What you should know about Madison Kocian, the Texan gymnast headed to Rio
She’s a huge Rangers fan and a future Bruin
Late Sunday night, 19-year-old Madison Kocian was named one of the five gymnasts who will represent the US at the Olympic Games this August. Before watching her compete for gold in Rio de Janeiro, here’s what you need to know about this Texan teenager.
The 19-year-old was born and raised in Dallas
She has lived and trained in Texas her whole life, listing Rockfish Seafood Grill, Globe Life Park, Dallas Arboretum and the NorthPark Mall as some of her favorite hometown spots.
She considers Nastia Liukin her role model and big sister
Like Nastia and Carly Patterson, Madison trains at the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy, commonly referred to as WOGA. Before the Beijing Games, Madison watched Nastia train everyday and now keeps in regular contact with her.
Last year at the World Championships, she was in a four-way tie for the gold medal on the uneven bars
She scored a 15.366 and was part of the first ever four-way tie in the history of the gymnastics world championship. As part of Team USA, she also took home a gold medal in the team competition.
She’s a dog lover, and one of her dogs is named Biscuit
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Biscuit, a collie and golden retriever mix, isn’t featured on her Instagram, but she’s posted pictures of other adorable dogs. She also has a wired-hair terrier named Pete.
She’s a Taylor Swift fan, but Carrie Underwood is her celebrity crush
Although the last concert she attended was a part of Taylor Swift’s Red Tour, Madison claims Carrie’s songs are her daily, go-to music. She also likes Zac Brown Band.
Her dream is to throw out the first pitch at a Texas Rangers game
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Since she was young, she’s been a supporter of her hometown team. She lists the third baseman, Adrian Beltre, as one of her sports inspirations, and regularly posts about the team on social media. Her brother, Ty, also plays baseball.
She’s had her fair share of injuries over the years
She missed almost all of the 2012 season when she broke and dislocated the growth plate in her wrist, an injury that would later require surgery in 2014. In 2013, she missed out on being chosen for the World Championship team due to a severely hurt ankle, and then showed up to the US Olympic Committee media summit in March of this year on crutches due to a bone bruise.
In February, she starred in the viral Under Armour commercial
Alongside Olympic alternates MyKayla Skinner and Maggie Nichols, Madison was featured training early before the sun rose and long after it had set.
After the Rio games, she’ll attend UCLA
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Although she graduated high school last year, she deferred enrolling at UCLA in order to focus on making it to Rio. She won’t be the first Olympic gymnast to become a Bruin – London gold medalists Jordyn Wieber and Kyla Ross attend the school, and three-time World Champion Simone Biles also committed to attending UCLA before she ultimately decided to go pro.