Isabelle Connor (born July 22, 2000) is an American group

rhythmic gymnast Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon and rope. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, fle ...

who represented the

United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics The United States of America (USA), represented by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place in the summer of 2020, the Games were postponed to Jul ...

. She was the first student at the

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of C ...

to compete at the Olympics.

Personal life

Connor was born on July 22, 2000, and her hometown is

Manhattan Beach, California Manhattan Beach is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, on the Coastal California, Pacific coast south of El Segundo, California, El Segundo, west of Hawthorne, California, Hawthorne and Redondo Beach, and north ...

. She began

artistic gymnastics Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different types of apparatus. The sport is governed by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique, Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), ...

when she was two years old, and she switched to rhythmic gymnastics when she was ten at the suggestion of her coaches. In 2017, she moved to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

to train with the U.S. national rhythmic gymnastics group. She was a student at

Mira Costa High School Mira Costa High School (MCHS, "Costa") is a four-year public high school located in Manhattan Beach, California that first opened 1950. It is the only high school in the Manhattan Beach Unified School District. The school's athletic teams are k ...

, but she finished her senior year in homeschool after moving. She was a student at the

studying astronomy and astrophysics. She speaks both English and Russian.

Career

Connor began her career as an individual rhythmic gymnast, but she switched to group rhythmic gymnastics and joined the U.S. National Team in 2018. She competed at the 2018 World Championships in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

where the American group finished fourteenth in the all-around. At the 2018 Pan American Championships, Connor and the U.S. team won the silver medal in both the group all-around and the 3 balls + 2

ropes A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similar ...

event final. Connor competed at the

2019 Pan American Games The 2019 Pan American Games (), officially the XVIII Pan American Games () and commonly known as Lima 2019, were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization held in Lima, Peru from July 26 to August 11, 2019, with preliminar ...

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

and helped the American team win the silver medal in the group all-around and in the 5 balls event final. Then at the 2019 World Championships in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, the American group finished tenth. At the 2021 Pan American Championships in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Connor and the American group won the bronze medals in the all-around, and in both the 5 balls and the 3

hoops Hoop or Hoops may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Hoops'' (TV series), an American animated series Characters Hoops, a pink cat from Hallmark Media's Hoops & Yoyo Music * Hoops (band), an American indie pop ban ...

+ 4

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Club (magazine), ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands a ...

event finals. The United States qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games after Japan's host spot was reallocated because of their 2019 World Championship top-ten finish. Connor was selected to represent the

alongside Camilla Feeley, Lili Mizuno, Nicole Sladkov, and Elizaveta Pletneva. She was the first

UC Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located in Monterey Bay ...

student to compete at the Olympic Games. They finished eleventh in the qualification round for the group all-around.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Connor, Isabelle Living people 2000 births American rhythmic gymnasts Sportspeople from Manhattan Beach, California Gymnasts at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts for the United States 21st-century American sportswomen Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics Pan American Championships Gymnasts at the 2019 Pan American Games Gymnasts at the 2023 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2023 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in gymnastics Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in gymnastics