Kim Zmeskal

Kim Zmeskal
Kim Zmeskal (2014)
Personal information
Surname:	Kimberley Lynn Zmeskal Burdette
Nationality:	United States
discipline	Apparatus gymnastics
Society:	Karolyi's
Trainer:	Béla Károlyi, Mary Lee Tracy
Birthday:	February 6, 1976
Place of birth:	Houston
Medals
Olympic games bronze 1992 Barcelona team  World championships gold 1991 Indianapolis All-around gold 1992 Paris Balance beam gold 1992 Paris ground silver 1991 Indianapolis team bronze 1991 Indianapolis ground

Kimberly Lynn "Kim" Burdette (born Kimberly Lynn Zmeskal ) (born February 6, 1976 in Houston , Texas ) is a former American gymnast. She was world champion and third in the Olympics. She currently works as a trainer and is a co-owner of the Texas Dreams Gymnastics training and education center in Coppell, Texas .

Career

As a child, Zmeskal trained with the great Béla Károlyi , who bought and renovated a run-down gym in the immediate vicinity of Zmeskal's family in Houston. This gave Zmeskal the opportunity to train with her idol Mary Lou Retton . In 1989 Zmeskal became national junior champion at the age of 13. In the following years (1990-92) she was three times in a row US national champion in all-around.

At the World Gymnastics Championships in Indianapolis in 1991 , she became the first US woman to win the gold medal in the all-around competition. With the team she won the silver medal.

After the successful performance at the World Championships, the Americans had high hopes for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. Kim Zmeskal graced the front page of Time and Newsweek magazines , although she was defeated by the up-and-coming Shannon Miller in the so-called Trials . However, Zmeskal disappointed in the games. She could not win an individual medal, but took the bronze medal with the team, whereby in the final of the team competition with good exercises on all devices she delivered the best overall performance of all participants (9,912 on bars, 9.95 on vaults, 9.9 on uneven bars and 9,925 on the ground, making a total of 39,687). It was later revealed that Zmeskal suffered a stress fracture on her ankle just before the Games.

Zmeskal tried again to qualify for the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 , but had to give up because of a torn cruciate ligament she suffered during a floor exercise. In 1998 she tried again a comeback, which she succeeded in the US championships in Indianapolis with an appealing performance. She was then nominated again for international competitions and was under discussion for the 2000 Olympic Games . However, a torn Achilles tendon forced her to retire in 1999.

In 2012 Zmeskal was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame .

Private life

In 1999 Zmeskal married the gymnastics trainer Chris Burdette, whom she met during a training camp. They got married on the ranch of Zmeskal's long-time trainer Karolyi and now have three children together. Together with her husband, she opened a training and education center in Texas, where she herself works as a trainer. Several of the athletes she supervises have made it into the US national team.

Web links

• Kim Zmeskal at the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame