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HOLLIE VISE
Official website: www.hollievise.com
Hollie Diane Vise (born December 6, 1987 in Dallas, Texas) is an American female gymnast. Hollie is a two-time World Champion.
She is currently attending the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma.
Born in Dallas, Texas, Vise is not the only athlete in her family. Her brothers are active in many different sports
and Vise's mother was also a gymnast when she was younger. Her grandfather, the well known character actor Burton
Gilliam, was a Golden Gloves boxer who won more than 200 bouts before turning to acting.
Vise started gymnastics at age three in a beginner class (Level 1) and advanced so quickly that she could not compete
in Level 5, because she did not meet the age requirement of six. She moved to WOGA (World Olympic Gymnastics Academy) in
Plano, Texas when she had progressed as far as she could go in that program (Level 8) at seven years old. She continued to
progress at a rapid pace and at the age of 11, she passed over level 10 and became an elite gymnast.
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Hollie Vise, 2004 US Olympic Trials
Photograph copyright © Heather Maynez, www.gymnpics.com. All rights reserved. |
Vise is known for her graceful style and extreme flexibility. One of her signature skills on beam is her mount,
where she jumps to a cheststand and then arches her legs over. This signature move is also performed on the floor exercise
that Vise rotates into a split. She is also known for doing a needle scale. These two poses are very photogenic and have
contributed to Vise's fame as a gymnast.
Throughout her elite career she has been trained by former Russian acrobat Evgeny Marchenko. Her teammates at WOGA have
included 2004 Olympic champion Carly Patterson and two-time U.S. national champion
Nastia Liukin.
Vise is best remembered for her gold medals at the 2003 World Championships in the team and uneven bars events.
Vise competed on uneven bars and balance beam in the team competition. Immediately prior to her routine, it was discovered
that her number was not attached to the back of her leotard, a violation that automatically incurs a 0.2 deduction. Coaches
quickly scribbled her number on a spare sheet of paper, safety pinned it to her back, and sent her out. The pressure got to
her, and Vise mis-timed her ono parouette (a 360 degree turn on one arm) and fell on the piked yaegar that was immediately
after the skill, scoring an 8.875, a big disappointment for team USA, as the two athletes who went before her on the
apparatus had scored in the 9.6 range, and being last up, she was expected to bring in the highest score of the three.
Nevertheless, she regrouped to put out a respectable performance on balance beam (9.512) that helped the U.S. team to
its first team world gold.
A replacement for teammate Courtney Kupets who had withdrawn from the competition
with a torn Achilles tendon, Vise completed a near-perfect routine in the uneven bars event final, scoring a 9.612 to tie
Chellsie Memmel for the title.
A back injury caused Vise to withdraw from the 2004 U.S. national championships. She competed on uneven bars and balance
beam at the 2004 Olympic Trials, though several moves demonstrating her extreme flexibility had to be removed. She finished
third and fifth respectively. She hit routines at the Olympic Selection Camp but failed to make the Olympic team.
The team needed vault specialists and Vise was a bar and beam specialist.
Vise continued to train and earned a full scholarship to University of Oklahoma. There she has been competing NCAA, beginning
in the 2006–2007 season.
Vise competed her first collegiate meet at Arizona State University Tri-meet scoring a solid 9.800 on beam. A week
later, Vise tied for fourth place, scoring career high 9.825, on beam at Iowa State University. Two days later, Vise
was the runner-up on beam scoring a 9.775 against Iowa. Vise has shown consistency on beam so far this season scoring a
9.725 against Texas Women's University when she added a front handspring before her dismount adding more difficulty.
Vise scored a career-best 9.85 to tie for fourth on beam against Pittsburg. She recorded the Sooners' second-best
beam score (9.825) at the Big 12 Championship and the Sooners came in second place. At Regionals, the Sooners qualified for
NCAAs along with Alabama. The Sooners tied with Iowa State but won the tiebreaker. During qualification, Vise scored a
9.8 on beam but the Sooners didn't make the Super Six. Next season it is said that Vise will again be competing on bars.
For more information, visit her
profile page on the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique website.
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