Amy Chow

Profile

Family Name: Chow
First Name: Amy
Middle Name: Lou
Date of Birth: May 15th, 1978
Birthplace: San Jose, California
Hometown: San Jose, California
Club: West Valley Gymnastics School
Coaches: Mark Young and Diane Amos
Began Gymnastics: 1981
Favorite Event: Uneven Bars
School: Stanford University
Parents: Nelson and Susan Chow
Sibling: Kevin
Favorite Foods: Chinese Food and Spaghetti
Favorite Composers: Bach and Haydn
Hobbies: Playing the piano, reading books

Photo by Matthew Barber

Top Achievements

1994 U.S. National Championships Bronze Medalist (Vault), Event Finalist (6th Bars) and 5th AA
1994 Team World Championships Silver Medalist
1995 U.S. National Championships: 8th AA
1996 World Championships Team Member
1996 Olympic Gold Medalist (Team) and Silver Medalist (Bars)

For complete results, see her USA Gymnastics Official Biography

Biography

Her father is from China and her mother in from Hong Kong, but Amy was born and raised in the United States.
When she was three years old, her mother wanted to enroll her in ballet classes. But Amy was too young to become a ballerina, so she joined the West Valley Gymnastics School, where she met coaches Mark Young and Diane Amos. Like many of her teammates, Amy idolized Mary Lou Retton, the 1984 Olympic Champion, and she gradually came to realize that she too could become an Olympian. Her younger brother Kevin was also involved in gymnastics, and he gave her the support she needed through the years.
Amy reached the highest senior level in 1993 and qualified for the 1994 Team World Championships. Her solid performances in Dortmund helped the U.S. Team to win an unexpected silver medal behind the untouchable Romanians.
A sprained ankle caused her to miss the 1995 Worlds, but she came back in 1996 to train for the Olympics. In the meantime, she had graduated from Castilleja High School  with a grade-point average above 4.0.
At the Olympic Trials in Boston, she was doing pretty well until she slipped off the beam and knocked her eye on it. Despite a black eye, and obviously in pain, she finished her routine and earned a spot on the team.
She and her teammates went on to win the first olympic team gold medal for the U.S. in women's gymnastics history.  Moreover, Amy qualified for the bars finals and tied Bi Wenjing for the silver medal.
After the Olympics, the 'Magnificent Seven', as the girls became to be called, appeared on the Wheaties box and on several T.V. Shows, including Letterman and The Today Show. They went on tour twice, in 1996 and 1997.
Amy, also an accomplished pianist, is now a student at Stanford University and plans on becoming a pedriatrician.
She never really gave up gymnastics (although she hasn't competed at worlds since '96), and recently  earned a spot on the 2000 Olympic Team.     

Photo by Matthew Barber

Links

Amy Chow Fan Page
Amy Chow of the Mag7
The Amy Chow Honor Page
The Amy Chow Web Site
USA Gymnastics Official Biography

Latest Update: August 25th, 2000.