Before she was the first African American to make the U.S. Rhythmic Gymnastics Senior National Team.
And before her gymnastics skills were displayed on a global stage.
Future Hall of Fame gymnast Wendy Hilliard began to learn her craft at a collection of recreation centers that were unknown to most of the world outside of Detroit. In this instance, not only did good news travel quickly, but it also traveled beyond national and international borders.
“We had the wonderful opportunity to travel across the United States and the world, while bringing the world to Detroit,” the now-64-year-old Hilliard explained, while describing a magical time that began in the 1970s when hardworking, young athletes representing the Detroit Recreation Department’s gymnastics program proved that, with proper support, Detroit recreation centers like Crowell, Tindal and the Northwest Activities Center could be elite gymnastics training grounds.
“We knew what we were doing was special because we (the Detroit Metro Gymnasts) were one of the top two rhythmic clubs in the country,” Hilliard added. “And we were darn proud to be ambassadors for Detroit.”
Today, Hilliard says she is still “darn proud” of her Detroit roots. And that pride comes to life through programming provided by the nonprofit Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation (WHGF), which has a physical presence in Hilliard’s hometown at the Kemeny Recreation Center in southwest Detroit. WHGF’s 2025-26 season in Detroit kicks off Saturday, Oct. 4, with gymnastics classes for young people ranging in age from 4 to 17, taught by experienced coaches. During the season, which extends into June, WHGF also provides opportunities for young gymnasts to further develop their skills through competitive teams — once a youngster is skilled enough for team competition. In addition, WHGF participants have a chance to travel to gymnastics events across Michigan and out of state, to go along with other activities that focus on the overall personal development of each young person.
“There is nothing better than being well prepared,” stated Hilliard, a 2008 USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame enshrinee, who extended her foundation — founded in New York in 1996 — to Detroit in 2016. “So, we want to take each kid as far as they can go in gymnastics and life.”
Hilliard says she will forever be a champion for youth gymnastics in Detroit because she had plenty of Detroiters cheering for her when she was climbing the ranks. In fact, as Hilliard tells it, during the time that she was building an extraordinary gymnastics resume that boasted many awards, and her participation in some of the most prestigious gymnastics competitions in the world — including the 1979, 1981 and 1983 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships — some of the loudest cheers came from high places within Detroit’s city government.
The brand of civic pride that took place during Hilliard’s day was captured in a Detroit Free Press article by Sandy Baksys published Aug. 3, 1978, which reported that Hilliard and Laura Bell — also a product of the Detroit Recreation Department’s gymnastics program — had received Spirit of Detroit awards from the City Council for being “champion rhythmic gymnasts” just a few weeks after they both graduated from Cass Technical High School. The article went on to explain that Hilliard and Bell were coached by Dr. Zinaida “Zina” Mironov, an Olympic-level coach who, along with her husband, Dr. Vladimir Mironov, came to the United States after fleeing the former Soviet Union in 1975.
However, there were other unsung heroes that were responsible for making Detroit, for a time, a bona fide hotbed for gymnastics, particularly rhythmic gymnastics — a relatively new sport in the United States during the period — which combines elements of traditional dance and artistic gymnastics with the involvement of four apparatuses: ribbon, hoop, ball and clubs.
One of those heroes was the late Leon Atchison. The same Leon Atchison who was responsible for creating the floral clock at the entrance of Belle Isle as director of parks and recreation during the administration of Mayor Coleman Young, hired the Mironovs as full-time contract employees to coordinate the city’s gymnastics program at several Detroit recreation centers. And those who were close to the situation about 50 years ago also know that Atchison had received a friendly nudge from Hilliard’s mother, Gwendolyn, and other families of aspiring young gymnasts in Detroit to create a high-level, affordable, citywide gymnastics program that would allow Detroit youths to be enriched by the sport without having to travel outside of the city for lessons. Gwendolyn Hilliard further supported what could be called at the time a youth gymnastics movement in Detroit by organizing a parents group, which helped to raise money to send young gymnasts from Detroit and the metro area to important out-of-town competitions.
