Valerie Le Zimring-Schneiderman (born March 28, 1965, in Los Angeles) is a former Olympic rhythmic gymnast. She represented the United States at the 1984 Summer Olympics, and finished 11th in the individual all-around.
| Valerie Zimring | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Valerie Le Zimring-Schneiderman |
| Country represented |  United States |
| Born | March 28, 1965 Los Angeles, California |
| Height | 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in) |
| Discipline | Rhythmic gymnastics |
| Years on national team | 1979–85 |
Early life edit
Zimring was born in Los Angeles, and lived in Cheviot Hills, Los Angeles.[1] She attended UCLA for college and graduate school, earning a B.A. as well as an M.A. in program-dance.[2][3]
Career edit
At 11 years of age, Zimring learned she had a stress fracture in her back.[3] Having just reached the Class I level in artistic gymnastics, she had to leave it to pursue rhythmic gymnastics, which she was still able to do.[3]
Zimring was a member of the United States National Team for seven years (1979–85) and the USA World Championship team from 1981 to 1983. In 1982, she won the All-Around title at the U.S. Junior National Championship. She also won at the Austrian Invitational in 1983, becoming the first American to win an international Rhythmic Gymnastics competition.[4]
She competed at the 1981 World Championships and the 1983 World Championships, finishing 44th and 48th in the all-around respectively.[5][6] She was the 1984 National All-around Champion, qualifying to compete in the Olympics.[4][7]
She represented the United States at the 1984 Summer Olympics, and finished 11th in the individual all-around. It was the best finish to date by an American in that event.[4][8]
Zimring is Jewish, and won five gold medals at the 1985 Maccabiah Games in Israel.[4][9]
Zimring coached the USA National Team in 1987–88.[4]
Halls of Fame edit
She was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.[10] She was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2007.[11]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "U.S. on Move in Rhythmic Gymnastics". latimes.
- ^ "UCLA's All-Time Olympians". uclabruins.com.
- ^ a b c "Biography: ZIMRING-SCHNEIDERMAN, Valerie". usghof.org.
- ^ a b c d e "Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Home". scjewishsportshof.com.
- ^ Kochann, Alexander (March 18, 1999). "1981 World Championships Individual All-Around". Rhythmic Gymnastics. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
- ^ Kochann, Alexander (March 18, 1999). "1983 World Championships Individual All-Around". Rhythmic Gymnastics. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
- ^ "Valerie Zimring-Schneiderman". USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame. USA Gymnastics. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
- ^ "Valerie Zimring". sports-reference. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
- ^ Abel, Robert (July 10, 2013). "Maccabiah coach continues gymnastics tradition". Jewish Journal. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
- ^ "Valerie Zimring". Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
- ^ "Class of 2007". USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame. USA Gymnastics. Retrieved April 6, 2015.