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Kara Eaker

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Kara Eaker
Full nameKara Eaker
Country represented United States
Born (2002-11-07) November 7, 2002 (age 22)
Jiangxi, China
HometownGrain Valley, Missouri
ResidenceGrain Valley, Missouri
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior International Elite
Years on national team2017–22 (USA)
GymGreat American Gymnastics Express
College teamUtah Utes (2022–2023)
Georgia Bulldogs (2025–2026)
Former coach(es)Al Fong
Tom Farden
RetiredOctober 20, 2023
Medal record
Representing  United States
Women's artistic gymnastics
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2018 Doha Team
Gold medal – first place 2019 Stuttgart Team
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2019 Lima Team
Gold medal – first place 2019 Lima Balance Beam
Silver medal – second place 2019 Lima Floor Exercise
Pan American Championships
Gold medal – first place 2018 Lima Team
Gold medal – first place 2018 Lima Balance Beam
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Lima Floor Exercise
Representing Utah Red Rocks
NCAA Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Fort Worth Team
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Fort Worth Team

Kara Eaker (born November 7, 2002) is an American artistic gymnast. On the balance beam she is the 2018 Pan American and 2019 Pan American Games champion and a two-time United States national silver medalist (2018, 2019). On floor exercise she is the 2019 Pan American Games silver medalist and the 2018 Pan American bronze medalist. She was a member of the American teams that won gold at the 2018 and 2019 World Championships, the 2019 Pan American Games, and the 2018 Pan American Championships. She was an alternate for the 2020 Olympic team.

Early life

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Eaker was born in Jiangxi, China as Kara Ming. She was adopted by her family in 2003 and has since resided with them in Missouri.[1]

Elite gymnastics career

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2017

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Eaker competed at the 2017 U.S. Classic, where she placed third on balance beam and fifth in the all-around in the junior division.[2] She later competed at the 2017 National Championships, where she placed first on balance beam (ahead of Maile O'Keefe and Adeline Kenlin), third in the all-around, fourth on floor exercise, and fifth on uneven bars. She was then named to the Junior National Team.[3]

2018

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Eaker turned senior in 2018. She competed at the American Classic, where she placed first on balance beam, second on floor exercise, and fourth in the all-around.[4] Later in the summer, she competed at the 2018 U.S. Classic, where she placed fifth on balance beam after falling off.[5] At the National Championships Eaker finished seventh in the all-around, second on balance beam behind Simone Biles, fifth on floor exercise, and ninth on uneven bars.[6][7] As a result of her performance, she was added to the senior national team.[8] The following day, Eaker was named to the team to compete at the Pan American Championships in Lima, Peru alongside Grace McCallum, Trinity Thomas, Jade Carey, and Shilese Jones.[9] On the first day of competition, Eaker won the gold medal on balance beam and the bronze on floor exercise. In the team competition, Eaker contributed on these two events toward the United States' gold-medal-winning performance.[10][11]

In October, Eaker participated in the Worlds Team Selection Camp. During the competition, she placed first on the balance beam, sixth in the all-around, eighth on vault, ninth on uneven bars, and fifth on floor exercise.[12] The following day, she was named to the team to compete at the 2018 World Championships alongside Simone Biles, Morgan Hurd, Grace McCallum, Riley McCusker, and alternate Ragan Smith.[13][14] During qualifications Eaker qualified second to the balance beam final, behind Biles. The US also qualified in first to the team final.[15] During the team final, Eaker competed on only balance beam. She contributed 14.333, the highest beam score of the night from any competitor, towards the USA's team total. The American team won gold with a score of 171.629, 8.766 points ahead of second place Russia.[16] Although she was favored for a medal in the balance beam final, she placed sixth after falling on her mount.

2019

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In February, Eaker was named to the team to compete at the 2019 International Gymnix in Montreal alongside Alyona Shchennikova, Sloane Blakely, and Aleah Finnegan.[17] While there, she won gold in the team final, individual all-around, and on balance beam and placed fifth in the uneven bar final.[18]

In June, after the conclusion of the American Classic, Eaker was named as one of the eight athletes being considered for the team to compete at the 2019 Pan American Games along with Sloane Blakely, Aleah Finnegan, Morgan Hurd, Shilese Jones, Sunisa Lee, Riley McCusker, and Leanne Wong.[19]

At the 2019 GK US Classic, Eaker placed fourth in the all-around behind Simone Biles, McCusker, and Grace McCallum. She also placed first on balance beam and fourth on floor exercise behind Biles, McCallum, and Jade Carey. After the competition, she was named to the team to compete at the Pan American Games alongside Finnegan, Hurd, McCusker, and Wong.[20]

