The All Olympia Gymnastics Center or AOGC is a one-facility gymnastics gym in Calabasas.[1] A previous location in Hawthorne, California, was closed down.
The head coaches are 1983 World Vault Champion Artur Akopyan and 1980 Olympian Galina Marinova. Their notable elite gymnasts are 2012 Olympic Champion McKayla Maroney, 2010 World Team Member Mattie Larson and Stanford Cardinal Samantha Shapiro.[2][3]
History
editAOGC is owned by former Olympic gymnast Galina Marinova and World Champion/Olympian Artur Akopyan. The Hawthorne, California, location was used to train actors from the 2006 gymnastics movie Stick It.[4]
In 2010, AOGC had a new member, Junior elite gymnast McKayla Maroney transferred from Gym-Max Gymnastics in Costa Mesa. McKayla competed at the U.S Nationals, placing 3rd in the all-around and winning the Vault. Mattie Larson won the floor at the U.S Nationals and was named to the U.S 2010 World Gymnastics Championships team.
In 2011, Samantha Shapiro ended her elite career, going into Collegiate gymnastics, for UCLA and Stanford. Meanwhile, Maroney was named to the U.S Worlds Squad. She took the team gold and also won the World title on the Vault.
In 2012, McKayla was named to the U.S Olympic Squad. Injured in the leadup to the Olympics, Maroney competed only on her best event, vault. She competed a near-flawless vault during team finals and later won the silver medal on vault.
In 2013, Maroney took the U.S National titles on Floor and Vault and was later named to the 2013 Worlds Squad. She won a gold medal for vault.
Sex abuse involvement and location closure
editAOGC was "at the center" of the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal with AOGC, Akopya, and Marinova involved in multiple lawsuits.[5] Both Maroney and Larson, while members of AOGC, were abused by Larry Nassar when with the United States women's national artistic gymnastics team.[5] AOGC reached a settlement with Larson in June 2018 for $1 million and in November 2018 closed its Hawthorne, California, location.[6][5]
Notable gymnasts & alumni
editReferences
edit- ^ "All Olympia Gymnastics Center". allolympiagym.com. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
- ^ "All Olympia Gymnastics Center". plus.google.com. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
- ^ "All Olympia Gymnastics Center Camp". savvysource.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
- ^ Meyers, Dvora (April 28, 2021). "How 'Stick It' Stuck It: An Oral History of the Best Gymnastics Movie of All Time". vice.com. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ^ a b c Reid, Scott M. (November 5, 2018). "All Olympia, former gymnastics training center for McKayla Maroney, shuts down amid scandals, lawsuits". The Orange County Register. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
- ^ "All Olympia Gymnastics Settles with Medalist for $1M". athleticbusiness.com. November 6, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2023.