During her performances, Dawes says she rarely smiled. But today, as a wife, mother of four young children and owner of a gymnastics academy, she encourages the girls she trains to express emotions that would not have been acceptable during her career. Just like [Japanese world tennis No. She was also the first black person — male or female — of any nationality to win an Olympic gold medal in gymnastics, and the first African American to win an individual Olympic medal in the floor exercise.
A lot has changed since then, she said, with her Olympic successors like Biles more empowered to stand up for their own interests. While I love sports, it can be a very grueling environment. What I am offering is quite different. I want people to have a healthy introduction to the sport of gymnastics.
It is not about building champions. She recalls crying every day during practice for a month leading up to a competition.
The mother of one of her teammates, Alexis Norman, pulled Dawes aside one day and said the team loves her because of who she is, not just because of her gymnastics accomplishments.
The comment helped Dawes put things in perspective. Weeks later, she won all four events at nationals. As the greatest gymnast of all time, Biles faced immense pressure to repeat the four gold medals she won at the Olympics, Dawes says. She's a professional athlete and it can be a little overwhelming at times. Biles is also dealing with personal issues — another aspect of her story that Dawes relates to. Dawes suffered an emotional breakdown before marching out into the Georgia Dome at the Olympics.
When Dawes made history as the first Black American woman gymnast to qualify at the Olympic trials in Baltimore, she also became a role model. Her first and only coach, Kelli Hill, quickly realized her potential.
She burst into the international spotlight in the Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. She was the first African American gymnast to ever qualify and compete in an Olympic Games.
At these Games she and her teammates captured a bronze medal. Since then Dominique has won more National Championship medals than any other athlete, male or female, since , as well as numerous World Championship medals.
At the Olympic Games, Dominique and the US Gymnastics team made history and stole the hearts of Americans with their team gold medal. As a result of her determination and ability, Dominique has received several awards including the Henry P. Iba Citizen Award, presented annually to two outstanding athletes who have demonstrated good citizenship. Dominique is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park.
While she was a full-time student, she remained focused and committed to her multiple career opportunities. Since , Dominique has enjoyed being a spokesperson for many organizations and campaigns. She has spoken at a variety of different events from presidential inaugural events, corporations, youth-serving agencies to college events.
Dominique shares her unique experiences as a top athlete, role model and a positive television personality to inspire and empower girls to feel good about themselves and fulfill their dreams. Dominique offers private lessons in the sport of gymnastics with the emphasis on strength and flexibility improvement, perfecting the fundamentals, mental toughness training while developing self-motivation and focus.
Additionally, Dominique continues to gain experience in the world of broadcasting. She also worked with Comcast Sportsnet during the Athens Olympics.
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