Kara Eaker
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Kara Eaker (born November 7, 2002) is an American artistic gymnast. On the balance beam she is the 2018 Pan American and
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 ...
champion and a two-time United States national silver medalist (
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
,
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
). On floor exercise she is 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 ...
silver medalist and the 2018 Pan American bronze medalist. She was a member of the American teams that won gold at the
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
and 2019 World Championships, 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 ...
, and the 2018 Pan American Championships. She was an alternate for the 2020 Olympic team.


Early life

Eaker was born in
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,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
as Kara Ming. She was adopted by her family in 2003 and has since resided with them in
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
.


Elite gymnastics career


2017

Eaker competed at the
2017 U.S. Classic The 2017 U.S. Classic, known as the 2017 Secret U.S. Classic for sponsorship reasons, was the 34th edition of the U.S. Classic gymnastics tournament. The competition was held on July 29, 2017, at the Sears Centre Arena in the Hoffman Estates sub ...
, where she placed third on balance beam and fifth in the all-around in the junior division. She later competed at the 2017 National Championships, where she placed first on balance beam (ahead of
Maile O'Keefe Maile O'Keefe ( ) (born February 26, 2002) is an American artistic gymnast. She was a member of the U.S. National Team and is the 2016 and 2017 U.S. Junior National Champion. She is the 2023 NCAA all-around champion as well as a 4x NCAA event ...
and Adeline Kenlin), third in the all-around, fourth on floor exercise, and fifth on uneven bars. She was then named to the Junior National Team.


2018

Eaker turned senior in 2018. She competed at the American Classic, where she placed first on balance beam, second on floor exercise, and fourth in the all-around. Later in the summer, she competed at the 2018 U.S. Classic, where she placed fifth on balance beam after falling off. At the
National Championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...
Eaker finished seventh in the all-around, second on balance beam behind
Simone Biles Simone Arianne Biles Owens ( Biles; born March 14, 1997) is an American Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. Her 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals make her the most decorated gymnast in history. She is widely regarded as one ...
, fifth on floor exercise, and ninth on uneven bars. As a result of her performance, she was added to the senior national team. The following day, Eaker was named to the team to compete at the Pan American Championships in Lima, Peru alongside
Grace McCallum Grace Ann McCallum (born October 30, 2002) is an American artistic gymnast. She represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics and won a silver medal in the team event. She is the 2018 Pan American and 2018 Pacific Rim individual al ...
,
Trinity Thomas Trinity Lemyra Thomas (born April 7, 2001) is an American artistic gymnast and a four-time National Team member (2016–20). She was a member of the gold medal-winning team at the 2018 Pan American Gymnastics Championships, where she also won s ...
,
Jade Carey Jade Ashtyn Carey (born May 27, 2000) is an American artistic gymnast. She represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics as an individual, and at the 2024 Summer Olympics as a member of the U.S. women's team, nicknamed the "Golden Girl ...
, and
Shilese Jones Shilese Jones (born July 26, 2002) is an American artistic gymnast. She was a member of the teams that won gold at the 2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, 2022 World Championships, 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, 2023 Wo ...
. On the first day of competition, Eaker won the gold medal on balance beam and the bronze on floor exercise. In the team competition, Eaker contributed on these two events toward the United States' gold-medal-winning performance. In October, Eaker participated in the Worlds Team Selection Camp. During the competition, she placed first on the balance beam, sixth in the all-around, eighth on vault, ninth on uneven bars, and fifth on floor exercise. The following day, she was named to the team to compete at the 2018 World Championships alongside
Simone Biles Simone Arianne Biles Owens ( Biles; born March 14, 1997) is an American Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. Her 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals make her the most decorated gymnast in history. She is widely regarded as one ...
,
Morgan Hurd Morgan Elizabeth Hurd (born July 18, 2001) is a retired American artistic gymnast and a five-time member of the United States women's national team (2016–21). She is the 2017 World all-around champion and balance beam silver medalist and th ...
,
Grace McCallum Grace Ann McCallum (born October 30, 2002) is an American artistic gymnast. She represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics and won a silver medal in the team event. She is the 2018 Pan American and 2018 Pacific Rim individual al ...
,
Riley McCusker Riley Shannon McCusker (born July 9, 2001) is an American artistic gymnast and a six-time member of the United States women's national gymnastics team (2016–2021). She is the 2019 Pan American Games and 2017 United States national uneven bar ...
, and alternate
Ragan Smith Ragan Elizabeth Smith (born August 8, 2000) is a retired American gymnast. She is a five-time member of the US National Team (2014–2019) and competed for the University of Oklahoma in collegiate gymnastics from 2020–2024. She is the 2017 ...
. During
qualifications Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS) is a procurement process established by the United States Congress as a part of the ''Brooks Act'' and further developed as a process ...
Eaker qualified second to the balance beam final, behind Biles. The US also qualified in first to the team final. During the team final, Eaker competed on only balance beam. She contributed 14.333, the highest beam score of the night from any competitor, towards the USA's team total. The American team won gold with a score of 171.629, 8.766 points ahead of second place Russia. Although she was favored for a medal in the balance beam final, she placed sixth after falling on her mount.


