Jamie Annette Dantzscher (born May 2, 1982)[1] is an American former artistic gymnast. She was a member of the bronze medal-winning American team at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.[2][3]

Jamie Dantzscher
Dantzscher in 2018
Personal information
Full nameJamie Annette Dantzscher
Country represented United States
Born (1982-05-02) May 2, 1982 (age 42)
Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
HometownPalmdale, California, U.S.
ResidenceSan Dimas, California, U.S.
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior international elite
Years on national team1994–2001 (USA)
ClubCharter Oak Gliders
College teamUCLA Bruins
Former coach(es)Beth Rybacki
Steve Rybacki
Music"My Drag" (1999); "La Cumparsita" (2000)
Medal record
Women's artistic gymnastics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Sydney Team
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 1999 Winnipeg Team
Representing UCLA Bruins
NCAA Championships
Gold medal – first place 2001 Athens Team
Gold medal – first place 2002 Tuscaloosa All-Around
Gold medal – first place 2002 Tuscaloosa Vault
Gold medal – first place 2002 Tuscaloosa Floor Exercise
Gold medal – first place 2003 Lincoln Uneven Bars
Gold medal – first place 2003 Lincoln Team
Gold medal – first place 2004 Los Angeles Team
Silver medal – second place 2001 Athens Floor Exercise
Silver medal – second place 2003 Lincoln Floor Exercise
Silver medal – second place 2003 Lincoln Vault
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Tuscaloosa Team

Early life

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Dantzscher was born in Canoga Park, California and raised in San Dimas, California. She graduated from San Dimas High School.[1] She trained at Charter Oak Gliders in Covina under Beth Kline-Rybacki and Steve Rybacki.[1][4]

Elite gymnastics career

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Dantzscher was a member of the United States national gymnastics team for eight years, starting in 1994. In her international debut, the 1996 City of Popes competition in France, she won the all-around and floor exercise titles.[5]

She competed in her first senior U.S. Nationals in 1997, finishing sixth in the all-around.[6] Her placement would have qualified her to the U.S. squad for the 1997 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, but at 15, she was too young to meet the International Federation of Gymnastics' newly raised minimum age requirement.[6] She went on to compete at the 1999 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Tianjin, where she placed fifth with the American team.[7]

In 2000, Dantzscher won her first national all-around medal, a bronze.[5][8] She placed fifth at the Olympic Trials,[8] securing a berth on the U.S. team for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.[2]

2000 Olympics

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Dantzscher fell on the floor exercise during the team preliminaries in Sydney but competed well in the team finals, scoring 9.429 on vault, 9.700 on the uneven bars and 9.712 on floor. The U.S. team initially finished fourth, behind Romania, Russia, and China.[3]

Dantzscher was one of the most visible members of the U.S. Olympic team in the media because of her outspoken opposition to the policies of the national team coordinator, Béla Károlyi, whom she called a "puppeteer".[9][10] Her opinions about Károlyi, which were echoed by some of her teammates and their coaches, were published in many major news outlets during the Olympics.[3][11]

On April 28, 2010, Dantzscher and the other women on the 2000 Olympic team were awarded the bronze medal in the team competition when it was discovered that the Chinese team had falsified the age of one of its gymnasts, Dong Fangxiao.[12] Dong's results were nullified, and the International Olympic Committee stripped the Chinese team of its medal.[13]

NCAA career

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After the Olympics, Dantzscher joined the UCLA Bruins gymnastics team. During her NCAA career, she achieved a UCLA record 28 perfect ten scores. In her first meet as a Bruin, she scored perfect tens on both of the events she competed, floor and bars, making her the first UCLA gymnast to score a perfect ten on her debut collegiate routine.[1] In her four years of NCAA competition, Dantzscher achieved All-American honors 15 times, earned three Pac-10 individual titles, and was a part of three NCAA Championship-winning Bruins teams.[1] She received the 2004 AAI Award.[14]

Dantzscher was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.[15][16]

Career Perfect 10.0

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Season Date Event Meet
2001 January 5, 2001 Uneven Bars Maui Invitational
Floor Exercise
January 19, 2001 Floor Exercise UCLA @ Stanford
February 11, 2001 Uneven Bars UCLA vs. Arizona,

Washington, and CSUF

February 16, 2001 Floor Exercise UCLA @ Oregon State
March 4, 2001 UCLA vs. Cal,

Utah State, and UCSB

March 24, 2001 Pac-10 Championship
2002 January 13, 2002 Vault UCLA @ Georgia
January 18, 2002 Floor Exercise UCLA vs.

