Host Amira Rose Davis and story editor Jessica Luther recap their highlights from the American Prodigies series, talk about the gymnasts and topics that they wished they could have covered, and consider whether to abandon gymnastics or whether there’s something there worth believing in.  

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Brown Girls Do Gymnastics was born in 2015 with a mission to serve underrepresented and marginalized athletes in gymnastics and the circus arts. Its founder, Derrin Moore, talks to Amira about her work – from teaching parents how to advocate for their children in this particular sport, to launching a women’s gymnastics program at Fisk University.

Click here for the transcript of episode 8

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**Content note** This episode contains graphic accounts of sexual abuse and child neglect. There are also accounts of physical and emotional abuse, suicidal ideation, and racism.

In 2016, both Simone and Gabby are on the world’s stage — and USAG starts to crack. There’s no accountability, just complete institutional failure to protect young women in this sport and it’s starting to boil over. Jordan Chiles, Jessica Luther, mental health expert Alanna Gardner, and Nellie Biles talk about the crucial period between 2016 and 2021 — the role Simone played in it — and the toll being a symbol with power can take.

Click here for the transcript of episode 7

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This episode looks at how Black gymnasts came to create spaces of joy for themselves and how college programs benefited from that. After Olympic dreams are dashed because of injury, some elite gymnasts, like Sophina DeJesus and Nia Dennis, opt to compete at top-notch college programs. Sophina and Nia talk about their journeys at UCLA and how they created floor routines viewed by millions online. Valorie Kondos Field (“Miss Val”), UCLA’s famed retired head coach, describes the diversity at UCLA gymnastics as a happy accident. The gymnasts’ mothers, Maria DeJesus and Deetra Dennis share the different paths they took to protect their daughters while encouraging them to embrace their authentic selves. 

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Amira has a conversation with Dr. Samantha Sheppard and Dr. Courtney Cox answering, “Whatever happened to Gabby Douglas?” The trio zoom in and out of Gabby’s career, highlighting her as a transitional figure between Black pioneers like Dominique Dawes and today’s media savvy icons like Simone Biles. They also share their personal experiences as Black women in academia to help bring context to what Gabby was up against as a Black girl in white spaces.

Click here for the transcript for episode 5

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When you ask people of a certain age to remember the first Black gymnast, odds are they’ll remember Dominique Dawes. What they don’t remember – or maybe never knew about – is the immense pressure that she faced as a Black prodigy in the sport. Today, Dominique is using her powerful legacy to distance herself from USA Gymnastics and ensure that future gymnasts have the childhood she never did.

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Betty Okino started gymnastics “late” — at age 9 — and begged her mother to let her train with Bela Karolyi so that she could realize her Olympic dream. She won bronze medals at the 1992 Olympics. And despite having stories of training until her knees and back broke, being denied food, and being pitted against her teammates, it was only recently that she began to admit to herself that Karolyi’s training methods constituted abuse. Now, as a coach and choreographer, Betty approaches her responsibilities very differently.  

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Dianne Durham could have represented the United States at the 1984 Olympics in LA, but she was injured during trials. A combination of racism and internal gymnastics coaching politics meant that she was unable to petition for a spot on the team. In this episode, we give the trailblazer the flowers she deserved – almost four decades overdue.

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Jordan Chiles tells Amira about losing her love for gymnastics and how she discovered who she wanted to become – just in time to win a silver medal in Tokyo in 2021. 

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