Mattie Larson

Mattie Larson
— Gymnast —
Mattie Larson performs on the balance beam at the 2008 U.S. National Championships in Boston
Personal information
Born	(1992-05-20) May 20, 1992 Los Angeles, California
Height	5 2"
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Level	International Elite (2006–10) Collegiate (2011—13)
Club	All Olympia Gymnastics Center
College team	UCLA Bruins
Head coach(es)	Valorie Kondos Field
Former coach(es)	Galina Marinova, Artur Akopyan
Music	Assassin's Tango (2008), Apasionada (2010), Bust Your Windows (2011-2012) Opera Dance (2013)
Medal record Women's gymnastics Representing the  United States World Championships 2010 Rotterdam Team FIG World Cup 2009 Montreal Balance Beam 2009 Montreal Floor Exercise U.S National Championships 2010 Hartford Floor Exercise 2010 Hartford All-Around 2008 Boston Floor Exercise 2010 Hartford Uneven bars

Mattie Larson (born May 20, 1992 in Los Angeles) is a retired elite American gymnast. She is a member of the U.S. National Team and is the 2010 National Champion on floor exercise.^[1] Mattie competed for the UCLA Bruins from 2012 through 2014. Her parents, Eric Larson and Gail Boggs, are actors.^[2]

Though expected to challenge for a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team, Larson injured her leg before the final day of the selection camp and could not compete on her best events. Other injuries followed, and she was out of competition for nearly two years.

Larson came back strong in 2010 to win the all-around title at the CoverGirl Classic in July. A month later she won three medals at the 2010 U.S. National Championships: gold on floor, silver in the all-around, and bronze on uneven bars.

Larson signed with the UCLA Gymnastics Team but deferred enrollment to try for the 2012 Olympics in London.

Larson trains with fellow USA Gymnastics National Team member Samantha Shapiro.^[3]

Junior career

Larson first qualified to junior international elite in July 2006 at the U.S. Classic where she finished 5th all-around. Larson was supposed to compete at her first U.S. National Championships but an injury forced her out of the competition. She returned to competition in 2007. She finished second all-around and first on vault at the WOGA Classic. She then finished 3rd all-around at the U.S. Classic, qualifying once again to the National Championships. She performed well enough to make the National Team. She then competed at the Junior Pan American Games, her first international assignment, where she won gold in the all-around and on floor. She was named the November USOC Female Athlete of the Month.

Senior career

Larson moved to the senior division in 2008. She finished second on beam and first on floor at the WOGA Classic. At the Gymnix International competition, she won the silver in the all-around and bronze on bars. She was also named to the Grand Prix Team in Italy but was unable to compete due to a small foot injury. During the Friendship International Exchange, she placed 4th all-around and won silver on floor behind teammate Alicia Sacramone. At her first Senior Nationals, she finished seventh all-around to make the National Team and qualified for the Olympic Trials. After the Olympic Trials she made the Olympic Training Squad. Unfortunately, an injury kept her from making the Olympic Team. She opened her 2009 competitions at the Gymnix World Cup and earned gold medals on beam and floor. She was selected as part of the European Tour. She did not compete all-around but helped the team win against Germany and France. Another injury kept her from competing at the U.S. Nationals, but she was petitioned onto the team. Late in 2009 she signed her letter of intent to UCLA, but decided that she would defer from college for a while in hopes of making the 2012 Olympic Team.

Larson suffered a double-ankle sprain shortly before the 2009 U.S. National Championships. Thus, she was unable to compete and did not recover in time to secure a bid to the 2009 World Championships. Larson made a strong comeback in 2010 winning the all-around competition at the CoverGirl Classic in July.^[4] More success followed at the 2010 U.S. National Championships in Hartford, Connecticut, where she won three medals including her first national title: gold on floor, silver in the all-around, and bronze on uneven bars. She was subsequently chosen to be a member of the US team for the World Championships in Rotterdam. In the qualification round she competed all four events and would have qualified for the All-around finals in 11th place if it weren't for the two [athletes] per country rule. She also failed to make floor finals, her specialty, due to a fall on her first tumbling pass, a double layout. Nevertheless, she was set to compete floor in the team finals in a "3 up 3 count" format meaning that three gymnasts compete on an event and every score counts towards the team total. Larson had a sub-par performance, leaving out a mandatory requirement, losing her half a point, and falling on her knees on the final tumbling pass, losing yet another point. The USA was beaten for the gold by Russia, who themselves counted 3 falls, by a margin of 0.2 points. Larson was subsequently heavily criticized not only for her mistakes but for her apparent lack of knowledge concerning the requirements in the floor exercise, as she could have easily made up for her missed connection by throwing in two easy skills as a front handspring and aerial (the requirement was that a gymnast must perform front tumbling as well as back tumbling).

Larson decided to abandon elite gymnastics and joined the UCLA Bruins, the reigning national champions in NCAA. Bruins coach Valorie Kondos Field ("Miss Val") said she had been waiting to recruit Mattie, known for her lyrical movements and artistry on floor, since she was nine years old. In the fall, Mattie Larson debuted a well choreographed marionette-themed floor exercise and has since competed it successfully, along with the other three events to contribute to the Bruins successful season.

As of 2014, Mattie Larson decided to retire from gymnastics altogether and didn't compete with the Bruins for the NCAA 2014 Season. ^[5]

Competitive History

Senior Career History

Junior Career History

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mattie Larson.

• Mattie Larson Online
• Mattie Larson at USA Gymnastics
• Mattie Larson Videos at Gymnastike.org
• Diolase 10 Laser Therapy Case Study for Mattie Larson