McKayla Maroney American gymnast, member of the US women's artistic gymnastics team Date of Birth: 09.12.1995 Country: USA

1. Biography of McKayla Maroney
2. Early Life and Gymnastics Training
3. Rise to Success
4. Olympic Games
5. Internet Meme and Popularity

Biography of McKayla Maroney

McKayla Maroney is an American gymnast and member of the United States Women's Gymnastics team. She was born in Long Beach, California to Mike and Erin Maroney. Her father was a quarterback for the Purdue University American football team.

Early Life and Gymnastics Training

Maroney was an energetic child, so her mother enrolled her in gymnastics training in 1997. Later on, she also participated in football, figure skating, and tennis. At the age of nine, Maroney and her family moved to Costa Mesa, California, so she could train at an elite gymnastics facility. To focus on her sporting career, Maroney switched to homeschooling.

Rise to Success

After four years of training, Maroney began competing at the state and national level in 2009. In 2010, she started training at a gymnastics facility in Los Angeles. In 2011, Maroney made her international debut and immediately became the world champion in the vault. She also won the team championship at the World Championships with the U.S. team.

Olympic Games

In 2012, Maroney qualified for the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team after a successful performance in San Jose, California. At the London Olympics, the American team won the gold medal in the team event, their first since 1996. In the individual vault competition, Maroney had the highest score (15.866) after her first vault. However, she fell during her second vault and received a score of only 14.300. Her average score of 15.083 placed her second, behind Romanian gymnast Sandra Izbasa.

Internet Meme and Popularity

A photograph of Maroney looking disappointed on the medal podium, known as "McKayla is not impressed," became a popular internet meme. Various versions of the photo circulated, with Maroney appearing unimpressed by the Great Wall of China or sprinter Usain Bolt. Maroney found the meme "quite funny." The meme gained renewed popularity when the U.S. women's gymnastics team visited the White House in November 2012. During the visit, Maroney took a photo with President Obama, both of them wearing the same expression. The podium photo that spawned the meme was named the most viral photograph of 2012 by Yahoo.