Betty Okino

Profile

Family Name: Okino
First Name: Elizabeth
Middle Name: Anne
Nickname: Betty
Date of Birth: June 4th, 1975
Birthplace: Uganda, Africa
Hometown: Elmhurst, Illinois
Residence: California
Club (until 1992): Karolyi Gymnastics
Coaches (until 1992): Bela and Martha Karolyi
Parents: Aurelia Matei (from Romania) and Francis Carey Okino (from Uganda)
Siblings: Edward and Gloria
Particularity: She is fluent in Romanian   

Photo by Matthew Barber

Top Achievements

1990 U.S. National Championships Silver Medalist (AA), Gold Medalist (Beam) and Event Finalist (5th Bars, 4th Floor)
1991 World Championships Silver Medalist (Team), Bronze Medalist (Beam) and 4th AA
1991 American Cup Champion and Gold Medalist (AA, Vault, Bars)
1992 World Championships Silver Medalist (Bars) and Event Finalist (8th Beam)
1992 Olympic Bronze Medalist (Team) and Event Finalist (6th Beam)

Copyright David Lovett

Biography

Betty Okino was born in Uganda, Africa, from a Romanian mother and an Ugandan father. In 1976, her parents moved to the U.S., and Betty and her brother joined them one year later.
A couple of years later, the family left their residence in Minnesota and settled in Illinois, where Betty started taking dance lessons. With her brother as a partner, she won several tap-dancing championships.
Like many of her contemporaries, Betty was amazed by Mary Lou Retton's performance at the 1984 Olympics and decided she wanted to become a gymnast. Her mother coached her until she was ten, and then enrolled her in the Illinois Gymnastics Institute to train with Todd Gardiner. Betty turned elite at age 13 and shortly thereafter, she decided to take the next big step: go to Houston to train with legendary coach Bela Karolyi. At first, Karolyi refused to accept Betty into his group (known as the 'Karolyi Six-Pack', i.e. his six best gymnast at the time) and Betty had to train with a lower group. But a couple of weeks later, when she beat two of his girls in a competition, Karolyi had no other choice but to take her on.
Betty's grandmother moved to Houston to support her (she even learned to drive at age 70 so she could take her granddaughter back and forth to the gym), and Betty quickly became one of the best gymnasts in the country.
At the 1990 U.S. National Championships, she finished second to teammate Kim Zmeskal. She would beat Zmeskal a few months later (in early 1991), a performance that allowed her to win one if the most prestigious competitions on the international scene: the American Cup.
But beside her competitive results, Betty is now remembered for her slender figure, her long legs and her elegant style, which brought a charming and feminine touch to the sport of gymnastics. Moreover, she invented the 'Okino' move, a triple pirouette on beam that is now named after her.
Despite some injuries in 1991, Betty competed at the World Championships in Indianapolis and helped the U.S. Team to win a silver medal (behind the Soviets but ahead of the Romanians). She also earned a bronze medal for herself with a stunning beam routine, which included her own 'Okino' move.
In 1992, severe injuries once again stood in her way. She won a silver medal on bars at the World Championships, but in May, she fractured her back during practice. And beside dealing with the pain, she also had to put up with Bela's attitude, who somehow thought she was pretending to be in pain because she was too lazy to train.
That year, Betty was unable to compete at both Nationals and Trials, but her past international results made it possible for her coach to petition her onto the 1992 Olympic Team, a fact that would lead to one of the biggest scandals in U.S. gymnastics history: Betty, 1991 World Championships teammember Michelle Campi and the girls who had officially qualified for the Olympics by earning a spot in the top six at Trials were asked to compete in 'closed-door' trials held in Florida. Betty and Michelle qualified, and Kim Kelly was cut off the team despite having officially qualified at the first trials.
The 1992 U.S. Olympic team went on to win a team bronze medal in Barcelona. Individually, Betty, who was still in pain, placed 12th in the all-around and 6th in the beam final.
After the Olympics, Betty retired from international competition at age 17. She returned to Illinois to complete her education at York High School, and then attended the University of Oklahoma, where she majored in broadcast journalism.
She continued performing in exhibitions such as the 1997 'World Rhythm On Ice' shows (see picture above) and now resides in California, where she is pursuing an acting career.

Quotation

'As long as I can walk, I'll try to make it there [the Barcelona Olympics]'

Links

Betty Okino with 'World Rhythm On Ice'
'Breaking The Ice': Gymnast Betty Okino tests skating world
Interview from 'Flying Squirrels'
'Whatever Happened To...Betty Okino'

Copyright ShanFan14