Marianna Webster (USA)
1993 US Olympic Festival: 1st T, 3rd AA
1993 US Classic
1994 Goodwill Games: 4th T, 3rd BB
1994 USA vs ROM: 10th AA
1995 US Olympic Festival
1995 US Nationals: 34th AA
Like many parents of elite gymnasts, Rick and Melanie Webster
made many sacrifices for their daughter's career. When Marianna
was 8-years-old, she was invited to train at Karolyi's in
Houston, Texas. Marianna and her mother moved to Houston while
Rick stayed in Joplin, Missouri to work. Marianna spent four
years at Karolyi's, then switched to Steve Nunno's Dynamo
gymnastics club in 1992 when Karolyi announced his (short-lived)
retirement.
Marianna achieved much success
during her early years at Nunno's. She burst onto the national
scene at the 1993 US Olympic Festival, a common "coming
out" competition for many former US athletes including Kim
Zmeskal and Dominique Moceanu. The following year, Marianna made
her international debut at the 1994 Goodwill Games, earning a
bronze on the balance beam. The big story here was that the
judges intially failed to recognize the full start value of
Marianna's routine and Marianna's score placed her fourth. When
the error was pointed out to the judges, the revised score earned
her a bronze medal. The other big story here is that the entire
US women's team was made up of Nunno's athletes. The 1994
Goodwill Games were held two weeks before US Nationals and no
other coach wanted to see their girls overseas so close to such
an important meet.
With the 1996 Olympics two years
away, Marianna looked like a candidate for the US women's team.
Unfortunately, Marianna's body thought otherwise and she was
plagued by injuries for the next two years. These injuries
included three major setbacks, including a pulled inner-leg
muscle, knee surgery and a shoulder separation. It was the
shoulder injury that prevented Marianna from competing at the
1996 US Olympic trials. ``I feel like I would have been one of
the finalists for the team,'' she told The Joplin Globe.
``Whether I would have been one of the top seven, I can't say. I
guess I'll never know.''
Disappointed, Webster left Nunno's
to train with Dominique Dawes at Hill's Angels and began to see a
sports psychologist. She finished her senior year of high school
in Gaithersburg, Maryland and moved on to the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill. At UNC Webster studied B.A. in Exercise and Sports Science, coached
the NCAA gymnastics team in the afternoon.
Today Webster holds a certificate in personal training, from the prestigious
National Strength & Conditioning Association. She presently works at Fit
for Life in Memphis, TN where she's involved with their
"Transformation" program, which helps girls and women deal with body
image and eating disorders.
Outside of work, Webster is a
U.S. gymnastics mentor and sits on the USA Gymnastics Athlete Representative
Council.
Marianna Webster was born on December 14, 1978
. This page was created on April 29, 1999 and last updated on January 8,
2004.
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