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Aly Raisman

b. May 25, 1994

by JWA Staff
Our work to expand the Encyclopedia is ongoing. We are providing this brief biography for Aly Raisman until we are able to commission a full entry.

Gymnast Aly Raisman.

Alexandra “Aly” Raisman not only won gold and bronze medals for her individual performances at the 2012 Olympics but also captained the women’s gymnastics team that won the gold medal that year. Raisman began practicing gymnastics in 1996 when she was two years old. She took online classes for her senior year of high school to allow her to focus on training for the Olympics. Between 2009 and 2012, she dominated the sport, becoming a three-time World Championship medalist and eight-time National Championship medalist, as well as winning numerous international competitions. At the 2012 Olympics, she earned a gold medal for her floor routine and bronze for her balance beam work and helped the US team win the gold medal, making her the most decorated gymnast of the year. Proud of her Jewish heritage, she dedicated her Olympic routine to the memory of the murdered athletes of the 1972 Munich Games. Later that year, following an injury during a routine on the uneven bars, Raisman retired from athletics. She came out of retirement to compete in the 2016 Olympic games, where she won one gold and two silver medals, and then resumed her retirement from gymnastics. Outside of gymnastics, she has served as a contestant and finalist on the 2013 season of Dancing with the Stars, as a spokesperson for various companies, as a volunteer for the Special Olympics and MitoAction (an organization that helps those with mitochondrial disorders), and made a cameo appearance in the film Charlie’s Angels (2019). While an Olympic athlete, Raisman experienced sexual abuse at the hands of team doctor Larry Nassar. In recent years she has come forward about her experiences, most notably through her role in the TV special Darkness to Light, in which she and other abuse survivors share their stories and create mutual webs of support. She also supports the charity Darkness to Light, which seeks to aid survivors of child sexual abuse. 

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How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Aly Raisman." (Viewed on March 28, 2024) <http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/raisman-aly>.