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By Sarah Blood
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
The spirit of the Olympics is rooted in the people who continue to prove themselves against the odds and strive to achieve their dreams. World champion gymnast Aly Raisman, a Needham resident and gold medal Olympian of the original women gymnastics team called the “Fierce Five,” has now won another Olympic gold in women’s gymnastics. Yet again, the girls are champions after also winning the gold during London Olympics in 2012 and proved themselves to be fiercer than ever with their success at this year’s Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
On August 5, the Rio Olympics opening ceremony began, ushering the Women’s Gymnastics team into the games for the second time. In 2012, the Fierce Five were the team-all around champs, grabbing the gold medal, marching into history as the second US Olympic Gymnastics team to win the gold. Not only that, team captain Raisman won a bronze medal on the balance beam and gold on the floor exercises during the London individual all-around event.
Before clearing out the competition, the Final Five had to prove themselves by performing 12 routines, during which the girls consistently held strong marks. Some of the highlights included Raisman’s vault during team finals, which was a whopping 15.833. Drawing to the close, the Final Five proved to be just as unstoppable with a substantial lead, winning with a total score of 184.897, eight points ahead of Russia.
During the individual all-around event, both Raisman and fellow US teammate Simone Biles proved to be tough competition by remaining ahead consistently. Overall, Raisman scored 60.098 as silver medalist, and Biles, who scored 62.198, won the gold.
Martha Karolyi, legendary Romanian Olympic coach, can be credited with the success of the Women’s US Gymnastics team. The Rio Olympics marks Karolyi’s last after 15 years of work, and in honor of Karolyi, the girls coined their name as “The Final Five.”
Needham resident Aly Raisman attended Needham High School and trained with Brestyan Gymnastics, started gymnastics in 1996, and has been beating the competition since 2009, with many wins at competitions, ranging from 2010 World Championships Team silver medalist to 2015 World team champion. Raisman has stated her favorite thing about gymnastics is “it never gets boring, there is always something that needs to be fixed or improved!”
Hometown Weekly would like to congratulate Aly Raisman and the Final Five for an inspiring 2016 summer Olympics in Rio. Your determination, perseverance, and hard work reflect the spirit of our local community, inspiring new generations to follow in your footsteps towards their dreams! Congratulations on bringing home the gold!
