Alicia Marie Sacramone (born December 3, 1987) is an
American gymnast from Winchester, Massachusetts. A
member of the U.S. National Team, she is the 2005
World Champion on floor exercise, the current U.S.
National Champion on vault, and a seven-time
medalist at the World Championships.
Sacramone was born on December 3, 1987 to parents
Fred and Gail Sacramone. She is of Italian descent.
Sacramone has an older brother, Jonathan, who is 5
1/2 years her senior.
Sacramone began studying dance at the age of 3 and
started training gymnastics five years later, at age
8, in 1996. She began her gymnastics career with
Romanian coaches Mihai and Silvia Brestyan at
Gymnastics and More club and continued to train with
them after they opened their own training facility
in Ashland. The Brestyans still serve as Sacramone's
coaches.
Sacramone entered the elite ranks in 2002, placing
7th in the all-around and 6th on the vault in the
junior division at that year's U.S. Classic
competition. At the 2002 U.S. National
Championships, she placed 22nd, but achieved a
seventh place finish on the balance beam. Her
results improved immensely the next year, when she
placed 14th in the all-around and won a bronze medal
on the vault at the 2003 U.S. Nationals, earning a
spot on the U.S. National gymnastics team. Sacramone
also participated in her first international
competition in 2003, the Massilia Cup in France,
where she placed 4th on the floor exercise and 9th
on vault.
In 2004, Sacramone earned a spot on the American
team for the important Pacific Alliance
Championships in Hawaii. She contributed several
scores to help the team to a gold medal finish and
won the individual vault title. Sacramone's strong
performances caught the attention of the media, who
began to consider her a legitimate contender for the
American team at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
However, at the 2004 U.S. Nationals, an error-filled
performance dashed Sacramone's hopes of an Olympic
berth. Although she tied with Mohini Bhardwaj for
the silver medal on the vault, she finished in 19th
place overall and did not qualify to the Olympic
Trials. She also suffered an injury to her back and
required time off to recover.
