Ranking the Top 10 Olympic Performances by NCAA Gymnasts

I’m no judge (I leave that to Rhiannon), but I wanted to take a look back at the Olympic routines performed at the Games by past or present NCAA gymnasts and rank the top ones. I started in 1984, as far back as I personally remember, and watched NCAA athletes up through the 2020 Tokyo Games for inspiration. Some of these gymnasts are Americans, some are international athletes, still others are Americans who competed for another country. Now that more gymnasts are combining elite and NCAA competition and staying in the sport longer, we’ll be seeing more incredible routines like these well into the future! 

10. Kathy Johnson Clarke, beam, 1984

It’s the queen! Johnson Clarke won a bronze with this routine, the second American woman (after teammate Julianne McNamara, who got a bronze on bars the day prior) to medal at both Worlds and the Olympics. There’s more dance here than a modern routine, but it’s all connected beautifully and with few pauses. Stunning. Six years before the Los Angeles Games, Johnson Clarke won a national title for Centenary College. 

9. Courtney Kupets Carter, bars, 2004

Future Georgia superstar Kupets Carter won a bronze medal with this routine, and you can see the makings of her college greatness in it with her straight arms and vertical handstands. She winces notably when she lands, likely because (never forget!) she competed this routine with a stress fracture in her hip. 

8. Houry Gebeshian, bars, 2016

The pure joy here! Watch her hug and kiss the bars after she salutes! She was able to have her mount named for her after competing it in Rio. Gebeshian competed at Iowa from 2008-11 before representing Armenia, where she claims dual citizenship, at the Olympics.

7. Madison Kocian, bars, 2016

Kocian, the first Olympic gold medalist to compete in NCAA gymnastics, won a silver medal with this bar routine in Rio. It’s fluid, has great form, and she sticks the hell out of that dismount. 

6. Missy Marlowe, compulsory floor, 1988

Ah, compulsories. Marlowe’s grace and flexibility is on full display here in what was the leadoff routine for the U.S. in the team competition at the Seoul Games. You can see the hallmarks of what would become her award-winning routines at Utah. 

5. Suni Lee, bars, 2021

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCdqxi40dEQ

Lee was the unexpected all-around champion of the Tokyo Games, and bars was her standout event. This is from her bronze medal-winning event final routine in Tokyo. The way she connects so many high-flying skills and does it smoothly is awesome. 

4. Mohini Bhardwaj, beam, 2004

Bhardwaj famously did not warm up this routine and was thrown into competition with five minutes’ notice after Courtney Kupets was too injured to go on. It’s pristine angry beam, and she nails it. Bhardwaj had competed for UCLA prior to her Olympic run. 

3. Stella Umeh, floor, 1992

This was Umeh’s team final floor routine; she was the top Canadian at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona with a 16th-place finish in the all-around. Umeh went on to compete for UCLA, where she was a two-time NCAA champion on floor and is now a popular choreographer for NCAA and elite routines alike. 

2. Brooklyn Moors, floor, 2021

Moors, who competes for UCLA, was on the Canadian Olympic team in Tokyo; this was her floor routine during the all-around final. The elegance! The mood! The exquisite artistry! Moors is always a stunner on floor, and she gave it her all here, placing 16th overall in the all-around. 

1. Jade Carey, floor, 2021

https://youtu.be/Sf_fv-WuGIk?si=-GpknzqNgZp5qAPr

It’s pretty amazing that when we saw Carey win floor gold in Tokyo, we had not yet seen her compete in NCAA (she would begin her first competition season with Oregon State in 2022). This routine is pure power and determination—and utterly deserving of gold—there and here. 

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Article by Lela Moore