In conjunction with the United States celebrating its 250th birthday this year, USA Today Co. newspapers in Michigan have been looking at some of the top athletes to come out of each region in the state.
Over the next several weeks, the Lansing State Journal will unveil some of the top athletes to come out of Greater Lansing. We will take a daily look at one of the top 10 male or female athletes from the region. These athletes are determined by more than just high school performance. Accomplishments in college and as a professional were also taken into consideration when determining the area’s best.
The athletes are not ranked in order. Here is a look at our latest female athlete.
Jordyn Wieber
Starting as a 4-year-old, the DeWitt native went from building her skills locally to putting together an elite gymnastics career that resulted in inductions into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame, the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame and others.
Wieber was a part of the “Fierce Five” United States gymnastics team that captured team gold at the London 2012 Olympics. Among some of her other top accomplishments included being the world all-around champion in 2011 and the United States all-around champion in 2011 and 2012. She also was part of the U.S. squad that won gold at the 2011 World Championships.
After retiring from competitive gymnastics in 2015, Wieber stayed in the sport as a coach. She served as a coach at the University of Arkansas for seven seasons before stepping away in April. Prior to that, Wieber was a team manager and volunteer assistant at UCLA.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Celebrating Greater Lansing’s best: DeWitt’s Jordyn Wieber reached worldwide gymnastics stardom
Reporting by Brian Calloway, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Brian Calloway, Lansing State Journal | USA TODAY Network