At the Pan American Games Eaker competed on all four events, contributing scores on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise towards the team's gold-medal-winning performance. Individually, Eaker qualified for the balance beam final in first and for the all-around and floor exercise finals in second, both behind McCusker. She placed sixth on uneven bars but did not advance to the final due to teammates McCusker and Wong scoring higher.[21][22] During the all-around final, Eaker placed fourth behind Ellie Black of Canada, McCusker, and Flávia Saraiva of Brazil due to falls on both the balance beam and floor exercise.[23] During event finals, Eaker won gold on balance beam with a score of 15.266, finishing 1.7 points ahead of Black, who won the silver,[24] and won silver on floor exercise behind Brooklyn Moors of Canada and ahead of Saraiva.[25]

At the 2019 U.S. National Championships, Eaker competed all four events on the first day of competition but fell off the balance beam and ended the night in eleventh place.[26] On the second night, she performed cleanly and ended up finishing in tenth place but won silver on the balance beam behind Simone Biles. As a result, she was added to the national team.[27]

In September, Eaker competed at the US World Championships trials, where she placed third in the all-around behind Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee. She also placed third on bars behind Lee and Leanne Wong, first on beam, and third on floor behind Biles and Lee. The following day, she was named to the team to compete at the 2019 World Championships in Stuttgart alongside Biles, Lee, MyKayla Skinner, Jade Carey, and Grace McCallum.[28]

During qualifications at the World Championships, Eaker competed on bars and beam only, helping the USA qualify to the team final in first place over five points ahead of second place China. Eaker originally qualified to the balance beam final in fourth place; however, since her credited difficulty score (5.8) was nearly a point lower than her previous international performances - such as the 6.6 difficulty score she received at the Pan American Games - USA Gymnastics filed an inquiry in an attempt to raise her score.[29] This decrease was due to her switch ring leap being downgraded to a switch split leap.[30] While reviewing the routine, rather than crediting the leap, the judging panel instead downgraded a second dance element (her ring leap was credited as a split leap), lowering her score by an additional 0.4 points.[31] Her updated score instead placed her as the first reserve for the beam final.[32][33]

In the team final, Eaker competed a hit routine on balance beam and did not attempt the switch ring leap, helping the USA win the gold medal ahead of Russia and Italy.[34] She tied with Chen Yile of China for the third highest beam score in the final behind teammate Biles and first-year Chinese competitor Li Shijia.[35] During the all-around final, Canadian Ellie Black, who qualified in seventh place to the balance beam final, was injured on vault. She later pulled out of the balance beam final, allowing Eaker to replace her as first reserve.[36] During the balance beam final, Eaker once again performed a clean routine without her switch ring leap and scored 14.000, finishing fourth behind 2014 and 2015 World balance beam champion Biles, reigning World balance beam Champion Liu Tingting, and Li.[37]

2020

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In March, Eaker was selected to compete at the City of Jesolo Trophy alongside teammate Leanne Wong, as well as seniors Shilese Jones and Sophia Butler. However, the USA decided to not send a team due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy.[38]

In November Eaker signed her National Letter of Intent with the University of Utah, intending to start in the 2021–22 school year.[39]

2021

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In April, Eaker competed at the American Classic. She placed fifth in the all-around with a score of 52.700 and placed third on balance beam behind Sunisa Lee and Skye Blakely.[40] In May Eaker competed at the U.S. Classic where she finished ninth in the all-around and third on balance beam behind Simone Biles and teammate Leanne Wong.[41] At the National Championships, Eaker finished tenth in the all-around and fifth on balance beam. As a result, she was named to the national team and selected to compete at the upcoming Olympic Trials.[42] At the Olympic Trials, Eaker finished seventh in the all-around and second on balance beam. She was selected as an alternate for the Olympic team.[43] Prior to the start of the Olympic Games, while the main and reserve teams were training in Narita, Eaker tested positive for COVID-19.[44]

Collegiate gymnastics career

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2021–22 season

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Eaker made her NCAA debut on January 7 at the Best of Utah meet where she competed on balance beam and floor exercise to help Utah win. During vault warmups Eaker's hand slipped causing her to fall and seek medical attention.[45]

2023–24 season

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On October 20, 2023, Eaker, who was 20 years of age, announced via Instagram her retirement from the sport of gymnastics and her withdrawal as a student from the University of Utah, where she had been coached by Tom Farden, citing verbal and emotional abuse from a coach and lack of support from the administration.[46][47] In her Instagram post she states that she had been diagnosed with severe anxiety and depression, anxiety induced insomnia, and suffers from panic attacks, PTSD, and night terrors.[48][49] Eaker cited that the abuse often happened in individual coach-athlete meetings, in which she would be isolated in a closed-door office with an overpowering coach, while he used "condescending, sarcastic and manipulative" tactics. Additionally she states that she was "personally attacked, humiliated, degraded and yelled at to the point of tears in front of the whole team". Furthermore, Eaker stated that the University of Utah administration "completely dismissed" her when she attempted to report the abuse.[50]

