Raisman not only influenced the gymnastics community at a young age, but she continues to empower women today.
Aly Raisman was born and raised in Needham, Massachusetts. She attended Needham High School and then went to Babson College. Raisman started doing gymnastics at the age of two, beginning with doing mommy and me classes.
Raisman started competing at the elite level when she was 14. In 2009, she came in 12th at the CoverGirl Classic. That same year, she won the junior vault at the American Classic. In 2010, she was a part of the World Championship team that won the silver medal. A year after that, she participated in the CoverGirl Classic again and won it. Later that year, she competed at the World Championships and earned a bronze medal in the floor exercise. The team as a whole had won gold.
Raisman is known for her time in the Olympics. At 18 years old, she made her debut in the 2012 Summer Olympics. Raisman and her teammates won the gold that year. They became known as the “Fierce Five.” She was not only a part of the “Fierce Five,” but she was also named the captain. She personally won a bronze medal in the beam event and a gold medal in the individual floor exercise event.
After the 2012 Summer Olympics, Raisman took a break from gymnastics to compete on Dancing With the Stars in 2013. She placed fourth while on the show. In 2015, she became an all-around bronze medalist and World team champion.
In 2016, she not only made the Summer Olympics once again, but she was seen on Gold Medal Families, which is a reality show. Raisman was one of two American women to return to the Olympics since Amy Chow in 2000.
Once again, the team won gold. Raisman played a huge part with her performances in the vault, balance beam and floor events. This group that won was now called the “Final Five.” They were named this as it was their coaches’ last Olympics Games and it was the last year the gymnastics team would be five people.
Even though Raisman doesn’t compete anymore, she is still heavily involved in the gymnastics community. She is currently working on ESPN and ABC as a gymnastics analyst. She is also a mental health advocate. Her influence is far from over.