Alicia Sacramone

With impressive athleticism and a dynamic personality, Alicia Sacramone took the world of gymnastics by storm. Alicia was a member of the U.S. Olympic team in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where they took home the silver for America.

This now-retired American artistic gymnast earned 10 World Championship medals during her career - making her the second-most decorated U.S. gymnast in the event.

Boston beginnings

Alicia Sacramone was born on December 3, 1987 in Boston, Massachusetts. She began studying dance at the age of five, and by age eight was obsessed with gymnastics. Alicia’s talents swiftly grew under the careful tutelage of former Romanian coaches Mihai and Sylvia Brestyan. 

When her coaches opened their own facility in Ashland, Massachusetts, Alicia decided to follow them. By 2003, she was ready to start performing at the elite level. She competed in the 2003 National Championship, placing 14th in all-around, fourth on vault, and third on floor.

The same year, Alicia made her international debut at the Massilia Gym Cup in Marseille, France, where she placed ninth on vault and fourth on floor. Unfortunately, while she was posed to compete with the Athens team in the 2004 Olympics, she was plagued with inconsistent performances throughout the year. 

With one disastrous bar routine, Alicia narrowly missed the cutoff to qualify for the Olympic trials. 

She was determined to do better.

Competing on the world stage

In 2005, Alicia Sacramone made an incredible comeback, winning gold on floor and bronze on vault in the World Championships. And she didn’t stop there. She won medal after medal, and by 2008, it was obvious that a spot on the Olympic team would be hers. 

Sadly, Alicia’s lucky streak had run out, and she had a disappointing games. She took a fall on the beam, and missed qualifying for the floor finals - but her vault was flawless. Alicia competed with one of the most difficult vaults in the world, a front handspring Rudi, and many people felt she was robbed of the bronze medal by Cheng Fei. 

Unfortunately, other onlookers were not so kind. They blamed Alicia for the US Team winning silver instead of gold, and Alicia decided it would be best to take some time off out of the spotlight. She retired shortly after the 2008 games.

A record-breaking return from retirement

In 2010, Alicia Sacramone decided to resume training. She swiftly made the world team, and won the gold in vault for the first time in her career. She also placed first on both vault and floor in the 2010 CoverGirl Classic.

Her performance was so spectacular, she was named USA Today's Athlete of the Week and earned the title of Sportsperson of the Year. 

The next year was set to be just as successful. At the 2011 CoverGirl Classic in Chicago, she won gold on vault, tied for gold on beam with Jordyn Wieber, and earned bronze on floor. Right before the 2011 World Championships, however, she tore her Achilles tendon. 

Although she couldn’t compete, she was on the U.S. team roster, earning her a gold with the team during the event. This gave her a record 10 world medals. With a total of eleven World Championship and Olympic medals, Alicia Sacramone is the fourth most decorated U.S. female gymnast, behind Simone Biles, Shannon Miller, and Nastia Liukin.

Alicia officially retired from the sport in 2012 with no regrets.

Life after gymnastics

On March 8, 2014, Alicia Sacramone married NFL player Brady Quinn and changed her name to Alicia Quinn. They had their first child together in 2016 - a daughter named Sloan Scott Quinn.

Alicia was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2016, and the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2017. While no longer a gymnast herself, Alicia passes on her passion for the sport through coaching young gymnasts in Florida, where she also works as a TV commentator for SEC.