Madison Desch

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Madison Desch
Personal information
Nickname(s)Maddie
Country represented United States
Born (1997-08-25) August 25, 1997 (age 26)
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
HometownLenexa, Kansas, U.S.
Height5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior International Elite
Years on national team2011–14 (US)
ClubGreat American Gymnastics Express
College teamAlabama Crimson Tide
Head coach(es)Al Fong and Armine Barutyan Fong
MusicLerneciner by Lavanda Trio (2011-2012)
RetiredMay 29, 2016
Medal record
Representing  United States
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2014 Nanning Team
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2015 Toronto Team
Silver medal – second place 2015 Toronto All-Around
Pan American Championships
Gold medal – first place 2014 Mississauga Team

Madison "Maddie" Desch (born August 25, 1997) is a retired American artistic gymnast who was a member of the gold medal winning US team at the 2014 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and 2015 Pan American Games. She competed on the gymnastics team at the University of Alabama where she accepted a full athletic scholarship to study beginning in 2016.

Junior elite career[edit]

2011[edit]

Desch's elite debut was at the 2011 CoverGirl Classic. She tied for third on vault and placed eighth on balance beam.[1] She finished ninth in the all-around, and qualified for the Junior National Championships.[2]

At the 2011 Junior Visa Championships, Desch placed tied for seventh on vault, nineteenth on bars, seventeenth on beam, and fifth on floor exercise.[3] She was added to the Junior National Team.[4]

2012[edit]

At the start of the year, Desch competed at the City of Jesolo competition with teammates Katelyn Ohashi, Bailie Key, Lexie Priessman, and Amelia Hundley. The team won the gold medal,[5] and Desch placed 5th in the all-around.[6]

At the U.S. Secret Classic, she placed 2nd in the all-around behind Simone Biles.[7]

At the Visa National Championships, Desch placed second in the all-around behind Lexie Priessman.[8] She also became the balance beam junior national champion with a score of 29.150.[9]

Senior elite career[edit]

2013[edit]

Desch's senior debut was at the Secret US Classic. She only competed on balance beam, where she placed sixth.[10]

At the P&G National Championships, she placed ninth in the all-around[11] and fourth on floor exercise.[12] However, she was not added back to the National team until the November training camp.[13]

2014[edit]

At the City of Jesolo Trophy, she contributed to the USA's gold medal finish, and placed eighth in the all-around.[14]

Desch competed two events at the 2014 Secret U.S. Classic, finishing 13th.[15]

In August and September, Desch competed at the Pan American Championships in Mississauga, Canada. She helped the American team place first in the team competition. Individually, she placed fifth in the all-around competition with a score of 54.900.[16]

Desch was selected to compete at the 2014 World Championships in Nanning, China,[17] but she was later named the alternate.

2015[edit]

Desch competed at the 2015 City of Jesolo Trophy for the U.S. National team. On April 10, 2015, Desch announced that she was committed to the University of Alabama and their gymnastics team to do collegiate gymnastics.[18]

On August 13, Desch competed at the P&G Championships where she competed on 3 events (not vault). She started on bars and scored a 13.100. She had a sub-par beam routine and scored a 13.850. On floor, she scored a 13.500.[citation needed] She withdrew from the remainder of the competition because of a back injury.[citation needed] However, Desch was invited to the Worlds training camp at the Karolyi Ranch.[19]

On November 11, 2015, she signed the National Letter of Intent to the University of Alabama.[20]

2016[edit]

On May 29, 2016, Desch announced her retirement from elite gymnastics via her personal Instagram account,[21] citing a persistent back injury. She said she would focus instead on preparing for her collegiate career at the University of Alabama.

NCAA career[edit]

2017[edit]

In her freshman season at the University of Alabama, Desch was named to the Scholastic All-American, All-SEC, and SEC All-Freshman team and scored a 9.95 on both vault and floor during the regular season.[22] Alabama advanced to the NCAA Championship final (Super Six), ultimately placing sixth.[23]

2018[edit]

In her sophomore season, Desch was named a Scholastic All-American and to the SEC Academic Honor Roll. Alabama again advanced to the NCAA Championships, but did not make the Super Six, after placing fifth in the semifinal.[24] She matched her career-high 9.95 on floor against Arkansas in February 2018.[25]

2019[edit]

In her junior season, Desch earned All-SEC honors for the second time, and was named a Scholastic All-American and to the SEC Academic Honor Roll. She earned a 9.9 on floor exercise at the SEC Championships, where Alabama posted a season-high score in the first session.[26]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Results usagym.org Archived August 16, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Results usagym.org Archived August 16, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Results usagym.org Archived December 21, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "USA Gymnastics names 2011 U.S. Women's National Teams".
  5. ^ Results usagym.org [dead link]
  6. ^ Results usagym.org [dead link]
  7. ^ Results usagym.org [dead link]
  8. ^ Results usagym.org [dead link]
  9. ^ Results usagym.org [dead link]
  10. ^ Results usagym.org [dead link]
  11. ^ Results usagym.org [dead link]
  12. ^ Results usagym.org [dead link]
  13. ^ "Athletes confirmed for final 2013 international assignments following successful National Team Camp". Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  14. ^ "2014 City of Jesolo Wrap up and Results". March 23, 2014.
  15. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 12, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ^ "USA wins women's team gold at Senior Pan American Championships". usagym.org. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  17. ^ "USA Gymnastics Announces U.S. Women's Team For 2014 World Championships". USA Gymnastics. September 17, 2014. Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  18. ^ Maddie Desch [@maddie_desch16] (April 10, 2015). "So excited to finally say that I have committed to the University of Alabama on a full ride gymnastics scholarship! Roll Tide!🐘❤️ #thankful" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ^ "USA Gymnastics announces 2015 World Championships training squad". USA Gymnastics. August 19, 2015.
  20. ^ Alabama Gymnastics [@BamaGymnastics] (November 11, 2015). "Alabama Gymnastics on Twitter: "Welcome Maddie to the @BamaGymnastics family! #RollTide #BuiltByBama #Gymnastics - https://t.co/W24IkreEpo https://t.co/5Gud5GFUwe" / Twitter" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. ^ "Login • Instagram". Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  22. ^ "Maddie Desch - Gymnastics".
  23. ^ "The Leading Source of Gymnastics News". International Gymnast Magazine Online. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  24. ^ "2018 Women's Gymnastics Bracket | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  25. ^ Maddie Desch (Alabama) - Floor Exercise (9.950) - Arkansas at Alabama 2018. YouTube. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021.
  26. ^ Alabama Gymnastics SEC Championships 2019 tidesports.com [dead link]