Samantha Peszek | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Peszek in 2008.
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Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Full name | Samantha Nicole Peszek | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname(s) | Sam | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country represented | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born |
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
December 14, 1991 |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hometown | Indianapolis, Indiana | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Residence | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.53 m (5 ft 1⁄4 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 50 kg (110 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Discipline | Women's artistic gymnastics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Level | Senior International Elite | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Sharp's Gymnastics Academy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
College team | University of California, Los Angeles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Samantha Nicole Peszek (born December 14, 1991, in Indianapolis) is an American former artistic gymnast. She was a member of the United States' silver-medal-winning women's gymnastics team at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Following her elite gymnastics career, Peszek competed for the UCLA Bruins. She is a 17-time All-American, the 2011 and 2015 NCAA balance beam champion, and the 2015 NCAA all-around co-champion with Kytra Hunter.
In 2007, Peszek was part of the gold-medal-winning American teams at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and the Pan American Games. In March 2008, she competed at the American Cup and placed third in the all-around, behind U.S. teammates Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson.
After solid performances at the 2008 National Championships, Olympic Trials, and Olympic selection camp, Peszek was chosen as a member of the U.S. Olympic team, along with Johnson, Liukin, Chellsie Memmel, Alicia Sacramone, and Bridget Sloan.
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. She was the second gymnast on the U.S. team to be injured, the other being Memmel.
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. 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 and made it to the second and final selection camp for Worlds, but pulled out and decided to get her torn labrum fixed.