Place at Michigan". uclabruins.com. 2014-03-08. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
12. ^ "Women's Gymnastics Meet Results at UCLA Tri-Meet". www.utahstateaggies.com. 2014-03-16. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
13. ^ a b Gerstner, Joanne C. (2015-04-22). "Winning Two NCAA Titles, Samantha Peszek Ends Gymnastics Career In Style". www.teamusa.org. Archived from the original on April 23, 2015. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
14. ^ "UCLA Senior Samantha Peszek Wins NCAA Balance Beam Title". www.uclabruins.com. 2015-04-19. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
15. ^ UCLA Athletics (December 29, 2015). "Samantha Peszek Joins Pac-12 Networks". uclabruins.com. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
16. ^ "Samantha Peszek Gives Back To Gymnastics Through Beam Queen Bootcamp". FloGymnastics. October 13, 2017.
17. ^ @samanthapeszek (May 30, 2018). "I'm launching a podcast" (Tweet) - via Twitter.
18. ^ "The Faith of an Olympian". Patheos. 2009-10-15. Archived from the original on 2009-10-30. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
19. ^ a b "Peszek Joins Sloan at Sharp's". International Gymnast. November 25, 2008. Accessed on March 22, 2009.
20. ^ "Samantha Peszek Says Larry Nassar's Trial Led To Her Getting Death Threats & It's Chilling". Bustle. January 25, 2018.
21. ^ "Samantha Peszek Says She's Received Death, Rape Wishes Amid Larry Nassar Case". Bleacher Report. January 24, 2018.

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Samantha Peszek.

* Samantha Peszek on X
* Samantha Peszek at the International Gymnastics Federation
* Samantha Peszek at USA Gymnastics
* Samantha Peszek at Team USA (archive July 12, 2022)
* Samantha Peszek at Olympics.com
* Samantha Peszek at Olympic.org (archived)
* Samantha Peszek at Olympedia

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2008 USA Olympic Gymnastics Team

Men's artistic gymnastics athletes|

| Team |

* Alexander Artemev
* Raj Bhavsar
* Joseph Hagerty
* Jonathan Horton
* Justin Spring
* Kevin Tan

|

Alternates|

* David Durante

Women's artistic gymnastics athletes|

| Team |

* Shawn Johnson
* Nastia Liukin
* Chellsie Memmel
* Samantha Peszek
* Alicia Sacramone
* Bridget Sloan

|

Alternates|

* Jana Bieger
* Ivana Hong
* Corrie Lothrop

Rhythmic gymnastics athletes|

* DNQ

Trampoline athletes|

| Individuals|

* Erin Blanchard
* Chris Estrada

|

Alternates|

* Logan Dooley
* Alaina Hebert

Coaches|

* Kevin Mazeika (Men's artistic head coach)
* Miles Avery (Men's artistic assistant coach)
* Nori Iwai (Men's artistic coach)
* Randy Jepson (Men's artistic coach)
* Vitaly Marinitch (Men's artistic coach)
* Jon Valdez (Men's artistic coach)
* Mark Williams (Men's artistic coach)
* Liang Chow (Women's artistic head coach)
* Márta Károlyi (Women's artistic assistant coach)
* Mihai Brestyan (Women's artistic coach)
* Valeri Liukin (Women's artistic coach)
* Andy Memmel (Women's artistic coach)
* Marvin Sharp (Women's artistic coach)
* XueYi (Peter) Zhao (Women's artistic coach)
* Dmitri Poliaroush (Trampoline coach)

* v
* t
* e

World Champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's Team Competition

* 1934:  Czechoslovakia
* 1938:  Czechoslovakia
* 1950:  Sweden
* 1954:  Soviet Union
* 1958:  Soviet Union
* 1962:  Soviet Union
* 1966:  Czechoslovakia
* 1970:  Soviet Union
* 1974:  Soviet Union
* 1978:  Soviet Union
* 1979:  Romania
* 1981:  Soviet Union
* 1983:  Soviet Union
* 1985:  Soviet Union
* 1987:  Romania
* 1989:  Soviet Union
* 1991:  Soviet Union
* 1994:  Romania
* 1995:  Romania
* 1997:  Romania
* 1999:  Romania
* 2001:  Romania
* 2003:  United States
* 2006:  China
* 2007:  United States
* 2010:  Russia
* 2011:  United States
* 2014:  United States
* 2015:  United States
* 2018:  United States
* 2019:  United States
* 2022:  United States
* 2023:  United States

2007:  United States (USA), Ivana Hong, Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, Samantha Peszek, Alicia Sacramone, Shayla Worley

* v
* t
* e

Pan American Games Champions in Artistic Gymnastics – Women's Team Competition

* 1959:  United States
* 1963:  United States
* 1967:  United States
* 1971:  United States
* 1975:  United States
* 1979:  Canada
* 1983:  United States
* 1987:  United States
* 1991:  United States
* 1995:  United States
* 1999:  Canada
* 2003:  United States
* 2007:  United States
* 2011:  United States
* 2015:  United States
* 2019:  United States
* 2023:  United States

