Isabelle Connor
Nickname(s)Izzy
Born (2000-07-22) July 22, 2000 (age 23)
HometownManhattan Beach, California, US
ResidenceSanta Cruz, California, US
Height5 ft 7 in (170 cm)[1]
DisciplineRhythmic gymnastics
Years on national team2018 - present
ClubNorth Shore Rhythmic Gymnastics Center
Medal record
Rhythmic gymnastics
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 2019 Lima Group all-around
Silver medal – second place 2019 Lima 5 balls
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Santiago Group all-Around
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Santiago 5 Hoops
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Santiago 3 ribbons + 2 balls
Pan American Championships
Silver medal – second place 2018 Lima Group all-around
Silver medal – second place 2018 Lima 3 balls + 2 ropes
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Rio de Janeiro Group All-around
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Rio de Janeiro 5 balls
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Rio de Janeiro 3 hoops + 4 clubs
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Guadalajara Group All-around

Isabelle Connor (born July 22, 2000[2]) is an American group rhythmic gymnast who represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She was the first student at the University of California, Santa Cruz to compete at the Olympics.[3][4]

Personal life

Connor was born on July 22, 2000, and her hometown is Manhattan Beach, California.[5] She began artistic gymnastics when she was two years old, and she switched to rhythmic gymnastics when she was ten at the suggestion of her coaches.[6] In 2017, she moved to Chicago to train with the U.S. national rhythmic gymnastics group.[1][3] She was a student at Mira Costa High School, but she finished her senior year in homeschool after moving.[6] She is currently[when?] a student at the University of California, Santa Cruz studying astronomy and astrophysics.[7] She speaks both English and Russian.[5]

Career

Connor began her career as an individual rhythmic gymnast, but she switched to group rhythmic gymnastics and joined the U.S. National Team in 2018.[3][6] She competed at the 2018 World Championships in Sofia where the American group finished fourteenth in the all-around.[8] At the 2018 Pan American Championships, Connor and the U.S. team won the silver medal in both the group all-around and the 3 balls + 2 ropes event final.[9]

Connor competed at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima and helped the American team win the silver medal in the group all-around and in the 5 balls event final.[10] Then at the 2019 World Championships in Baku, the American group finished tenth.[11]

At the 2021 Pan American Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Connor and the American group won the bronze medals in the all-around, and in both the 5 balls and the 3 hoops + 4 clubs event finals.[2] The United States qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games after Japan's host spot was reallocated because of their 2019 World Championship top-ten finish. Connor was selected to represent the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics alongside Camilla Feeley, Lili Mizuno, Nicole Sladkov, and Elizaveta Pletneva.[12] She was the first UC Santa Cruz student to compete at the Olympic Games.[4] They finished eleventh in the qualification round for the group all-around.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b "Connor Isabelle". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Isabelle Connor". USA Gymnastics. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Blackwell, Drea (July 21, 2021). "UC Santa Cruz student to compete in Tokyo Olympics". KSBW. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Tokyo, here she comes! UCSC student becomes first athlete from school to head to Olympics". Lookout Santa Cruz. July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Connor Isabelle". International Gymnastics Federation. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c "Isabelle Connor joins national rhythmic gymnastics team". Mira Costa High School. March 23, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  7. ^ Copitch, John (July 2, 2021). "Rhythmic gymnast and UCSC student qualifies for the Tokyo Olympics". KSBW. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  8. ^ "U.S. group finishes 14th at 2018 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships". USA Gymnastics. September 15, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  9. ^ "USA wins eight event medals at 2018 Pan American Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships". USA Gymnastics. September 30, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  10. ^ "Griskenas, Feeley win rhythmic gold medals at 2019 Pan American Games". USA Gymnastics. August 5, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  11. ^ "USA finishes 10th in group all-around at 2019 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships". USA Gymnastics. September 21, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  12. ^ "Laura Zeng leads first full U.S. Olympic rhythmic gymnastics team". NBC Sports. July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  13. ^ "Rhythmic Gymnastics — Group All-Around — Qualification — Results" (PDF). 2020 Summer Olympics. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 8, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2021.

External links

2020 USA Olympic Gymnastics Team
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