Kerri Strug

One of the most enduring images from the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, will always be the sight of Kerri Strug landing her vault on one leg before the ankle she had just sprained in her prior vault attempt gave out on her and she fell to the floor in pain. Her spectacular vault led to the United States women’s gymnastic team taking Olympic gold. Her coach, Bela Karolyi, memorably carried her to the podium to receive the team’s medal.

Born in Tucson, Arizona, the first Kerri Strug appearances as a gymnast took place at the young age of eight. By the time she was 13, Kerri Strug appearances had proven that she had enough talent to become part of the stable of gymnasts trained by legendary coach Bela Karolyi and also joined the United States National Team. At just 14, the first Kerri Strug appearance at the Olympic Games took place when she finished with a bronze medal in the team category at the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain.

Among the Kerri Strug endorsements since her career as a gymnast has ended have been appearances in television commercials for ESPN, Zaxby’s restaurants, Visa and Yahoo! Sports, for whom she also served as an artistic gymnastics correspondent during the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, in 2004.

As part of the memorable Olympic gold medal winning team, which was dubbed The Magnificent Seven, a Kerri Strug keynote address will surely be a draw to everyone. During a Kerri Strug motivational speaking engagement, she could detail exactly how she was able to summon the courage and the strength to compete in a second vault attempt after she had hurt her ankle.

Motivation

Athletics/Sports

Overcoming Obstacles