2007:  United States (USA), Rebecca Bross, Ivana Hong, Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, Samantha Peszek, Amber Trani

NCAA championships for Samantha Peszek

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NCAA Gymnastics Championships – Women's Individual All-Around

* 1982: Sue Stednitz (Utah)
* 1983: Megan McCunniff (Utah)
* 1984: Megan Marsden (Utah)
* 1985: Penney Hauschild (Alabama)
* 1986: Jackie Brummer (Arizona St.)
1986 Penney Hauschild (Alabama)
* 1987: Kelly Garrison (Oklahoma)
* 1988: Kelly Garrison (Oklahoma)
* 1989: Corrinne Wright (Georgia)
* 1990: Dee Dee Foster (Alabama)
* 1991: Hope Spivey (Georgia)
* 1992: Missy Marlowe (Utah)
* 1993: Jenny Hansen (Kentucky)
* 1994: Jenny Hansen (Kentucky)
* 1995: Jenny Hansen (Kentucky)
* 1996: Meredith Willard (Alabama)
* 1997: Kim Arnold (Georgia)
* 1998: Kim Arnold (Georgia)
* 1999: Theresa Kulikowski (Utah)
* 2000: Heather Brink (Nebraska)
* 2001: Onnie Willis (UCLA)
2001 Elise Ray (Michigan)
* 2002: Jamie Dantzscher (UCLA)
* 2003: Richelle Simpson (Nebraska)
* 2004: Jeana Rice (Alabama)
* 2005: Tasha Schwikert (UCLA)
* 2006: Courtney Kupets (Georgia)
* 2007: Courtney Kupets (Georgia)
* 2008: Tasha Schwikert (UCLA)
* 2009: Courtney Kupets (Georgia)
* 2010: Susan Jackson (LSU)
* 2011: Kylee Botterman (Michigan)
* 2012: Kytra Hunter (Florida)
* 2013: Bridget Sloan (Florida)
* 2014: Kim Jacob (Alabama)
* 2015: Samantha Peszek (UCLA)
2015 Kytra Hunter (Florida)
* 2016: Bridget Sloan (Florida)
* 2017: Alex McMurtry (Florida)
* 2018: Maggie Nichols (Oklahoma)
* 2019: Maggie Nichols (Oklahoma)
* 2021: Anastasia Webb (Oklahoma)
* 2022: Trinity Thomas (Florida)
* 2023: Maile O'Keefe (Utah)
* 2024: Haleigh Bryant (LSU)

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* e

NCAA Gymnastics Championships – Women's Balance Beam

* 1982: Sue Stednitz (Utah)
* 1983: Julie Goewey (Fullerton)
* 1984: Heidi Anderson (Oregon St.)
* 1985: Lisa Zeis (Arizona St.)
* 1986: Jackie Brummer (Arizona St.)
* 1987: Yumi Mordre (Washington)
* 1988: Kelly Garrison (Oklahoma)
* 1989: Jill Andrews (UCLA)
1989 Joy Selig (Oregon St.)
* 1990: Joy Selig (Oregon St.)
* 1991: Gina Basile (Alabama)
1991 Missy Marlowe (Utah)
* 1992: Dana Dobransky (Alabama)
1992 Missy Marlowe (Utah)
* 1993: Dana Dobransky (Alabama)
* 1994: Jenny Hansen (Kentucky)
* 1995: Jenny Hansen (Kentucky)
* 1996: Summer Reid (Utah)
* 1997: Elizabeth Reid (Arizona St.)
1997 Summer Reid (Utah)
* 1998: Kim Arnold (Georgia)
1998 Jenni Beathard (Georgia)
1998 Betsy Hamm (Florida)
* 1999: Kiralee Hayashi (UCLA)
1999 Theresa Kulikowski (Utah)
1999 Andree Pickens (Alabama)
* 2000: Lena Degteva (UCLA)
* 2001: Theresa Kulikowski (Utah)
* 2002: Elise Ray (Michigan)
* 2003: Kate Richardson (UCLA)
* 2004: Ashley Kelly (Arizona St.)
* 2005: Kristen Maloney (UCLA)
* 2006: Courtney Kupets (Georgia)
2006 April Burkholder (LSU)
* 2007: Ashley Postell (Utah)
* 2008: Grace Taylor (Georgia)
* 2009: Courtney Kupets (Georgia)
* 2010: Susan Jackson (LSU)
* 2011: Samantha Peszek (UCLA)
* 2012: Geralen Stack-Eaton (Alabama)
* 2013: Bridget Sloan (Florida)
* 2014: Taylor Spears (Oklahoma)
* 2015: Samantha Peszek (UCLA)
* 2016: Danusia Francis (UCLA)
2016 Bridget Sloan (Florida)
* 2017: Kyla Ross (UCLA)
* 2018: Peng-Peng Lee (UCLA)
* 2019: Natalie Wojcik (Michigan)
* 2021: Luisa Blanco (Alabama)
* 2022: Sunisa Lee (Auburn)
* 2023: Maile O'Keefe (Utah)
* 2024: Audrey Davis (Oklahoma)
2024 Faith Torrez (Oklahoma)

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