Remember McKayla Maroney the all around Gymnast? She was quite good. She finished 2nd at the 2011 Visa Championships and even won 2011 City of Jesolo Trophy international meet. 

After competing only on vault for Team USA in London, many have forgotten that Maroney does indeed compete bars, beam, and floor. In her return to gymnastics competition after the Olympic Games, we hope to see more of Maroney the all arounder. And it turns out, so does Maroney's coach Arthur Akopyan. 




Maroney and coach Akopyan at the 2012 Secret Classic. Photo by Scott & Emer Hults.

We spoke with Akopyan right after Maroney was named to the Olympic team in 2012, and he was already hopeful about his post-Olympic journey with his star gymnast. When asked what he was focusing on at that point in her training her replied, "It’s not only this year. We are looking for the next year and she can become a better, stronger all arounder." 

Maroney agrees. After night one of the U.S. Olympic Trials when her status on the 2012 Olympic team was very uncertain, she told us, "I want to be known as a gymnast who can go in, if they need me, and do all four events. I do not use vault to think I can fall on other events and be okay; I always try to do my best on all events." 

Maroney competing floor at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials. Photo by Melissa Perenson.

Showing incredible drive and mental toughness, Maroney fought her way onto the Olympic team last summer, overcoming a concussion and nasal fracture suffered during the Visa Championships. Then, she competed through the pain and uncertainty of a fractured toe in London. Although she was selected for her potential to contribute a team score on floor exercise in addition to vault, Maroney only vaulted in London.  

As result, Maroney has been dubbed a "vault specialist", and even called a "one trick pony", but she is more than that. And coach Akopyan is determined to keep improving Maroney's performance on all four events.


Check out Maroney's floor routine during training at the 2012 Olympic Trials. She is the complete package on floor with artistic dance and powerful tumbling, including her signature and very difficult 3.5 twist. Want more Maroney? Click here to watch her beam routine. 

 

Maroney returned to gymnastics training with Akopyan and coach Galina Marinova at All Olympia Gymnastics Center in late January. However, before she could even think about getting back into gymnastics training, she had to fully recover from three post-Olympic surgeries. 

Maroney had two screws inserted in her left leg on September 13 to repair a Tibial Tubercle fracture suffered when landing her uneven bars dismount during the second stop of the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions. Two weeks later, Maroney underwent surgery on her right toe which was fractured prior to the Olympics. Finally on December 6, she had a third surgery to remove the screws from her leg. 

Maroney spoke to Gymnastike in January about her return to the gym. At that time, she was only conditioning, riding the bike, and focusing on "healing and strengthening her leg". Even still, she wasn't shy about stating, "I would love to make the World team this year!" 

Maroney made a strong case for her comeback to competition in late May by attending her first U.S. national team training camp since before the Olympic Games. This comes just five months after resuming training at AOGC and ten months after Olympic glory in London. 

Maroney with Martha Karolyi and Akopyan May 30, 2013 at National Team Camp. 
Photo by USA Gymnastics

Martha Karolyi, U.S. women’s national team coordinator, told USA Gymnastics that Maroney “exceeded expectations for her first camp”. She added that she is “quite impressed with her level of difficulty at this time”. 

Considering all she's been through physically in the past year, it is quite impressive that Maroney has been able to not only get back into shape but also regain skills in this short amount of time. Plus, a leg injury always means increased training time on uneven bars, her weakest event.  



Maroney competing as a junior elite at the 2010 Visa Championships. Photo by Ryan Schulz.

Maroney has already made huge strides in her all around performance in her time at AOGC. She moved from Gym-Max in the spring of 2010 and her partnership with her new coaches clicked right away. She improved from 27th all around at the 2009 Visa Championships to 3rd all around in 2010, solidifying her place on the U.S. National team where she has remained ever since. Now, Maroney may already be a World and Olympic Champion, but she still has room to grow, both in the all around and on her signature event.

We've heard rumblings of a yurchenko triple. "We tried it in the gym", Akopyan revealed, excited. "She is really close to it, but I don’t want to trust it. I don’t want to do it for the Olympics. Maybe for Worlds." 

We look forward to seeing coaches Akopyan and Marinova continue to tap into Maroney's all around potential and seeing her shine on all four events in her return to gymnastics competition. 

UPDATE: McKayla Maroney will make her 2013 competition debut at the Secret US Classic, held July 27 in Chicago. Follow Maroney's comeback on Gymnastike. 

Want more Maroney? Click here to watch McKayla Maroney Videos.