MCKAYLA MARONEY GYMNASTICS 2011 World Championships team and vault gold medalist Personal Specs Height: 5’2 Date of birth: December 9, 1995 Hometown: Laguna Niguel, CA Residence: Long Beach, CA On the Fast Track 2011 Visa Championships, Saint Paul, Minn. - 1st-VT; 2nd-AA; 5th-FX; 7th-BB 2011 World Championships, Tokyo, Japan - 1st-Team, VT 2011 CoverGirl Classic, Chicago, Ill. - 5th-FX; 6th-BB 2010 Visa Championships, Hartford, Conn. - 1st-VT; 3rd-AA; 4th-FX(T); 7th-BB (Jr. Div.) 2010 Pan American Championships, Guadalajara, Mexico - 1st-Team, VT, FX 2009 Visa Championships, Dallas, Texas - 3rd-VT (Jr. Div.) Passion for the Olympics In October 2011 McKayla won a world title on her best event, vault, at the 2011 World Gymnastics Championships. Maroney got her own individual podium moment after landing an Amanar vault (a roundoff onto the springboard, a back handspring onto the vaulting table and a flip with 2.5 twists off) and a layout Podkopayeva (roundoff onto the board, a half-twist in the air before the vault table and a front flip with half twist off). She was unrivaled in the difficulty and execution of both efforts, and averaged 15.3 points for the two vaults, more than half a point above silver medalist Oksana Chusovitina of Germany. The world title on vault has seemed a long time coming for the California gymnast, who first attracted attention when she completed the uber-difficult Amanar at the 2009 Junior U.S. Championships when she was only 13. She stuck the same vault cold at last year's U.S. Championships, but has had to wait until this year to be age-eligible for world competition. Personal McKayla Maroney was born December 9, 1995 to Michael, former Purdue quarterback, and Erin Maroney. Raised in Laguna Niguel, CA where she began gymnastics at age two. Did You Know……? • McKayla enjoys other sports including soccer, ice skating, and tennis • Mckayla’s hobbies include going to the beach, swimming, and shopping Olympic Dream… “I started dreaming of going to the Olympics for gymnastics at thirteen. I remember watching the girls at the Olympics and knowing I wanted to be there. And having team mates is so important because somebody is there to have your back and cheer you on. I couldn't do it without them.” .