Alexandra Rose "Aly" Raisman (born May 25, 1994) is an American gymnast and two-time Olympian. She was a member and captain of both the 2012 "Fierce Five" and 2016 "Final Five" U.S. women's Olympic gymnastics which won their respective team competitions. Raisman is Jewish. At the 2012 Olympics in London, she won gold medals in the team and floor competitions, as well as the bronze medal on the balance beam, making her the most decorated American gymnast at the Games. At the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, she won a gold medal in the team event, making her and teammate Gabby Douglas the only Americans with back-to-back team golds. Raisman also won the silver medal in the individual all-around and for floor exercise. Raisman was also a member of the gold-winning American teams at the 2011 and 2015 World Championships.
There was some question heading into the women's qualifications which of Aly Raisman, Laurie Hernandez, and defending Olympic All Around Champion Douglas would get a chance to qualify for the All Around finals, since the first spot in the finals clearly belonged to Simone Biles. Aly and Laurie had been battling back and forth in the All Around all year. Douglas, despite trailing Aly and Laurie in the All Around throughout the year was considered very strong on the uneven bars, the event that someone would be required to sit out to make way for bars specialist Madison Kocian. Due to her weakness on uneven bars many speculated Aly would be the one to miss out on an All Around opportunity but her strong performances in podium training on all events, and an injury to Laurie Hernandez, meant it would be Laurie to sit out uneven bars, giving Aly the chance to qualify to the All Around. She trained at Exxcel Gymnastics and Climbing through Level 8, when she moved to Brestyan's American Gymnastics Club under coaches Mihai and Silvia Brestyan. There, she trained alongside Alicia Sacramone, of whom she said, "She's kind of like my older sister. I can ask her about anything because I know that she's been through it all."
Aly Raisman
Page 1
Page 2