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Phoebe Mills
Mills phoebe 1988 olympics
Mills at the 1988 Olympic Games

Country represented

800px-Flag of the United States (Pantone) United States of America

Born

November 2 1972 (1972-11-02) (age 51)
Northfield, Illinois, USA

Years on National Team

1985-1988

Club

Karolyi's Gymnastics

Coach(es)

Bela & Marta Karolyi

Current status

Retired

Phoebe Mills (born November 2, 1972 in Northfield, Illinois, U.S.) is a retired American artistic gymnast. She was the first American to medal at a fully-attended Olympics, winning bronze on balance beam at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.

Career[]

Mills was coached by Marta and Béla Károlyi in Houston, Texas. She attended her first U.S. Nationals in 1984, finishing eighth in the junior division. While Mills was sometimes overshadowed in the media by her teammate Kristie Phillips, she developed a reputation as a steady, consistent competitor in national and international meets, placing third at the 1985 City of Popes competition and second at the 1986 U.S. Olympic Festival and U.S. Nationals (junior division). In 1987 she attended her first and only World Gymnastics Championships as a member of the sixth-place American team.

1988 was Mills' breakout year. She won every meet she entered, including the U.S. Nationals, the American Cup, the Mardi Gras Invitational and the International Mixed Pairs, was named the United States Olympic Committee's Gymnast of the Year and was nominated for the prestigious James E. Sullivan Award. She also placed first at the U.S. Olympic Trials, easily earning a spot on the American squad for the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.

Mills emerged as the U.S. team's most successful gymnast at the Olympics. While she finished a modest fifteenth place in the all-around, she also qualified for three event finals, more than any other member of the team. She performed a solid, artistic routine to win a bronze medal on the balance beam, behind Daniela Silivaş and Elena Shushunova. With her third-place finish, Mills became the first individual American female gymnast to win a medal in a fully attended Olympics, and the only American gymnast, male or female, to medal in Seoul.

Mills continued to compete in early 1989, but retired later that year, due in part to the effects of Epstein-Barr syndrome. She has occasionally returned to the sport as a coach. In 2000, Mills was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

Medal Count[]

.Year Event TF AA VT UB BB FX
1984 Junior National Championships 8
Junior U.S. Classic 4
1985 Junior American Classic 2nd
Junior U.S. Classic 4
Junior National Championships 3rd
Junior World Invitational 9
City of Popes 3rd 4 2nd
USA vs. France 1st
1986 American Classic 4
Junior National Championships 2nd
U.S. Olympic Festival 2nd 2nd 1st 2nd 2nd
World Sports Fair 2nd
Canadian Classic 2nd 2nd 1st 1st
USA vs. China 1st
1987 McDonald's American Cup 3rd 1st 1st 1st 6
International Mixed Pairs 1st
USA vs. USSR 1st 2nd 2nd
Rotterdam World Championships 6
1988 McDonald's American Cup 1st 2nd 2nd 1st 2nd
Mardi Gras Invitational 1st 1st 2nd 1st 1st
International Mixed Pairs 1st
U.S. Classic 1st
U.S. National Championships 1st 4 3rd 1st
U.S. Olympic Trials 1st
Seoul Olympic Games 4 10 8 3rd 6
1989 International Mixed Pairs 3rd
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