Aly Raisman

Aly Raisman Speaker Biography

Olympic Gold Medalist, World Champion Gymnast, Analyst
and Best-Selling Author

Aly Raisman is a gymnast and an Olympic gold medalist. She was captain of the gold medal-winning “Fierce Five” US Women’s Gymnastics team at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and the “Final Five” US Women’s Gymnastics team at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She was also on the US team that won the 2011 and 2015 World Championships. She recently joined ESPN as college gymnastics analyst.

London Olympics 2012

Raisman and her teammates, nick-named the “Fierce Five,” qualified in first place to the team final in London in 2012. Raisman qualified in first to the floor final with a score of 15.325. She also qualified in second place for the individual all-around competition and fifth to the beam final. After qualifications, Raisman said, “Before we marched out we talked about how we want to have fun here and really enjoy it. We talked about going out and hitting all of our routines just like at 2011 World Championships and that’s what we did. I’m really proud of our team.”

Team First Place Finish

In the team final, Raisman contributed scores of 14.933 on balance beam and 15.300 on floor toward the American team’s first place finish. In the individual all-around, Raisman finished in fourth place with an overall score of 59.566. In the balance beam final, Raisman won the bronze medal.

Olympic Gold Medal

In the floor final, Raisman won the gold medal with a score of 15.600. She said, “It feels amazing. I have been working so hard, so to have it come true is so exciting. I have always dreamed of being the Olympic Champion on floor, so I was really happy to be able to do the floor routine of my life here today.” She is the first American woman to win the gold medal on floor.

Dancing With The Stars

The following year, Raisman appeared on the 16th season of the ABC reality competition show Dancing with the Stars. She finished in fourth place, with her run on the show ending during the season finale.

Rio Olympics 2016

At the 2016 Olympic Games, Raisman saw continued success with the “Final Five” in Rio. During the first night of women’s gymnastics competition, Raisman and the U.S. women qualified into the team final in first place with a score of 185.238, nearly 10 points ahead of the second-place qualifying team. Individually, Raisman qualified second to the all-around final with a score of 60.607 and to the floor exercise final with a score of 15.275. She also posted one of the highest beam scores in qualification, an event she was the defending Olympic bronze medalist, but due to the two-per-country rule was bumped from event finals.

USA Team Gold Medal

Raisman competed on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise to help secure the gold medal for the U.S. team and defend the title she earned with the Fierce Five in 2012. She scored 15.833 on vault, 15.000 on beam and 15.366 on floor. At the end of the competition, she and her teammates dubbed themselves “The Final Five,” because they were the last Olympic team Marta Karolyi would name before she retired as team coordinator. These were the last Olympics where the teams would consist of five gymnasts, as it was announced earlier in the year that, starting with the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, competing teams would be reduced to four gymnasts.

Silver Medal

In the all-around final, Raisman scored a 15.633 on vault, 14.166 on bars, 14.866 on beam and 15.433 on floor to place second with a total score of 60.098, earning her silver medal. She was most noted for bursting into tears after the completion of her floor routine in the final rotation, having avenged the heartbreak of losing an all-around medal via a tiebreak four years earlier.

Second Most Decorated American Olympic Gymnast

In the floor final, Raisman finished second with a score of 15.500, bringing her to a total of six Olympic medals. This made her the second most decorated American Olympic gymnast behind Shannon Miller.

Affiliations

Aly also works as a model, appearing in publications and campaigns, including Sports Illustrated. She has a number of brand endorsements and partnerships. She has worked with Ralph Lauren, GK Elite Sportswear, American Girl, Poland Spring and Pandora Jewelry. She had an endorsement deal with Under Armour and is now a model for Aerie.

#MeToo – Sexual Abuse Awareness Advocate

In November of 2017, Aly came forward as one of the victims of abuse by former Olympic team physician Larry Nassar. In January of 2018 read an impact statement at Nassar’s sentencing. Since speaking out against Nassar, Raisman has continued to push for change from USA Gymnastics and other involved parties. Raisman, alongside over 300 other women, was awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2018 ESPY Awards, for speaking out about and shining a light on sexual abuse in sports, and demanding change and accountability. Aly is the USA Today Woman of the Year 2024 recipient for advocacy efforts surrounding the prevention of sexual abuse.

Documentary

In her recent Lifetime documentary, Darkness to Light, Aly explores her journey and finds a path to healing after her experience with sexual abuse. Throughout the three-hour special, Raisman solicits advice from other sexual abuse advocates, like #metoo movement founder Tarana Burke, who counsels the retired gymnast to make sure she looks after her own mental health as she embarks on the journey to speak with other survivors.