| Brenna Dowell | |
|---|---|
 Dowell at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials | |
|
Country represented |
|
|
Born |
March 4 1996 |
|
Years on National Team |
2010-2016 |
|
Club |
GAGE |
|
Coach(es) |
Al Fong & Armine Barutyan Fong |
|
Current status |
Retired |
|
College team |
Oklahoma Sooners |
Brenna Dowell (born March 4, 1996 in Kansas City, Missouri) is a retired American gymnast. She began gymnastics in 1997 at Great American Gymnastics Express with Al and Armine Fong. Her favorite event is uneven bars. She currently attends the University of Oklahoma.
Junior Career
2009
Dowell's national debut came at the 2009 Junior Olympic Level 10 National Championships. She tied for first on vault and placed second in the all-around and tied on floor exercise.
2010
Her elite debut came at the 2010 Pan American Championships. She helped the American team place first in the team final. Dowell then went on to compete at the Junior Visa Championships, where she placed fourth on uneven bars.
2011
In 2011, Dowell started off by competing at the City of Jesolo Trophy. She placed second on uneven bars, seventh in the all-around, and eighth on vault. She then competed at the Junior Visa Championships, where she tied for fifth on vault, and placed sixth in the all-around and uneven bars, and seventh on floor exercise.
Senior Career
2012
Dowell's senior debut came at the 2012 Visa Championships. She placed ninth in the all-around, and petitioned to compete at the Olympic Trials. She tied for eighth on uneven bars and placed ninth in the all-around, but was not named to the Olympic team.
In October, Dowell competed at the Mexico Open. She was originally going to compete with teammate Kennedy Baker until Baker withdrew with an injury. In the competition, Brenna won the all-around and placed first on vault, uneven bars, and floor exercise.
2013
In 2013, Dowell was named to the US team for the European Tour (City of Jesolo Trophy and GER-ROU-USA meet).[1] In Jesolo, she won gold with the American team, bronze in the senior all-around behind compatriots Simone Biles and Kyla Ross, and bronze on uneven bars. She competed in a mixed team with compatriot Amelia Hundley and two German gymnasts at the GER-ROU-USA Friendly, placing fourth.
In July, Dowell competed at the US Classic, where she unveiled a brand new Amanar vault and full-twisting double layout on floor. She placed 3rd in the all-around, sixth on bars, tenth on beam, and fourth on floor. At the National Championships, she won bronze in the all-around and on bars, and placed ninth on beam and fifth on floor. At the Worlds selection camp in September, she was named to the US team for the World Championships.
Prior to the competition, Dowell submitted two skills to the FIG: a double front salto piked on floor and a straddle back with half turn to handstand on uneven bars. Dowell was set to compete only on bars and beam. However, after podium training, her teammate, McKayla Maroney, was switched to compete the all-around, and Dowell was suddenly named the alternate to the US team.
Dowell signed with the University of Oklahoma in November.[2]
2014
In February 2014, Dowell was announced as a competitor for the American Cup to replace an injured Simone Biles.[3] She hit her vault, bars, and beam routines well, but stepped out on her second pass on floor. She won the silver behind teammate Elizabeth Price.
Dowell did not compete again until the U.S. Classic in early August. She was still dealing with an ankle injury, so she only competed on uneven bars, and did not perform a dismount, finishing fourteenth on bars. She had a considerably better time on bars on day one of Nationals, scoring a 15.400, but ran into problems on day two and finished fifth on bars. She was named the non-traveling alternate to the US team for the World Championships, and that fall, began her freshman year at the University of Oklahoma.[4]
2015
After a great freshman year competing for University of Oklahoma, she decided to defer her second year college to try for a spot on the 2015 U.S. Worlds team.[5] Her return to elite competition came at the U.S. Classic, where she only competed on two events, placing seventh on bars and eighteenth on beam after falls on both events. At the National Championships in August, she had a great competition on the first day, going clean on all four events, but couldn't replicate her performance on the second day, placing seventh on floor, ninth on bars, and eleventh in the all-around. Nevertheless, she was named to the Worlds training squad and was eventually named to the team after selection camp.
Dowell was named to the World Championship team in October. In Glasgow, she submitted her piked double front tumbling pass to the FIG. She looked good in podium training, but nerves got the best of her in qualifications. She missed her cue on her music on floor exercise and went ahead to perform without her music at all. She successfully performed her piked double front, getting it named after her, and hit her vault well. However, she suffered two falls on uneven bars. She did not compete in the team final, but did stand with her teammates on the podium when they won the gold medal.
2016
Dowell returned to international competition at the Pacific Rim Championships in April. She helped the USA win team gold, but suffered a fall in uneven bars finals and finished fifth. She hit a great set in floor exercise finals and won silver behind teammate Aly Raisman. In June, she only competed balance beam at the U.S. Classic, placing fourteenth.
She struggled at the National Championships, placing ninth on floor, tenth on uneven bars, and eleventh in the all-around. Despite this, she successfully petitioned into the Olympic Trials, where she placed fourth on uneven bars, eighth on vault and floor, tenth in the all-around, and twelfth on balance beam. In the end, she did not make the Olympic team.
Dowell retired from elite gymnastics after the Olympic Trials, and returned to the University of Oklahoma.
Medal Count
| Year | Event | TF | AA | VT | UB | BB | FX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Junior Olympic Level 10 National Championships | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | |||
| 2010 | Pan American Championships | 1st | |||||
| Junior Visa Championships | 4 | ||||||
| 2011 | Junior CoverGirl Classic | 5 | 3rd | 5 | |||
| Junior Visa Championships | 6 | 5 | 6 | 8 | |||
| 2012 | City of Jesolo Trophy | 1st | 7 | ||||
| Visa Championships | 9 | ||||||
| U.S. Olympic Trials | 9 | 8 | |||||
| Mexico Open | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | ||
| 2013 | City of Jesolo Trophy | 1st | 3rd | 3rd | |||
| GER-ROU-USA Friendly | 4 | ||||||
| U.S. Classic | 3rd | 6 | 10 | 4 | |||
| U.S. National Championships | 3rd | 3rd | 9 | 5 | |||
| 2014 | AT&T American Cup | 2nd | |||||
| U.S. Classic | 14 | ||||||
| U.S. National Championships | 5 | ||||||
| 2015 | U.S. Classic | 7 | 18 | ||||
| Indianapolis U.S. National Championships | 11 | 9 | 14 | 7 | |||
| Glasgow World Championships | 1st | ||||||
| 2016 | Pacific Rim Championships | 1st | 5 | 2nd | |||
| U.S. Classic | 14 | ||||||
| St. Louis U.S. National Championships | 11 | 10 | 9 | ||||
| U.S. Olympic Trials | 10 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 8 |
Floor Music
2010-2012 - "Following Claire" from Duplicity
2013-2014 - "Suserov Par" by Lavanda Trio
2015-2016 - "Fanatico" by Edvin Marton