A second student made a similar complaint four days later, and in early November, Farden was put on administrative leave by the school.[46] Nine days later Farden was officially removed from his coaching position.[51]

2024–25 season

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On August 15, 2024, the Georgia Bulldogs women's gymnastics team announced via social media that Eaker had joined their team.[52]

Career perfect 10.0

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Season Date Event Meet
2022 April 2, 2022 Balance Beam NCAA Regional finals
2023 January 13, 2023 Best of Utah meet

Competitive history

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Year Event Team AA VT UB BB FX
Junior
2017 Parkettes National Qualifier 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
American Classic 25 34 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
U.S. Classic 5 26 14 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7
P&G National Championships 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 14 5 1st place, gold medalist(s) 4
Senior
2018 Auburn National Qualifier 1st place, gold medalist(s) 4 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
American Classic 4 9 12 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
U.S. Classic 16 13 5 14
U.S. National Championships 7 9 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5
Pan American Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Worlds Team Selection Camp 6 8 9 1st place, gold medalist(s) 5
World Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6
2019 International Gymnix 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 5 1st place, gold medalist(s)
U.S. Classic 4 10 1st place, gold medalist(s) 4
Pan American Games 1st place, gold medalist(s) 4 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
U.S. National Championships 10 11 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 10
Worlds Team Selection Camp 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 9 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
World Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 4
2021 American Classic 5 17 8 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 11
U.S. Classic 9 7 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 14
U.S. National Championships 10 16 5 12
Olympic Trials 7 11 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6

