RIGBY, Cathy

(b. 12 December 1952 in Long Beach, California), two-time Olympic gymnast and the first American to win a medal in an international gymnastics competition, who later became known as a sports commentator, actress, singer, and motivational speaker.

Rigby, born to Paul Rigby, an aeronautical engineer, and Anita Peters Rigby, a materials analyst, was the third of five children. She was born prematurely, weighing four pounds, and with two collapsed lungs. Her early years were fraught with bouts of pneumonia and bronchitis. But Rigby was a fighter and a competitor from birth. She purportedly roller-skated at eighteen months and nearly always delivered the last punch in altercations with her older siblings.

By age ten Rigby knew gymnastics was her sport. Her tumbling coach referred the eleven-year-old Rigby and her father to Bud Marquette, the well-known coach of the Southern California Acro Team (SCAT). Marquette told Sports Illustrated that Rigby came to him "looking like a ragamuffin who could do only cartwheels." In two months she was better than girls who had been training for two years. Marquette also noted that Rigby was totally dedicated to gymnastics and completely fearless when she performed.

Rigby's life during these years was not easy. She practiced eight hours each day, seven days a week, often leaving the gymnasium for two hours in the afternoon to prepare dinner for her family. Her mother had contracted poliomyelitis during her second pregnancy and could not walk for several years.

On occasion, tension developed between Marquette and Rigby's father about training tactics. Team travel both at home and abroad was frequent. As Rigby moved into puberty, her body matured and she gained weight. She became bulimic at approximately age fifteen and remained so for twelve years; she was hospitalized twice for serious complications. Nevertheless, she graduated from Los Alamitos High School in 1971 with a "B" average and attended California's Long Beach City College briefly until gymnastics commitments forced her to withdraw.

In 1967 Rigby took second place in her age group in the Midwest Open in Chicago, her first meet. In the 1968 World Cup she was a gold medalist and a World Cup champion. In the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, Rigby, at four feet, eleven inches tall, looked more like the U.S. team's mascot than a serious contender. However, she placed sixteenth and emerged from the Olympic Games as a new star in gymnastics, an inspiration to all U.S. gymnasts, and a charmer to her public.

At the 1970 World Games in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia, Rigby made gymnastics history as the first U.S. gymnast to win a medal in world championships. She received the silver medal for her performance on the balance beam. In 1971 Rigby won gold medals at the World Cup in Miami and the Riga Cup in Latvia. Also in 1971 she was the South African Cup champion and in the U.S.–U.S.S.R. Dual Meet was a champion in the floor exercise. At home and abroad Rigby won a total of twelve medals, eight of them gold.

Following the win at the 1970 World Games and her 1971 successes, Rigby entered the 1972 Olympics as the U.S. favorite to win gold in Munich, Germany. She was a marquee gymnast, appearing on many television shows, including What's My Line, The Johnny Carson Show, and The Dick Cavett Show. Even foreign newspapers featured her on their front pages. The 1972 Olympic trials started well for Rigby in March at Terre Haute, Indiana, when she won over the Olympic veteran Linda Metheny. However, on the second day of the May finals at Long Beach, Rigby fell on the dismount during compulsory bar exercises, the first such misstep for her and one that cost her the lead. On the third day she regained the lead, but as she executed an Arabian, she pulled the ligaments in her right ankle and could not compete on the final day. Nevertheless, the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Committee decided to make Rigby an official member of the Olympic team.

In the 1972 Munich Games, Rigby was key to the U.S. team's fourth-place finish in the all-around competition. She finished tenth in the overall standings in the year when Olga Korbut was the star. But the U.S. star was still Rigby, who continued to capture her country's imagination. Rigby had decided, however, that at age nineteen the time had come for her to retire.

Rigby stated that when she left gymnastics, she never wanted to go back. Many of her accomplishments after 1972 took their impetus from her gymnastics discipline. In 1972 she married Tommy Mason, a former All-Pro running back for the Washington Redskins, and had two sons. However, bulimia remained a serious problem for Rigby until she finally sought medical help. In 1981 she and Mason divorced, and on 11 September 1982 she married Tom McCoy, with whom she had two daughters. Soon after her retirement she became a television commentator for ABC Sports, an association that continued for eighteen years and prompted ABC's Wide World of Sports to name her one of America's most influential women in sports.

During this period Rigby began studying acting and voice with the same diligence she had applied to the bars. She made her acting debut in 1981 in the role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz; Variety called her "a genuine theatrical talent." Her initial success was followed by roles in productions of Meet Me in St. Louis (touring production, 1982), Peter Pan (1990–1991, and Broadway production, 1998–1999), Annie Get Your Gun (touring production, 1993–1994), South Pacific (1994), The Unsinkable Molly Brown (touring production, 2000), and Seussical (Broadway production, 2001). She earned a Tony Award nomination for her performances in the 1998–1999 production of Peter Pan. She also appeared in the Arts and Entertainment television network's production of Peter Pan in October 2000. In Las Vegas she headlined and received the George M. Cohan Award for best specialty act in 1981. She was featured in a number of dramatic television movies, including The Perfect Body (1977), The Great Wallendas (1978), and Challenge of a Lifetime (1985). Rigby and her husband became executive producers at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts in La Mirada, California.

In addition to acting and singing, Rigby became a successful motivational speaker. Her efforts in this area were targeted to collegiate, corporate, and women's groups. Her subjects included conscientious nutrition, the practice and benefits of "balanced wellness," and the art of becoming a champion in any area of life.

In the United States, Rigby moved gymnastics from a backseat sport to a headline event. Her ability on the bars, her fearlessness as a performer, and her firm grip on America's heart brought pride and delight to her country. After retirement she offered award-winning entertainment in theater and television, and she provided a public service through the frank revelations of her twelve-year eating disorder.

The best source for a detailed account of Rigby's importance to U.S. gymnastics and her athletic career is Irvin Stambler, Women in Sports (1975). Anne Janette Johnson, Great Women in Sports (1996), outlines Rigby's personal life and career. See also a cover story about Rigby in Life (5 May 1972), and Anita Verschoth, "Sugar and Spice—and Iron," Sports Illustrated (21 Aug. 1972), which provides information about Rigby's family life, training, and career prior to the 1972 Olympics.

Mary Boyles