Former Olympic Gymnast At Mason

Written by Broadside Style Editor Emily Sharrer
Last Tuesday, Dominique Dawes, a three-time Olympic gymnast and part of the 1996 Olympic Women’s Gymnastics team that won the first ever gold medal for United States team competition, spoke at George Mason University. Before Dawes gave a motivational speech in Harris Theatre, Broadside had the chance to sit down with the famous gymnast to talk about her historic win and her current work mentoring young women.

Q: You’ve been rapped about by Lil’ Wayne and been in videos for other major artists, did you ever think gymnastics would lead you there?
A: The Lil’ Wayne rapping video wasn’t something I was obviously striving for, but I did work with Missy Elliott and I’ve also worked with Prince and those are just little perks that I got for winning a gold medal.

Q: How does winning gold at the 1996 Olympics with the Magnificent Seven compare with the feelings you get today mentoring and coaching young women
A: It’s actually more important, the work I do today, and the feelings do match that. Obviously it’s not as intense when it comes to dealing wth pressure or the nervousness. I mean, I get nervous all the time before I speak or before I do an event…but as Michelle Obama told me at one of the events I spoke for to promote Barack’s campaign, she said ‘you’re not nervous, you’re excited’...I’m excited about the opportunity of empowering and impacting the audience.

Q: At 19 did you realize the gravity of what you were achieving to be the first African-American to win an individual bronze medal and a team gold medal in gymnastics?
A: I don’t think I recognized the magnitude until 2001. I was watching Halle Berry go for [an Oscar] and she ended up winning and I sat there in my living room with tears streaming down my face and I was so excited for her, but then I also thought about the number of young African-American girls and also minority girls that were gonna watch Halle win and feel like they too could become an actress and they too could achieve the pinnacle in the arts. And so it was then that I opened my eyes to the impact I had made on other people.

Q: Shannon Miller: nemesis or friend?
A: Friend. She just texted [me] today. We’re hanging out in Oklahoma next week.

Q: So you keep up with the rest of the Magnificent Seven? A: Shannon and I tend to do very similar work—I do a great deal of motivational speaking and I believe she is still on the motivational speaking circuit as well . . . but Amy Chow’s a doctor, Kerri [Strug] works for the local government . . . Amanda Borden owns her own gymnastics gym . Jaycie [Phelps], the last time we talked, which was many months ago—at least six months ago—she was coaching in Colorado and Dominique Moceanu is a mother and is coaching as well.

Q: What’s the hardest skill you can still pull?
A: I really wouldn’t know and don’t want to know because I would probably injure myself. I do a little coaching on the side, I’ll do private lessons and mainly gymnastics clinics and of course people want me to demonstrate...some of my teammates will still do flips— I’m not interested. I can do splits I can hold a handstand for a minute and a half still, but when it comes to actual real gymnatics moves, like Olympic moves, I would truly injure myself. You would need a gurney next to me.