2019

In February, Eaker was named to the team to compete at the 2019 International Gymnix in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
alongside
Alyona Shchennikova Yelena Aleksandrovna "Alyona" Shchennikova (, born May 12, 2001) is an American artistic gymnast. She was a member of the United States women's national gymnastics team, U.S. National Team from 2017 to 2019 and was the all-around champion at the ...
,
Sloane Blakely Sloane Blakely (born December 23, 2002) is an American collegiate artistic gymnast and was a member of the United States women's national gymnastics team. She is currently competing for the Florida Gators in NCAA gymnastics. She is the older si ...
, and
Aleah Finnegan Aleah Cruz Finnegan (born January 4, 2003) is a Filipino-American artistic gymnast. Born in the United States, she represents the Philippines internationally and competed for her country of birth in the past. She was a member of the United Sta ...
. While there, she won gold in the team final, individual all-around, and on balance beam and placed fifth in the uneven bar final. In June, after the conclusion of the American Classic, Eaker was named as one of the eight athletes being considered for the team to compete 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 ...
along with
Sloane Blakely Sloane Blakely (born December 23, 2002) is an American collegiate artistic gymnast and was a member of the United States women's national gymnastics team. She is currently competing for the Florida Gators in NCAA gymnastics. She is the older si ...
,
Aleah Finnegan Aleah Cruz Finnegan (born January 4, 2003) is a Filipino-American artistic gymnast. Born in the United States, she represents the Philippines internationally and competed for her country of birth in the past. She was a member of the United Sta ...
,
Morgan Hurd Morgan Elizabeth Hurd (born July 18, 2001) is a retired American artistic gymnast and a five-time member of the United States women's national team (2016–21). She is the 2017 World all-around champion and balance beam silver medalist and th ...
,
Shilese Jones Shilese Jones (born July 26, 2002) is an American artistic gymnast. She was a member of the teams that won gold at the 2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, 2022 World Championships, 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, 2023 Wo ...
,
Sunisa Lee Sunisa "Suni" Phabsomphou Lee ( ; ; born March 9, 2003) is an American Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic Gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's artistic individual all-around, all-around gold medalist and ...
,
Riley McCusker Riley Shannon McCusker (born July 9, 2001) is an American artistic gymnast and a six-time member of the United States women's national gymnastics team (2016–2021). She is the 2019 Pan American Games and 2017 United States national uneven bar ...
, and
Leanne Wong Leanne Ashley Wong (born September 20, 2003) is an American artistic gymnast. She was a member of the gold medal winning teams at the 2022 World Championships, 2023 World Championships, and the 2019 Pan American Games. She is the 2021 Wor ...
. At the 2019 GK US Classic, Eaker placed fourth in the all-around behind
Simone Biles Simone Arianne Biles Owens ( Biles; born March 14, 1997) is an American Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. Her 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals make her the most decorated gymnast in history. She is widely regarded as one ...
, McCusker, and
Grace McCallum Grace Ann McCallum (born October 30, 2002) is an American artistic gymnast. She represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics and won a silver medal in the team event. She is the 2018 Pan American and 2018 Pacific Rim individual al ...
. She also placed first on balance beam and fourth on floor exercise behind Biles, McCallum, and
Jade Carey Jade Ashtyn Carey (born May 27, 2000) is an American artistic gymnast. She represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics as an individual, and at the 2024 Summer Olympics as a member of the U.S. women's team, nicknamed the "Golden Girl ...
. After the competition, she was named to the team to compete at the Pan American Games alongside Finnegan, Hurd, McCusker, and Wong. At the
Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...
Eaker competed on all four events, contributing scores on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise towards the team's gold-medal-winning performance. Individually, Eaker qualified for the balance beam final in first and for the all-around and floor exercise finals in second, both behind McCusker. She placed sixth on uneven bars but did not advance to the final due to teammates McCusker and Wong scoring higher. During the all-around final, Eaker placed fourth behind
Ellie Black Elsabeth Ann Black (born September 8, 1995) is a Canadian artistic gymnast. She is a four-time Olympian, having represented her country at the 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024 Olympic games. She is the 2017 World all-around silver medallist, makin ...
of Canada, McCusker, and
Flávia Saraiva Flávia Lopes Saraiva (born 30 September 1999) is a Brazilian artistic gymnast. She represented Brazil at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and the 2024 Summer Olympic ...
