McNamara, Julianne L.
Gymnastics
b. Oct. 11, 1966, Flushing, NY
McNamara was the first American woman ever to win an individual gold medal in an Olympic gymnastics event, but she was hardly noticed because Mary Lou Retton was the focus of attention at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
On the parallel bars, her best event, McNamara performed daring moves attempted by few women. That was the event in which she won her 1984 gold medal. She was also the first American woman to win a silver medal in the floor exercise, ahead of Retton, who won the bronze. They led the U. S. team to a silver medal. McNamara, who once said, "I'm striving for a ten every time out," did achieve five perfect scores of 10 during the Olympics, a record for an American gymnast.
She began competition when she was ten years old and won the national vault and all-around championships in 1980, shortly after her fifteenth birthday. McNamara won the American Cup all-around title and was named female gymnast of the year in 1981 and 1982. She was named female gymnast of the year a third time in 1984 after winning the national and American Cup championships in the parallel bars. McNamara teamed with Jim Hartung to win the international mixed pairs title that year.
After the 1984 Olympics, McNamara retired from gymnastics competition to go into acting.