McKayla Rose Maroney is an American artistic gymnast. She is a vaulting and floor exercise specialist. At the 2011 World Championships, she won gold medals in the team and vault competitions. McKayla Rose Maroney (born December 9, 1995) is an American former artistic gymnast. She was a member of the U.S. women's gymnastics team dubbed the Fierce Five at the 2012 Summer Olympics, where she won a gold medal in the team and an individual silver medal in the vault event. Maroney was also a member of the gold-winning American team at the 2011 World Championships where she won gold medals in the team and vault competitions. She defended her World title and won the gold medal on vault at the 2013 World Championships, becoming the first U.S. female gymnast to defend a World Championships vault title. A photograph of her with a "not impressed" expression, taken after winning silver in the 2012 Olympics, became an Internet meme. She retired from gymnastics competition in 2016 due to health issues.
About her first Olympic memory, she said, "I remember watching Carly Patterson. She was one of my favorites. I loved her floor routine. I went to Olympic Trials that year (2004) with Kyla [Ross]. I remember seeing the gymnasts on the floor and I loved all of their leotards. I thought they were so little and so amazing. I thought, how am I going to stay this little? I was worried that I was going to be really tall because my dad is 6'3" and my mom is 5'2", so I didn’t know which one I was going to be." On August 31, 2014, allegedly underage nude images of Maroney were published as part of the 2014 celebrity photo leaks. She performed an Amanar for her first vault but fell on her second. This fall ended her 33-vault hitting streak in competition.