of Brazil due to falls on both the balance beam and floor exercise. During event finals, Eaker won gold on
balance beam The balance beam is a rectangular artistic gymnastics apparatus and an event performed using the apparatus. The apparatus and the event are sometimes simply called "beam". The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is BB. The bal ...
with a score of 15.266, finishing 1.7 points ahead of Black, who won the silver, and won silver on floor exercise behind Brooklyn Moors of Canada and ahead of Saraiva. At the 2019 U.S. National Championships, Eaker competed all four events on the first day of competition but fell off the balance beam and ended the night in eleventh place. On the second night, she performed cleanly and ended up finishing in tenth place but won silver on the balance beam behind
Simone Biles Simone Arianne Biles Owens ( Biles; born March 14, 1997) is an American Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. Her 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals make her the most decorated gymnast in history. She is widely regarded as one ...
. As a result, she was added to the national team. In September, Eaker competed at the US World Championships trials, where she placed third in the all-around behind
Simone Biles Simone Arianne Biles Owens ( Biles; born March 14, 1997) is an American Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. Her 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals make her the most decorated gymnast in history. She is widely regarded as one ...
and
Sunisa Lee Sunisa "Suni" Phabsomphou Lee ( ; ; born March 9, 2003) is an American Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic Gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's artistic individual all-around, all-around gold medalist and ...
. She also placed third on bars behind Lee and
Leanne Wong Leanne Ashley Wong (born September 20, 2003) is an American artistic gymnast. She was a member of the gold medal winning teams at the 2022 World Championships, 2023 World Championships, and the 2019 Pan American Games. She is the 2021 Wor ...
, first on beam, and third on floor behind Biles and Lee. The following day, she was named to the team to compete at the 2019 World Championships in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
alongside Biles, Lee,
MyKayla Skinner MyKayla Brooke Skinner Harmer ( ; born December 9, 1996) is an American former artistic gymnast. She was the 2020 Olympic vault silver medalist, competing as an individual, and was an alternate for the 2016 Olympic team. Skinner competed at ...
,
Jade Carey Jade Ashtyn Carey (born May 27, 2000) is an American artistic gymnast. She represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics as an individual, and at the 2024 Summer Olympics as a member of the U.S. women's team, nicknamed the "Golden Girl ...
, and
Grace McCallum Grace Ann McCallum (born October 30, 2002) is an American artistic gymnast. She represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics and won a silver medal in the team event. She is the 2018 Pan American and 2018 Pacific Rim individual al ...
. During
qualifications Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS) is a procurement process established by the United States Congress as a part of the ''Brooks Act'' and further developed as a process ...
at the World Championships, Eaker competed on bars and beam only, helping the USA qualify to the team final in first place over five points ahead of second place China. Eaker originally qualified to the balance beam final in fourth place; however, since her credited difficulty score (5.8) was nearly a point lower than her previous international performances - such as the 6.6 difficulty score she received at the Pan American Games - USA Gymnastics filed an inquiry in an attempt to raise her score. This decrease was due to her switch ring leap being downgraded to a switch split leap. While reviewing the routine, rather than crediting the leap, the judging panel instead downgraded a second dance element (her ring leap was credited as a split leap), lowering her score by an additional 0.4 points. Her updated score instead placed her as the first reserve for the beam final. In the
team final A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to info ...
, Eaker competed a hit routine on balance beam and did not attempt the switch ring leap, helping the USA win the gold medal ahead of Russia and Italy. She tied with Chen Yile of China for the third highest beam score in the final behind teammate Biles and first-year Chinese competitor Li Shijia. During the all-around final, Canadian
Ellie Black Elsabeth Ann Black (born September 8, 1995) is a Canadian artistic gymnast. She is a four-time Olympian, having represented her country at the 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024 Olympic games. She is the 2017 World all-around silver medallist, makin ...
, who qualified in seventh place to the balance beam final, was injured on vault. She later pulled out of the balance beam final, allowing Eaker to replace her as first reserve. During the balance beam final, Eaker once again performed a clean routine without her switch ring leap and scored 14.000, finishing fourth behind
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
and 2015 World balance beam champion Biles, reigning World balance beam Champion Liu Tingting, and Li.


