Amy Chow

Story

Amy Chow began gymnastics at age five while training in Campbell, California, and by her teenage years had become one of the most technically daring gymnasts in the world, known as “The Trickster” for skills few others attempted.

At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Chow was a member of the “Magnificent Seven,” the first U.S. women’s gymnastics team to win Olympic team gold, and won an individual silver medal on uneven bars. She competed again at the 2000 Sydney Games, later awarded a team bronze medal.

After retiring from competition, Chow earned her biology degree and medical degree from Stanford, completed her pediatrics residency, and became a practicing physician — a career she has balanced with her legacy as one of the sport’s most decorated Chinese American athletes.

Career Highlights

• Member of the 1996 “Magnificent Seven” — first U.S. team to win Olympic team gymnastics gold
• Individual silver medalist, uneven bars (1996 Atlanta)
• Team bronze medal, 2000 Sydney Olympics (awarded 2010)
• First American woman to perform a double-twisting Yurchenko vault and a tucked double-double dismount on bars in international competition
• Two uneven bars skills bear her name in the sport’s Code of Points (“Chow” and “Chow II”)
• Inducted into the U.S. Gymnastics Hall of Fame (2005) and U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame (2008)
• Became a licensed pediatrician, completing her residency at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital

Photo: SpiritedMichelle, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons