Magnificent Seven (gymnastics)

The Magnificent Seven was the 1996 United States Olympic women's gymnastics team that won the first ever gold medal for the United States in the women's team competition at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The seven members of the team were Shannon Miller, Dominique Moceanu, Dominique Dawes, Kerri Strug, Amy Chow, Amanda Borden, and Jaycie Phelps. Miller, Dawes, and Chow also won individual medals in the 1996 Olympics. The team is perhaps best known for Strug sticking the landing on a vault while injured.

The leader of the Magnificent Seven is often said to be Shannon Miller, the second most decorated American gymnast in history and that year's reigning national champion. The other two individual stars on the team were Dominique Dawes and Dominique Moceanu, the previous two national champions (in 1994 and 1995 respectively). However, Kerri Strug eventually qualified for the individual all-around over Moceanu.

The other three members on the team were less heralded. Nevertheless, they were an integral part of the team's success. Amy Chow had the highest difficulty of anyone on the team, most notably on the uneven bars. Jaycie Phelps provided clean lines and solid gymnastics on all four events. The final member to qualify for the team, Amanda Borden, was named team captain due to her vivacious personality.

The highest two scoring athletes on the team during the compulsories did not even perform at the Olympic Trials. Both Miller and Moceanu had been sidelined with injuries, but were named to the team anyway, proving that the petition-system was in the team's best interest.

The team compulsories took place on July 21, 1996. Unlike in the 1992 Games, when two athletes from each country participated in each session, in these Games, teams competed together. The United States team competed in the third session, with Russia and China left to compete in the fourth session. Romania had already competed in the first session, so the United States team could only chase their already posted scores. The top four teams would compete in the last session during the optionals. Ultimately, Ukraine, not China, earned this fourth spot along with the United States, Russia, and Romania.

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