Rhonda Faehn (born April 28, 1971) is an American college

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

coach and former college and elite gymnast. Faehn was the head coach of the

Florida Gators women's gymnastics The Florida Gators women's gymnastics team represents the University of Florida in the sport of artistic gymnastics, gymnastics. The team competes in Division I (NCAA), Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the S ...

team of the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

for thirteen seasons, from 2003 to 2015. As a gymnast, Faehn competed at the 1987 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and was named as an alternate for the U.S team at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea. Faehn also competed collegiately, earning a scholarship to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, where she attended from 1990 to 1994. She is best known for leading the Florida Gators to twelve consecutive appearances in the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) Division I women's gymnastics tournament, and three consecutive NCAA championships in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Faehn left the University of Florida in 2015 to become the Senior Vice President of

USA Gymnastics United States of America Gymnastics (USA Gymnastics or USAG) is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. It sets the domestic rules and policies that govern the sport, promotes and develops gymnastics on the grassroots ...

, the governing body of gymnastics in the United States. On May 17, 2018, USA Gymnastics parted ways with Faehn, who came under fire from survivors of former national team doctor Larry Nassar's abuse.

Coaching career

After taking over the Florida program in 2003, Faehn established herself among the top tier of gymnastics coaches in the United States. She compiled a record of 347–86–6 as the head coach at the University of Florida.GatorZone.com, Gymnastics, Coaching & Support Staff
Rhonda Faehn
. Retrieved April 24, 2015. Her teams finished no lower than fourth in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC), widely regarded as the toughest gymnastics conference in the country. In 2003 and 2004, Florida placed second in their NCAA regional. From 2005 to 2008, the Gators won four consecutive NCAA regional tournaments. During her thirteen seasons as the head coach of the Gators, Florida finished in the top ten NCAA gymnastics teams in the nation every year, never finishing lower than seventh at the NCAA championship. Faehn coached the Gators to their first-ever NCAA national championship in gymnastics in 2013, with a second NCAA title in 2014 as the Gators tied the Oklahoma Sooners women's gymnastics team in the NCAA Super Six finals, and a third NCAA title in 2015. Prior to coaching at Florida, she coached at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

from 1997 to 1998, and at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

from 1999 to 2002. She also served as a student-assistant at her alma mater, UCLA in 1993 and 1994. After the fallout from the

USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal The USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal relates to the sexual abuse of hundreds of gymnasts—primarily Minor (law), minors—over two decades in the United States, starting in the 1990s. It is considered the largest sexual abuse scandal in sports ...

, she was briefly hired at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, but was fired shortly after due to backlash from alumni and some abuse survivors. In 2019 for a short period of time, she coached at Waverley Gymnastics Centre in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia, before returning to the United States for family reasons.

USA Gymnastics career

On May 11, 2015, Faehn was hired as the Senior Vice President of the Women's Program at

. Shortly after she was hired, she was informed by Sarah Jantzi of Twin City Twisters of a report of "uncomfortable" medical treatments administered by

Larry Nassar Lawrence Gerard Nassar (born August 16, 1963) is an American former family medicine osteopathic physician and convicted sex offender. From 1996 to 2014, he was the team doctor of the United States women's national gymnastics team, where he use ...

on a national team athlete. According to her, she immediately reported this incident to

Steve Penny Stephen D. Penny Jr. (born 1964) is an American businessman and sports administrator. He was president and CEO of USA Gymnastics (USAG) from 2005 until 2017, and is a key figure in the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal. Career Penny began his car ...

, who informed her that he would contact law enforcement, but did not do so for another 5 weeks. This incident was one of the key events of the

and her involvement is mentioned in 2020 documentary, '' Athlete A''. She was dismissed from USA Gymnastics on May 18, 2018.

Competitive career

During her elite career, Faehn was coached by Bela Karolyi at Karolyi's gym in Texas. She finished twelfth at the 1986 U.S. National Championships, but had her greatest achievements in 1987, when she finished sixth at the national championships, and won the individual national title on vault, scoring perfect 10s on her laid-out Yurchenko vaults in both the individual all-around competition and the vault event final. She competed at the 1987 World Championships as part of the U.S. national team, and had the highest placement for the American women in the all-around final, finishing 19th. In 1988, her last year as an elite senior, Faehn finished sixth at the U.S. Nationals, and defended her individual national title on vault. She finished seventh at the 1988 Olympic Trials and was named the alternate to the U.S. Olympic Team. Although she never competed in the Olympic events, her presence led to a controversial ruling that cost the U.S. the bronze medal. As an alternate, Faehn remained on the podium after removing the springboard that Kelly Garrison-Steves used to mount the uneven bars. A Code of Points rule bans coaches from remaining on the podium as an athlete competes. Although Faehn was not a coach, the presiding judge, Ellen Berger – an East German – invoked the rule and penalized the Americans five-tenths of a point, causing them to finish fourth behind East Germany and knocking them out of medal contention.

Personal life

Faehn was born on April 28, 1971, in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. In June 2006, she married Jeremy Bayon, a French tennis player who was an assistant coach for the Florida Gators men's tennis program. The couple have two sons, Noah and Isaiah. The family resides in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Honors

* NACGC Southeast Region Coach of the Year (2003, 2005, 2007, 2014) * SEC Coach of the Year (2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013) * NACGC Southeast Region Coach of the Year * NACGC Coach of the Year (2007)

References

External links

*http://www.gatorzone.com/gymnastics/bios.php?year=2003&bio=faehn.html *http://www.gymn-forum.net/Results/usnat-results.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Faehn, Rhonda 1971 births Living people Florida Gators women's gymnastics coaches Sportspeople from Minneapolis UCLA Bruins women's gymnasts American female artistic gymnasts Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in gymnastics U.S. women's national team gymnasts Gymnasts at the 1987 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games Sports coaches from Minneapolis 20th-century American sportswomen