Olympic, World Champions To Visit L.A. Area Gym Clubs, T.J. Maxx Stores Apr

The gymnastics legends will make appearances at greater Los Angeles and Orange County gymnastics clubs to meet with athletes and fans, sign autographs, speak about their gymnastics careers, and offer some insight into the World Championships.

Shannon Miller, 26, earned two silver and three bronze medals in the 1992 Olympics and three individual event golds at the 1993 World Championships. She later helped the 1996 Olympic Team to the USA’s first-ever team gold medal along with a balance beam gold of her own.

Kim Zmeskal, 27, became the first American to win the all-around title at a World Championships in 1991. She also captured team silver and floor exercise bronze. Zmeskal returned in 1992 to become the only competitor at the 1992 World Championships to win more than one event when she won gold on the balance beam and floor, before winning team bronze with the 1992 U.S. Olympic Team.

Amanda Borden, 25, captained the team dubbed the Magnificent Seven who won gold in the team event at the 1996 Olympic Games. Borden, who now lives in Phoenix, Ariz., also won silver in the team event at the 1994 World Championships.

Blaine Wilson, 28, a 1996 and 2000 Olympian, is the first man to win five consecutive U.S. national all-around titles. Wilson returned from shoulder surgery in late 2002 to win the 2003 Visa American Cup on March 1 – his fifth title in five tries – against a world-class field.

John Macready, 27, helped the United States to a fifth-place finish at the 1996 Olympic Games – the men’s program’s strongest finish second only to 1984. The Los Angeles, Calif. native spent seven years on the U.S. National Team.

John Roethlisberger, 32, is a four-time national all-around champion, and three-time Olympian in 1992, 1996 and 2000. His seventh-place finish in the all-around at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta is the best U.S. finish in a non-boycotted Olympics since 1932.

Bela Karolyi is recognized as one of the greatest coaches in gymnastics history, having guided 27 different athletes to the Olympics. Karolyi’s legacy includes many memorable Olympic and World Championship moments, including Nadia Comaneci in 1976, Mary Lou Retton in 1984, Kim Zmeskal in 1991 and Kerri Strug in 1996.

The 2003 World Gymnastics Championships will award individual event gold medals as well as team titles in both men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics disciplines. The World Championships also serve as the qualification event for the 2004 Olympic Games.

T.J. Maxx, the nation’s largest off-price retailer, is a proud sponsor of USA Gymnastics and gymnastics events, including the nationwide 2000 Tour of World Gymnastics Champions.