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Women of Wide World: Kim Zmeskal
ABC Sports Online
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Kim Zmeskal was just eight years old when Mary Lou Retton won gold in Los Angeles. Less than eight years later, Zmeskal became the first American to win the women's all-around title at the World Championships
|  | | Kim Zmeskal became the first American woman to win the World Championships all-around. |
Just like Retton, Zmeskal was trained by Bela Karolyi and the 4-foot pixie managed to clamber towards her goals, while shadowed by gymnastics greats such as Phoebe Mills, Kristi Phillips and Mary Lou Retton.
Under Karolyi's guidance, the Houston native first won the U.S. Nationals in 1989, the U.S. Challenge, and the American Cup in 1990. Again in 1991, Kim won the U.S. Senior National Championship before winning the gold medal at the World Championships. She also took home the silver team medal and the bronze medal on floor, which totaled three World Championship medals. She was later named ABC's co-Athlete of the Year for 1991 with Carl Lewis.
At the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, she managed to help lead the U.S. Olympic team to the bronze medal by accumulating the highest individual total of the entire team competition.
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