American superstar gymnasts Simone Biles and Gabby Douglas have helped bring the sport into the spotlight in recent years.
The legendary American gymnast is working to further boost the momentum for young athletes interested in the sport, especially those growing up in underserved communities, to ensure they aren’t left behind.
Wendy Hilliard rose to fame as the first black rhythmic gymnast to represent the United States on the world stage. She later Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation The organisation aims to “improve physical and mental health through gymnastics and empower the lives of young people in disadvantaged communities”.
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Wendy Hilliard of the rhythmic gymnastics team attends the Women’s Sports Foundation’s 40th Annual Women in Sports Awards Ceremony, honoring the most accomplished women in sports and the girls they inspire, at Cipriani Wall Street on October 16, 2019 in New York City. (Theo Wargo/Getty Images, courtesy of Women’s Sports Foundation)
“After I retired, I became a coach and moved to New York. My gymnasts made the Olympic team in 1996, but there was a lack of diversity in the sport so I wanted to go back to grassroots training. So I started a foundation and we were quiet for a while,” Hilliard told Fox News Digital.
Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles training for Paris with best friend and “superhero” Simone Biles
Hilliard coached former rhythmic gymnast Ariane Baquero Wilson, who was a member of the national senior group and was selected to compete in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics along with Kate Nelson, Mandy James, Becky Turner, Challen Sievers and Brandi Siegel.
While the Foundation had a relatively quiet start, strategic partnerships and Douglas’s appearance at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where she won gold medals in the all-around and team events, helped the Foundation reach new heights.
Wendy Hilliard attends the Women’s Sports Foundation’s annual Women in Sports Awards ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street on October 12, 2023 in New York City. (Dia Dipaspil/Getty Images for WSF)
“We started partnering with Harlem Children’s Zone and then Gabby Douglas won in 2012, and it’s been on a great trajectory ever since,” Hilliard said. “We partnered up to raise funds to keep it running as (affordable) as possible and still provide scholarships for those who need financial assistance.”
Hilliard said that during her competition, she felt great pride in representing the U.S. and understood the responsibility that came with that position, and that traveling the world has highlighted the similarities that exist between people all over the world.
Wendy Hilliard attends the Women’s Sports Foundation’s annual Salute to Women in Sports at the New York Historical Society on October 13, 2021 in New York City. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images via Women’s Sports Foundation)
“It was really exciting. First of all, I was really grateful to see the world. When you go overseas, you see how similar people are. When you get all the athletes from countries around the world together, you see that we all train hard. We all have hard coaches and hard lives. But representing the U.S., of course, it’s a great sense of pride and responsibility. So I trained hard. The benefit was that I got to see the world.”
Hilliard appeared on Broadway in “Candide” and is also the host of the “Champion Sports Moms Podcast.”
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In 2011, Hilliard was recognized for her dedication to helping children achieve their Olympic dreams by receiving the Rings of Gold award from the United States Olympic Committee.
The 2024 Summer Olympics will begin in Paris on July 26th and end on August 11th.
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