“My parents (Gwendolyn and Stratford Hilliard) were staunch Detroiters — very pro Detroit,” said Hilliard, who also identified the Oak Park Jewish Community Center as a huge piece of a partnership that transformed Detroit into a major player in the sport of gymnastics. “My mom was a marketing genius. And my dad, even though he hated the judging part of gymnastics, was totally supportive of everything we were doing.
“At the time, there were two things that were always constant: There was a level of excellence because our coach stressed that there was no excuse for bad gymnastics. And there was strong support from our city. As Detroiters, we should be very proud about how our city has always supported our athletes and artists.”
Just as Hilliard’s early gymnastics journey was, at times, significantly supported by Detroiters that seemed to be unlikely advocates for the sport on the surface, WHGF’s Detroit program director says the same could be said today.
“I have no background in gymnastics and some people I meet are really surprised that I’m involved in this kind of program because I’m in a wheelchair,” said LaTasha Washington, a native Detroit east-sider who has been a part of WHGF’s history in Detroit from the beginning. She met Hilliard following a talk Hilliard gave about her life in gymnastics at Plymouth United Church of Christ in 2016. “I was moved by Wendy’s words and her story when she spoke at my church, and I enjoy being involved in something where I can make a difference in a kid’s life and bring excitement.
“Wendy’s program provides an opportunity to kids that they would never have otherwise, especially in gymnastics, because of the cost. When I speak with other people connected to gymnastics programs in the area, I hear them talking about $400 a month, and with our program we’re talking about around $400 for an entire year. We also provide scholarships to cover the cost for students with financial need. Wendy does everything to provide a high-quality program at a very low cost, and that’s another thing I feel good about.”
In the coming weeks and months, after WHGF’s 2025-26 program gets underway, Washington may not be the most qualified person to evaluate the gymnastic performances of the young participants — that’s a job best left to the experienced coaches. But there are some other more human things that Washington will be looking for, and she said she already knows that those things will bring a smile to her face.
“When the kids come to the center for gymnastics, they discover a place where they can belong,” Washington explained. “It’s a place where each kid can find their lane. And they can do that through a sport that many in our community think of as ‘nontraditional.’
“Gymnastics is not basketball or football, it’s an individual sport. But when the kids work on their individual skills while trying to master flips and handstands, they’re also working on themselves as people. It makes them aware, and they build confidence that can be applied to anything.”
Empowering The Lives Of Young People: The Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation
Mission: Founded in 1996 in New York by native Detroiter Wendy Hilliard, the mission of the nonprofit Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation (WHGF) is to empower the lives of young people from underserved communities by improving physical and emotional health through low-cost and free gymnastics programs. Hilliard extended her foundation to Detroit in 2016.
Programs:WHGF provides beginning participants with an introduction to gymnastics and also trains competitive rhythmic, artistic, tumbling and trampoline gymnastics teams. In addition, WHGF offers activities that focus on the overall personal development of each young person, including nutrition and reading workshops.
Upcoming Detroit activities: The WHGF Detroit 2025-26 season with classes for ages 4 to 17 taking place on Saturdays, beginning Oct. 4 at Kemeny Recreation Center (2260 S. Fort St., Detroit, 48217). Classes, divided into three age groups (4-5, 6-9 and 10-17), are offered at two levels—Community Gymnastics Program (an introduction to gymnastics with an emphasis on developing fundamental skills) and Intermediate Class (an invitation-only program that begins preparing students for the pre-team and competitive team programs offered by the Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation). Scholarships — covering the cost of classes — are offered to students based on financial need.
Learn more: For more information about the Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation Detroit, including registration information for gymnastics classes, go to wendyhilliard.org/locations/Detroit/, email detroit@wendyhilliard.org or call 313-221-9664.
Scott Talley is a native Detroiter, a proud product of Detroit Public Schools and a lifelong lover of Detroit culture in its diverse forms. In his second tour with the Free Press, which he grew up reading as a child, he is excited and humbled to cover the city’s neighborhoods and the many interesting people who define its various communities. Contact him at stalley@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @STalleyfreep. Read more of Scott’s stories at www.freep.com/mosaic/detroit-is/. Please help us grow great community-focused journalism by becoming a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Wendy Hilliard shows her Detroit pride by helping youths soar in gymnastics and life
Reporting by Scott Talley, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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