Olympic Medalist Shannon Miller Visits Oakville Gymnasts

Most of the gymnasts waiting in line for Shannon Miller’s autograph weren’t even alive when she won five medals at the 1992 Olympics. They didn’t watch her nine World Championship medals on television or cheer her on when she won the gold on the balance beam in 1996.

But they all still gathered at Oakville’s Friday night to hear the most decorated U.S. gymnast speak.

Nearly 100 young girls and boys got a private audience with Miller and asked her questions ranging from how much she trained for the Olympics—six to seven hours a day, seven days a week—to how she kept her leotard from riding up—hairspray, of course.

Miller was in St. Louis to promote the 2012 Visa Championships in June at the Chaifetz Arena. The championships are part of the qualifying process for the Olympic team trials.

If any of the Barron gymnasts were going to attend the competition, Miller advised them to be loud and cheer. After talking to the crowd, Miller signed more than 100 autographs and took photos with the athletes.

“She is such a role model and champion not only in gymnastics, but in life,” said Diane Barron, who has owned the gymnastics studio for the last 13 years. “She continues to be an advocate for childhood obesity, she’s a cancer survivor and graduated with a law degree. She’s all those things we want our daughters to be.”

Barron has more than 1,100 gymnasts in the area and provides training for all levels. 

Check out more photos from the event on our Facebook page.