Alexandra Rose Raisman Bio

Alexandra Rose Raisman was born May 25, 1994. She is a retired American artistic gymnast. She was the captain of both the 2012 "Fierce Five" and the 2016 "Final Five" U.S. women's Olympic gymnastics teams. Both won their respective teams competitions.At the 2012 Olympics in London she took home gold medals in both team and floor competitions, as well as the bronze medal for the balance beam, which made her the most well-known American gymnast of the Games. She received the gold medal in the team competition at the 2016 Olympics. Gabby Douglas was her teammate and received gold. Raisman was also awarded silver medals in the individual all around and floor exercises. Raisman also took home silver medals in the individual all-around and for floor exercise. She also is an Olympic champion twice on the floor exercise (2012, 2015) and the 2012 champion of the national team on balance beam and five times a medallist in the all-around competition at the national championships (silver in 2016, bronze in 2010, 2011 and the 2015 season). In 2013, she was admitted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Raisman was born on 25 May 1994 in Needham, Massachusetts to Lynn Faber (nee Faber), who was a former high school gymnast as was Rick Raisman. She has three younger siblings, Madison, Chloe and Brett. Raisman is Jewish, and has said, "I take a lot of satisfaction in the fact that I can not only represent the U.S.A, but also the Jewish community across the world. "Raisman began gymnastics when was eighteen months old. She credits her first love for the sport to the "Magnificent Seven", the gold-medal winning U.S. women's team at the 1996 Summer Olympics which she watched on VHS.She participated in Exxcel Gymnastics and Climbing through Level 8, when she moved to Brestyan's American Gymnastics Club under coaches Mihai and Silvia Brestyan. Raisman graduated Needham High School, 2012, after finishing her senior year with online courses and training to compete in the Olympics.