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World Olympic Gymnastics Academy

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33°7′41″N 96°48′5″W / 33.12806°N 96.80139°W / 33.12806; -96.80139

WOGA
SportGymnastics
Founded1994
Based inFrisco, Texas[1]
OwnerYevgeny Marchenko, Valeri Liukin
Websitewoga.net

The World Olympic Gymnastics Academy (WOGA) is a two-facility gymnastics club located in Frisco and Plano.

In 1994, WOGA was established by Yevgeny Marchenko, a World Sports acrobatic champion who guided Carly Patterson to her gold medal, and Valeri Liukin, a Soviet Olympic winner from 1988 who later worked as coordinator for the USA Gymnastics women's national team.[2][3]

Edouard Larov, a former coach of Liukin and the USSR and Canadian national teams, also trained gymnasts at the club.[4]

In 2003, WOGA gymnasts Patterson and Hollie Vise won two individual medals and contributed to the first team gold for the United States at the World Championships.[5][6] In 2004, Patterson became the second American gymnast to become the women's Olympic all-around gymnastics champion, and the first American to do so in a non-boycotted Olympics.[7]

WOGA hosts an annual meet at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas,[8] which has competitions from level 1 to 10 and an international elite competition that has featured competitors such as Mira Boumejmajen, Marine Brevet, Madeline Gardiner, Laurie Hernandez, Katelyn Ohashi, and Jordyn Wieber.

Notable gymnasts

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Further information: List of World Olympic Gymnastics Academy alumni

WOGA is home to four Olympic champions: Patterson (Athens 2004),[9] Nastia Liukin (Beijing 2008),[10] Madison Kocian (Rio 2016),[11] and Hezly Rivera (Paris 2024).[12]

Additionally WOGA is home to seven world champions: Patterson (2003),[13] Hollie Vise (2003),[13] Liukin (2005, 2007),[14][15] Ivana Hong (2007),[15] Kocian (2014, 2015),[16][17][18], Alyssa Baumann (2014), and Skye Blakely (2022, 2023).[16]

Other notable women's artistic gymnasts include Irina Alexeeva, Vanessa Atler, Rebecca Bross, Briley Casanova, Madray Johnson, Brenda Magaña, Grace McLaughlin, Konnor McClain, Ohashi, Levi Ruivivar, and McKenzie Wofford. Notable men's artistic gymnasts include Glenn McCuen. Notable acrobatic gymnasts include Dylan Inserra and Axl Osborne.

Sexual assaults and alleged abuse

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Sexual assaults

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In 2003 and 2004, WOGA coach Christopher Wagoner fondled and raped 14-year-old Natasha Crabb. Police launched an investigation in 2005 after Wagoner had left the gym. He pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault and was sentenced in 2006 to 15 years in prison.[19]

After Wagoner pled guilty, Crabb and her family sued WOGA's owners, alleging that the gym had failed to properly screen and supervise the coach. The suit did not seek a specific amount of money from the academy owners and did not accuse them of abuse. Bill Boyd, the gym's attorney, said all instructors receive a criminal background check and that the gym was not aware of any accusations until after Wagoner had left.[20][21][22] In 2008, WOGA and Crabb settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount.[19]

Alleged abuse of gymnasts

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In 2022, the U.S. Center for SafeSport launched an investigation into allegations of abuse of gymnasts by WOGA founder Liukin. "Multiple gymnasts allege Liukin routinely berated, belittled, and screamed at them, that he forced them to compete and train on broken bones or when they were ill, and in some cases they were fat-shamed daily," wrote the Orange County Register, citing a Southern California News Group investigation published in March 2022.[23] Liukin remained under investigation as of January 2023.[24]

References

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  1. ^ "WOGA Gymnastics". WOGA Gymnastics. 2022-11-16. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  2. ^ "World Olympic Gymnastics Academy – About Us". WOGA.
  3. ^ "Meet the Staff". WOGA. Retrieved 21 Jan 2016.
  4. ^ "Liukin". USAToday.
  5. ^ "37th World Championships Artistic Gymnastics". Gymnastics Results. August 24, 2003.
  6. ^ "Postell, Hatch, Patterson Added To World Championships Team". USA Gymnastics. August 5, 2003.
  7. ^ "SUMMER 2004 GAMES -- GYMNASTICS: WOMEN'S ALL-AROUND; 20 Years Later, the Next Mary Lou Takes Her Place". New York Times. August 20, 2004.
  8. ^ "Annual Events & Festivals". Visit Frisco. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  9. ^ "Patterson Wins GOLD In All-Around". USA Gymnastics. August 27, 2004.
  10. ^ "Liukin wins gold, Johnson silver in women's all-around at 2008 Olympic Games". USA Gymnastics. August 15, 2008.
  11. ^ "USA wins team gold in women's gymnastics at 2016 Olympic Games". USA Gymnastics. August 9, 2016.
  12. ^ "2024 Paris Olympics: Simone Biles, Suni Lee star as Team USA takes gold in women's team gymnastics". Yahoo! Sports. July 30, 2024.
  13. ^ a b "USOC Honors Gymnasts Chellsie Memmel and Paul Hamm and USA Gymnastics World". USA Gymnastics. September 12, 2003.
  14. ^ "Liukin wins world bars title; USA claims 3 more medals". USA Gymnastics. November 26, 2005.
  15. ^ a b "U.S. women win team title at 2007 World Championships". USA Gymnastics. September 6, 2007.
  16. ^ a b "U.S. women win second straight World team title at 2014 World Championships". USA Gymnastics. October 8, 2014.
  17. ^ "USA wins third straight women's team title at 2015 World Championships". USA Gymnastics. October 27, 2015.
  18. ^ "Kocian shares uneven bars gold medal at World Championships". USA Gymnastics. October 31, 2015.
  19. ^ a b Evans, Marisa Kwiatkowski, Mark Alesia and Tim. "USA Gymnastics coordinator Valeri Liukin's gym not immune to criticism for abuse". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2023-10-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ "Coach pleads guilty to sexual assault of gymnast". ESPN.com. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  21. ^ GLICK, JULIA (2006-09-08). "Gymnast Sues Over Alleged Sexual Abuse". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-01-24.
  22. ^ "Former Gymnastics Coach Gets 15 Years". AP Online. 2006-09-19. Archived from the original on 2018-01-25. Retrieved 2018-01-24 – via HighBeam.
  23. ^ "Another ex-WOGA gymnast alleges she was abused by Liukin". Orange County Register. 2022-03-22. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  24. ^ "Valeri Liukin, front-runner for top USA Gymnastics post, is being investigated for alleged verbal and mental abuse". Orange County Register. 2022-03-03. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
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