1 in the nation in the all-around and on vault. “Up until now, I was identified as Athlete A by USA gymnastics, the US Olympic Committee and Michigan State University. This also ensured Oklahoma's first ever undefeated season in program history. Maggie Nichols always wanted to be an Olympic gymnast and she seemed on the cusp of making that dream a reality in 2016, but her hopes were dashed after she reported sexual abuse at the hands of a U.S. national team doctor and ended up being ostracized because of it. She made history as the first gymnast to score multiple marks of 39.9 or higher, according to her Sooner Sports profile. [30] The Sooners finished their home stretch with a quad meet against Arkansas, Arizona State, and Denver, where Nichols earned titles on balance beam and in the all-around. [13], On July 25, she competed at the U.S. Classic and finished third in the all-around, behind Biles, the now two-time reigning world all-around champion, and 2012 Olympic all-around champion Gabby Douglas. Nichols was added to the national team in March and was selected to represent the United States at the City of Jesolo Trophy and the Germany-Romania-USA Friendly. In addition, it looks into systemic cover-ups and delays in reporting the abuse by USA gymnastics and Michigan State University. Now I believe this was part of the grooming process I recently learned about.”, A post shared by MAGGIE NICHOLS (@callmeswags) on Mar 31, 2019 at 3:04pm PDT. [5] At the City of Jesolo Trophy, she finished first with the team and sixth in the all-around, and won a silver medal on the floor exercise. She helped lead the team to gold in the 2015 world championships, and was considered a favorite for a spot on the Olympics roster, ESPN reported. Her daughter faced a serious injury shortly before the Olympic trials in 2016, sexual abuse by Nassar and a career cut short. During the team final, she competed on all four events,[15] contributing an all-around total of 59.232 toward the U.S. women's gold-medal finish. She also placed third on uneven bars and floor exercise and fourth on balance beam. [41] She spent the remainder of the season only competing on two events, uneven bars and balance beam, hoping to return to the all-around in the post-season. We were subjected to Dr. Nassar at every National Team Camp which occurred monthly at the Karolyi Ranch. [31], Oklahoma ended the regular season by traveling to Alabama and Texas Woman's.

His job was to care for our health and treat our injuries. She made history as the first gymnast to score multiple marks of 39.9 or higher, according to her Sooner Sports profile. The front tuck is an extremely difficult skill. She thought this was strange, but did not question him because he was a trusted adult in her life and highly regarded by USA Gymnastics. She also earned additional titles on floor exercise and in the all-around. She debuted her Amanar vault, scoring 15.80, and finished fifth on uneven bars and balance beam with scores of 14.95 and 14.45, respectively.

“I trusted what he was doing at first, but then he started touching me in places I really didn’t think he should,” she wrote. Although gymnastics dashed Maggie Nichols’ dreams twice, first with the sexual abuse of Dr. Larry Nassar and again with a halt to sports during her senior year at the University of Oklahoma, she leaves a legacy as one of the best NCAA gymnasts of all time. At the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Nichols competed on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise in the preliminary round. [29] She repeated her sweep of the individual titles (sharing the uneven bars title with teammate Lehrmann) the following week while competing against Michigan. “I have been so blessed to be able to represent the United States in multiple international competitions and the World championships and becoming a world champion,” she wrote. Maggie Nichols, who was featured prominently in Netflix documentary, “Athlete A,” recently retired from NCAA gymnastics at the conclusion of a historic career cut short by the coronavirus. She says, ‘OK, this is what happened to me,’ and then just gets on with it. Nichols’ mom, Gina Nichols, described her daughter as a resilient and centered person who pushes through obstacles and keeps going. He did this ‘treatment’ on me, on numerous occasions. Last week she got a 10 but she didn't do the front tuck.

Team Coordinator Marta Karolyi told ESPN that Nichols did not make the Olympics roster because she did not score in the top three for any event. She also earned a share of the vault and uneven bars titles and again won the all-around. Nichols’ Olympic dreams were solidified when she was 9, she told ESPN. Go Sooners❤️ Xoxo, swags, A post shared by MAGGIE NICHOLS (@callmeswags) on Jul 13, 2016 at 1:06pm PDT. She went on to place third in the all-around and on floor exercise at the U.S. Classic, as well as fifth on uneven bars and seventh on balance beam. [25], Continuing the season with a dual meet at UCLA, Nichols notched her first 10 of the season en route to the event title on balance beam (sharing the title with Webb and Peng-Peng Lee of UCLA).