References

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  1. ^ "Children's Hope International Family Story: Thank You from the Eaker's, China Adoption". childrenshopefamily.blogspot.com. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  2. ^ "2017 U.S. Classic Meet Results - Juniors" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. July 29, 2017.
  3. ^ "O'Keefe wins junior women's all-around standings at 2017 P&G Championships". USA Gymnastics. August 20, 2017.
  4. ^ "Jones, DiCello win all-around titles at 2018 American Classic today". USA Gymnastics. July 8, 2018.
  5. ^ "Biles, Wong win all-around titles at 2018 GK U.S. Classic". USA Gymnastics. July 28, 2018.
  6. ^ "Biles wins fifth senior women's all-around title at 2018 U.S. Gymnastics Championships". USA Gymnastics. August 19, 2018.
  7. ^ "2018 U.S. Championships Results". The Gymternet. August 20, 2018.
  8. ^ "USA Gymnastics names 2018-19 U.S. Women's National Team". USA Gymnastics. August 20, 2018.
  9. ^ "USA Gymnastics names U.S. Women's Team for 2018 Pan Am Championships". USA Gymnastics. August 20, 2018.
  10. ^ "U.S. women win team gold at 2018 Senior Pan Am Championships". USA Gymnastics. September 16, 2018.
  11. ^ "McCallum, Thomas go one-two in women's all-around at 2018 Senior Pan Am Championships". USA Gymnastics. September 15, 2018.
  12. ^ "Biles wins U.S. women's World Team Selection Camp competition". USA Gymnastics. October 11, 2018. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  13. ^ "USA Gymnastics announces 2018 U.S. Women's World Championships Team". USA Gymnastics. October 12, 2018. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  14. ^ "Qualification line-up for U.S. women is announced for 2018 World Championships". USA Gymnastics. October 25, 2018. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  15. ^ "U.S. women qualify for team finals with first-place team qualification ranking at 2018 World Championships". USA Gymnastics. October 28, 2018. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  16. ^ "U.S. women win team title at 2018 World Championships, qualify for 2020 Olympic Games". USA Gymnastics. October 30, 2018. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  17. ^ "USA Gymnastics announces women's spring international team assignments". USA Gymnastics. February 24, 2019.
  18. ^ "USA wins four junior, senior event titles at 2019 Gymnix International". USA Gymnastics. March 10, 2019.
  19. ^ "USA Gymnastics names eight women eligible for 2019 U.S. Women's Pan American Games Team". USA Gymnastics. June 23, 2019.
  20. ^ "Biles, McClain win all-around titles at 2019 GK U.S. Classic". USA Gymnastics. July 20, 2019. Archived from the original on April 20, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  21. ^ Lauren (July 28, 2019). "2019 Pan American Games Live Blog | Women's Qualifications, Subdivision 3". The Gymternet. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  22. ^ "USA wins women's team final at 2019 Pan Am Games". USA Gymnastics. July 27, 2019. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  23. ^ "McCusker wins women's all-around silver medal at 2019 Pan Am Games". USA Gymnastics. July 29, 2019.
  24. ^ @USAGym (July 31, 2019). "Two more medals for the U.S. women as Kara Eaker takes home the gold medal on beam and Riley McCusker wins the bronze! #Lima2019" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  25. ^ "USA wins four medals on the final day of event finals at the 2019 Pan Am Games". USA Gymnastics. July 31, 2019.
  26. ^ "Biles soars to top of all-around rankings at 2019 U.S. Championships, performing two new skills along the way". USA Gymnastics. July 10, 2019. Archived from the original on June 5, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  27. ^ "Biles soars to sixth U.S. women's all-around title at 2019 U.S. Championships". USA Gymnastics. July 11, 2019. Archived from the original on April 20, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  28. ^ "USA Gymnastics announces 2019 U.S. Women's World Championships Team". USA Gymnastics. September 23, 2019. Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  29. ^ GymCastic (October 7, 2019). "USAG comment on Kara Eaker inquiry. #stuttgart2019pic.twitter.com/rvf9r9OJHY". @GymCastic. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  30. ^ Pamchenkova (October 7, 2019). "Her switch ring is before her dance CR that includes a switch leap, so if the former is devalued she ends up losing the 0.50 dance series CR + DV, CV & SB. It's a simple fix that should've happened already. The WTC President explains it here & @Yarotska101 pointed it out in '17.pic.twitter.com/oiKrSpgREn". @Pamchenkova. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  31. ^ What Happened With Kara Eaker's Beam D-Score at Worlds 2019, retrieved April 13, 2020
  32. ^ "USA advances to women's team, individual finals at 2019 World Championships". USA Gymnastics. October 4, 2019. Archived from the original on April 20, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  33. ^ "Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2019 – Day 2 As It Happened". Olympic Channel. October 5, 2019.
  34. ^ "Simone Biles breaks record; U.S. women win gymnastics world team title". NBC Sports. October 8, 2019.
  35. ^ "2019 World Championships Results". The Gymternet. October 17, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  36. ^ "#repost from @ellieblack_ - and confirmation that she will not compete in the beam finals on Sunday". Instagram. October 11, 2019. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021.
  37. ^ "Simone Biles makes history by winning her 24th world championship medal — the most for any gymnast". Washington Post. October 13, 2019.
  38. ^ "U.S. women to compete in 2020 Gymnix International". USA Gymnastics. March 3, 2020. Archived from the original on April 4, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  39. ^ "Two Team USA Olympic hopefuls sign with Utah gymnastics". Deseret News. November 11, 2020.
  40. ^ "Blakely claims 2021 American Classic senior all-around title, eight qualify to U.S. Gymnastics Championships". USA Gymnastics. April 24, 2021.
  41. ^ "Biles debuts unprecedented Yurchenko double pike vault en route to fifth GK U.S. Classic title". USA Gymnastics. May 22, 2021. Archived from the original on July 29, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  42. ^ "Biles wins seventh national all-around championship, most in U.S. women's gymnastics history". USA Gymnastics. June 7, 2021. Archived from the original on August 1, 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  43. ^ "Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee highlight six U.S. women's gymnasts for Tokyo Olympics". NBC Sports. June 27, 2021.
  44. ^ "US Olympic gymnast from KC tests positive for COVID-19". KSHB-TV. July 19, 2021.
  45. ^ Wodraska, Lya (January 7, 2022). "Utah gymnastics team opens season with victory in Best of Utah Meet". The Salt Lake Tribune.
  46. ^ a b "Another University of Utah gymnast details abusive environment and names head coach". USA TODAY.
  47. ^ "Elite gymnast Kara Eaker announces retirement, alleges abuse while training at Utah". USA Today. October 21, 2023.
  48. ^ "Kara Eaker retires, says she was verbally and emotionally abused as member of Utah gymnastics team". Gymnastics Now. October 20, 2023.
  49. ^ "World champion gymnast Kara Eaker retires, says she was verbally and emotionally abused at University of Utah". CBS Sports. October 22, 2023.
  50. ^ "Kara Eaker announces departure from the University of Utah, alleging verbal and emotional abuse during collegiate career". Deseret News. October 21, 2023.
  51. ^ "Tom Farden out as Utah gymnastics coach". ESPN. November 22, 2023.
  52. ^ @UGAGymnastics (August 15, 2024). "We are excited to welcome @_karaeaker to our team for 2025!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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