Boise State @ CSUF

January 20, 2002 UCLA vs. Arizona State
January 25, 2002 UCLA @ Arizona
February 10, 2002 UCLA vs. Stanford
February 17, 2002 UCLA vs. UCSB

and UC Davis @ California

February 23, 2002 UCLA vs. Oregon State
March 3, 2002 Vault UCLA vs. Michigan,

Minnesota, and CSUF

Uneven Bars
Floor Exercise
2003 January 2, 2003 Floor Exercise UCLA vs. Oregon State
January 19, 2003 Uneven Bars UCLA vs Cal,

UC Davis, and CSUF

Floor Exercise
February 7, 2003 Uneven Bars UCLA @ Stanford
February 9, 2003 Vault UCLA vs. Washington
Floor Exercise
February 16, 2003 Vault UCLA @ Arizona State
Uneven Bars
February 23, 2003 Floor Exercise UCLA vs. Arizona
April 12, 2003 Missouri Regional
2004 February 22, 2004 Uneven Bars UCLA vs. Oregon State

Post-gymnastics career

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During the 2008–09 season, Dantzscher was an assistant coach for Arizona State.[17] Before that, she coached at three gyms in California: Diamond Elite Gymnastics in Chino, Club Champion in Pasadena, and East Bay Sports Academy in Concord.[17]

On March 29, 2017, Dantzscher was one of several former gymnasts who testified before Congress about the sexual abuse committed by USA Gymnastics' national team doctor, Larry Nassar.[18][19] She indicated she had been abused "all over the world", and that she thought she was the only one.[20]

Personal life

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Dantzscher's parents and her six siblings all have first names beginning with the letter J.[1] Two of her younger sisters, twins Janelle[21] and Jalynne,[22] also competed on the UCLA gymnastics team. Jalynne competed with the Bruins for one season before retiring from gymnastics because of a recurring injury.[23] Dantzscher's oldest sister, Jennifer Pippin, died in April 2017 of asthma-related causes.[24][25]

Dantzscher is a Latter-day Saint.[26] She is the sister-in-law of Brandon Crawford, the San Francisco Giants shortstop, who is married to Jalynne Dantzscher.[27]

In February 2017, three former gymnasts, Dantzscher, Jeanette Antolin and Jessica Howard, gave an interview with 60 Minutes in which they accused Larry Nassar of sexually abusing them. The gymnasts also alleged that the "emotionally abusive environment" at the national team training camps run by Béla and Márta Károlyi at the Karolyi Ranch gave Nassar an opportunity to take advantage of the gymnasts and made them afraid to speak up about the abuse.[28]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Player Bio: Jamie Dantzscher". uclabruins.com. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Roberts, Selena (August 21, 2000). "Miller Out, but Dawes and Chow Make Team". The New York Times. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Sheridan, Phil (August 19, 2000). "U.S. Women Gymnasts Must Settle For 4th". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  4. ^ Pucin, Diane (September 28, 2000). "Encouraging Sign for Father of Gymnast". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  5. ^ a b "USA Gymnastics Official Biography: Jamie Dantzscher". usagym.org. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  6. ^ a b Henson, Steve (August 23, 1997). "On The EDGE". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  7. ^ Meyers, Dvora (2016). The End of the Perfect 10: The Making and Breaking of Gymnastics' Top Score. Touchstone. pp. 132. ISBN 978-1501101366.
  8. ^ a b Loumena, Dan (September 16, 2000). "Gymnast Turns Potential Into Olympic Appearance". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  9. ^ Pucin, Diana (December 15, 2000). "Healing Time for Gymnast". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  10. ^ Stone, Larry (August 26, 2016). "UW gymnastics coach Elise Ray in good place after overcoming Olympic disappointment". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  11. ^ Eisenberg, John (September 20, 2000). "Finger-pointing is the next event after U.S. gymnasts fail to medal". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  12. ^ Macur, Juliet (February 26, 2010). "Chinese Gymnast Dong Fangxiao Is Ruled to Have Been Under Age in 2000 Olympics". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  13. ^ "China stripped of 2000 Olympic bronze". CNN. April 28, 2010. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  14. ^ "AAI Award". americanathletic.com. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  15. ^ "Eight Inducted into UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame". UCLABruins.com. June 27, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  16. ^ Bolch, Ben (June 27, 2016). "Baron Davis and Wendell Tyler among eight to be inducted into UCLA Athletics' Hall of Fame". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  17. ^ a b "Women's gymnastics announces the hiring of two former Olympians". East Valley Tribune. August 18, 2008. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  18. ^ Macur, Juliet (March 29, 2017). "Facing Congress, Some Sports Officials (Not All) Begin to Confront Sexual Abuse". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  19. ^ Associated Press (March 28, 2017). "U.S. gymnasts give emotional testimony about sexual abuse". NBC Sports. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  20. ^ "Former gymnast: Doctor abused me 'all over the world'". Reuters. March 28, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  21. ^ "Player Bio: Janelle Dantzscher". UCLABruins.com. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  22. ^ "Player Bio: Jalynne Dantzscher". UCLABruins.com. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  23. ^ "Jalynne Dantzscher Retires From Gymnastics". Pac-12 News. October 26, 2006. Archived from the original on June 28, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  24. ^ Schulman, Henry (April 13, 2017). "Giants' Crawford out of lineup after sister-in-law's death". SFGate. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  25. ^ Baggarly, Andrew (April 25, 2017). "Giants lineup: Brandon Crawford grieving a loss". Mercury News. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  26. ^ Toone, Travis (July 27, 2012). "Mormons in Olympic history". Deseret News. Archived from the original on February 25, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  27. ^ Killion, Ann (October 8, 2012). "Brandon Crawford: living the dream". SFGate.com. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  28. ^ McCandless, Brit (February 19, 2017). "On 60 Minutes, former gymnasts allege sexual abuse". CBS News. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
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