She was the ninth NCAA gymnast to complete a Gym Slam,[1] the first to do so for Oklahoma,[2] and the first NCAA gymnast to have achieved it twice. Nichols was ready to help lead the Sooners to a second-straight NCAA championship and win her third straight all-around national title when it all came to a close. I still hope I can continue to inspire people to reach there goals and dreams.✨ I'm excited to continue my journey at the University of Oklahoma starting in August. [52], On March 24, 2020, Nichols was named a First Team All-American in the all-around and in all four events. She had career highs of 10 in vault, bars, beam and floor with an all-around 39.925 score. “I remember so vividly wanting it when I would throw the penny.”. During her beam warm-up, she fell on her full-twisting double back dismount and decided to change it to a simpler double pike.

2 UCLA", "Oklahoma's Maggie Nichols Named Honda Sport Award Winner for Gymnastics", "Nichols wins Honda Sport Award for gymnastics", "SOONERS OPEN 2020 WITH COLLEGIATE CHALLENGE WIN", "NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships", "Oklahoma Women's Gymnastics on Instagram: "Thank you, Sooner Nation. This has been the hardest decision I've made, but it's what is right for me. I am super proud of all of her accomplishments, but I’m most proud of the person she is and how she’s dealt with everything that’s happened in her life. [42] Nichols helped Oklahoma earn their eighth straight Big 12 Conference Championship and individually Nichols won the balance beam title and was a co-champion on the uneven bars. “I have no idea where she gets it from, certainly not me, but Maggie doesn’t have a negative bone in her body,” Gina Nichols told ESPN. [37], On December 13, 2018, it was announced that Nichols would receive the 2019 NCAA Inspiration Award for coming forward as "Athlete A" (the first to report former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar to USA Gymnastics) and publicly addressing the sexual abuse she endured. “My wish in the wishing bowl was always that,” she said. Getty When I was talking to her, my coach overheard. She additionally was co-champion on the vault alongside Ross, Kennedi Edney of LSU, and Derrian Gobourne of Auburn and placed second on uneven bars behind Sarah Finnegan of LSU. Also thank you to all of you for all the love and support throughout my elite career, I wouldn’t be where I am today without you all.”, A post shared by MAGGIE NICHOLS (@callmeswags) on Oct 13, 2016 at 8:09pm PDT. Although Nichols was unable to pursue her Olympic dreams, she had a dazzling career with USA Gymnastics and went on to compete in NCAA gymnastics. [54][55] In April Nichols was awarded the AAI Award, becoming the first recipient from Oklahoma. [26] She followed up this remarkable performance by repeating her perfect 10 on balance beam at the following week's dual meet versus North Carolina. I can’t thank my coaches and my parents enough for everything they have done for me, and sacrificed for me. [60] Nichols' experience was highlighted in the Netflix documentary Athlete A, as well as the HBO documentary At the Heart of Gold. However, she performed well on the other events, including uneven bars, where she finished first in a six-way tie. I want everyone to know that he did not do this to Athlete A, he did it to Maggie Nichols,” she wrote. Copyright © 2020 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 Oklahoma in victory over No.

Read more about the cover-up and former USA Gymnastics CEO Steve Penny here. For the second year in a row, she was named the South Central Region Gymnast of the Year. She even upgraded from last week. She also scored 14.55 on floor.

Instead, he violated our innocence.”. Maggie Nichols was the first gymnast to report Nassar’s abuse back in 2015, although her identity has only recently been revealed and she was previously referred to … Hi friends!! [34], At regionals in Minneapolis, Nichols helped the Sooners qualify to the national championships by scoring a perfect 10 on balance beam. [3] At the USA Gymnastics National Championships, she was the bronze medalist in the all-around and on uneven bars and floor exercise in 2014 and the silver medalist in the all-around in 2015. Read more about Larry Nassar and his case here.

Today I am announcing my retirement from elite gymnastics.