Sabrina Mar (born ) is an American

gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

. She was the 1985 U.S. national all-around champion. She was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2004.

Early life

Mar's parents emigrated to the United States from China after World War II. Sabrina Mar was named for Audrey Hepburn's character in Sabrina. Mar grew up in

Monterey Park, California Monterey Park is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately from the Downtown Los Angeles civic center. The city's motto is "Pride in the past, Faith in the future". Mo ...

. She started ballet at an early age where one of her instructors noticed her talent for tumbling and suggested putting her in gymnastics.

Education

In 1993, Mar earned a degree from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

Gymnastics career

As a junior, Mar finished second at U.S. nationals twice. Mar trained at Southern California Acro Team (SCATS), a non-profit gym which produced several champion gymnasts, including

Cathy Rigby Cathleen Roxanne Rigby (later Mason, later McCoy, born December 12, 1952), known as Cathy Rigby, is an actress, speaker, and former artistic gymnast. Her performance in the 1968 Summer Olympics helped to popularize the sport of gymnastics in the ...

. At SCATS, Mar was coached by Mary Wright and Steve Gerlach. Mar won the all-around title at the 1985 USA Gymnastics National Championships. At that meet she also won gold on floor exercise and uneven bars and silver on balance beam and vault. She suffered from back pain in 1986 and only managed an 11th place finish at the 1986 National Champships. Mar recovered from an ankle injury in 1987 to place third at the National Championships that year. Mar won the all-around title at the

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas ...

where she also won team gold. Mar was part of the U.S. gymnastics team for the 1987 World Championships. The team finished a disappointing sixth, with Mar being the only team member to qualify for an individual event final. Mar pulled out of the 1988 USA Gymnastics National Championships with a back injury. Mar had long suffered from

spondylolisthesis Spondylolisthesis is the displacement of one spinal vertebra compared to another. While some medical dictionaries define spondylolisthesis specifically as the forward or anterior displacement of a vertebra over the vertebra inferior to it (or t ...

, a slippage of disks in the back. Mar was given an waiver to compete in the national trials, however the injury prevented her from competing. She retired from gymnastics when she pulled out of the trials. Mar was inducted into the

USA Gymnastics United States of America Gymnastics (USA Gymnastics or USAG) is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. Established in 1963 as the U.S. Gymnastics Federation (USGF), USA Gymnastics is responsible for selecting and train ...

Hall of Fame in 2004.

Allegations against USA Gymnastics

Mar is one of several former USA gymnasts who has alleged former coach Doug Boger mistreated young gymnasts. According to Mar, Boger would pin gymnasts against the wall and "basically just choke you." USA Gymnastics placed Boger on its list of ineligible coaches in 2010.

Post-gymnastics career

Mar was a dancer in Annie (1982). She then became an animator on the television show '' South Park''.

Personal life

Mar's husband is Dennis. They have one son and a daughter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mar, Sabrina American gymnasts American female artistic gymnasts Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Pan American Games medalists in gymnastics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States U.S. women's national team gymnasts Gymnasts at the 1987 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games 21st-century American women