2020

In March, Eaker was selected to compete at the
City of Jesolo Trophy The City of Jesolo Trophy is an annual women's gymnastics competition held in Jesolo, Jesolo, Italy. There are competitions for the senior division and junior division. The United States won the senior team competition from 2008, 2010 to 2017, 2019 ...
alongside teammate
Leanne Wong Leanne Ashley Wong (born September 20, 2003) is an American artistic gymnast. She was a member of the gold medal winning teams at the 2022 World Championships, 2023 World Championships, and the 2019 Pan American Games. She is the 2021 Wor ...
, as well as seniors
Shilese Jones Shilese Jones (born July 26, 2002) is an American artistic gymnast. She was a member of the teams that won gold at the 2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, 2022 World Championships, 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, 2023 Wo ...
and Sophia Butler. However, the USA decided to not send a team due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Italy The COVID-19 pandemic in Italy was part of the COVID-19 pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was first confirmed to have spread to Italy on 31 January 2 ...
. In November Eaker signed her
National Letter of Intent The National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manag ...
with the
University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...
, intending to start in the 2021–22 school year.


2021

In April, Eaker competed at the American Classic. She placed fifth in the all-around with a score of 52.700 and placed third on balance beam behind
Sunisa Lee Sunisa "Suni" Phabsomphou Lee ( ; ; born March 9, 2003) is an American Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic Gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's artistic individual all-around, all-around gold medalist and ...
and
Skye Blakely Skye Amiel Blakely (born February 4, 2005) is an American artistic gymnast. She was a member of the teams who won gold at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships, silver at the 2022 Pan American Championships, and bronze at the inaugural Junior ...
. In May Eaker competed at the
U.S. Classic The U.S. Classic is an annual summer gymnastics meet for elite Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnasts of the United States. The meet occurs before USA Gymnastics National Championships, Nationals and is a qualifier for it. In Olympic years, the afo ...
where she finished ninth in the all-around and third on balance beam behind
Simone Biles Simone Arianne Biles Owens ( Biles; born March 14, 1997) is an American Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. Her 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals make her the most decorated gymnast in history. She is widely regarded as one ...
and teammate
Leanne Wong Leanne Ashley Wong (born September 20, 2003) is an American artistic gymnast. She was a member of the gold medal winning teams at the 2022 World Championships, 2023 World Championships, and the 2019 Pan American Games. She is the 2021 Wor ...
. At the
National Championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...
, Eaker finished tenth in the all-around and fifth on balance beam. As a result, she was named to the national team and selected to compete at the upcoming
Olympic Trials Olympic trials are competitions held in certain sports to select teams' participants in those sports at the Olympic Games. History Before 1908, members of United States Olympic teams were selected without trials. The 1908 and 1912 teams were s ...
. At the Olympic Trials, Eaker finished seventh in the all-around and second on balance beam. She was selected as an alternate for the
Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...
team. Prior to the start of the Olympic Games, while the main and reserve teams were training in Narita, Eaker tested positive for
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
.


Collegiate gymnastics career


2021–22 season

Eaker made her NCAA debut on January 7 at the Best of Utah meet where she competed on balance beam and floor exercise to help Utah win. During vault warmups Eaker's hand slipped causing her to fall and seek medical attention.


2023–24 season

On October 20, 2023, Eaker, who was 20 years of age, announced via
Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
her retirement from the sport of gymnastics and her withdrawal as a student from the
University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...
, where she had been coached by Tom Farden, citing verbal and emotional abuse from a coach and lack of support from the administration. In her Instagram post she states that she had been diagnosed with severe anxiety and depression, anxiety induced insomnia, and suffers from panic attacks, PTSD, and night terrors. Eaker cited that the abuse often happened in individual coach-athlete meetings, in which she would be isolated in a closed-door office with an overpowering coach, while he used "condescending, sarcastic and manipulative" tactics. Additionally she states that she was "personally attacked, humiliated, degraded and yelled at to the point of tears in front of the whole team". Furthermore, Eaker stated that the University of Utah administration "completely dismissed" her when she attempted to report the abuse. A second student made a similar complaint four days later, and in early November, Farden was put on administrative leave by the school. Nine days later Farden was officially removed from his coaching position.


2024–25 season

On August 15, 2024, the Georgia Bulldogs women's gymnastics team announced via social media that Eaker had joined their team.


Career perfect 10.0


Competitive history


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eaker, Kara 2002 births Living people American female artistic gymnasts Sportspeople from Missouri American sportswomen of Chinese descent Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships U.S. women's national team gymnasts Sportspeople from Kansas City, Missouri Chinese adoptees American adoptees Gymnasts at the 2019 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in gymnastics Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in gymnastics Utah Red Rocks gymnasts Georgia GymDogs gymnasts 21st-century American sportswomen