Zmeskal, Kim (1976—)

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Zmeskal, Kim (1976—)

American gymnast. Born on February 6, 1976, in Houston, Texas; daughter of David Zmeskal and Clarice Zmeskal; completed secondary education by correspondence; graduated from Westfield High School, 1994; married Chris Burdette, in October 1999.

Kim Zmeskal was born in 1976 in Houston, Texas, where she was raised. She began tumbling at age six, after she followed a friend into the Sundance Athletic Club, which had recently been purchased by world-class gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi. Because Zmeskal could train in her hometown, she was able to balance her schedule with a relatively normal home life. Called the "little pumpkin" by Karolyi, Zmeskal became one of "Karolyi's Kids," an elite group of half a dozen girls who would be coached toward world competition. She left school in the seventh grade and studied by correspondence to complete her secondary education.

Winning the Women's Sports Foundation's "1990 Up and Coming" award, Zmeskal made history in 1991 when she became the first American woman to win the gold medal in all-around gymnastics at the World championships. She also helped the American team win a silver medal with a perfect-10 vault. Zmeskal possessed an outstanding ability to pull herself together and perform consistently under pressure. Her muscular build was frequently compared to that of the earlier American champion Mary Lou Retton .

Proving that she could also win outside the United States, Zmeskal won two gold medals in individual events—floor exercise and balance beam—at the 1992 World championships in Paris, defeating one of her main competitors, Svetlana Boginskaya of the former Soviet Union. Expected to win a gold medal in the 1992 Olympic Games at Barcelona, Spain, Zmeskal succeeded only in bringing home a bronze in team competition. Observers of the competition remarked that the entire team seemed thin and exhausted. This sort of criticism was frequently leveled at women's gymnastics during the early 1990s after gymnast Christy Henrich was diagnosed with a severe eating disorder. Despite the setback, however, Zmeskal and teammate Shannon Miller helped bring American women's gymnastics to a new level. Moreover, the national team honored her as their chosen "1992 Athlete of the Year."

After the 1992 Olympics, Zmeskal cut back on her training and returned to Westfield High School as a junior, where she was member of the National Honor Society. She continued to compete on the national level and helped train the next generation of gymnasts from the Sundance Athletic Club. In 1994, at 18, Zmeskal resumed more intense training with Karolyi in Houston, becoming part of his study to determine if older gymnasts could compete successfully against younger athletes.

She later began training for professional gymnastics with Mary Lee Tracy , the 1996 Olympic Assistant Coach, at the Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy in Ohio. In 1997, she won the Rock and Roll Gymnastics competition with two stunning floor exercises. The next year brought a second-place standing at the Reese's Cup and a third-place standing at the Women's Professional Gymnastics championships. At the 1999 China Dual, Zmeskal contributed to a team first place and took first individually on the balance beam. Throughout this time, she continued her education via correspondence with the University of Texas. In October 1999, Zmeskal married Chris Burdette. She retired from gymnastics in 2000, at age 24, with an outstanding career total of eight perfect 10s in various events. In keeping with her claimed favorite event, the floor exercise, Zmeskal planned to do choreography and coach gymnastics.