Dominique Dawes (right) is greeted by an influencer Trunae Green during the opening day of Dominique Dawes Academy, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Alpharetta. 1996 Olympics medal winning gymnast Dominique Dawes has seven gymnastics academies in Maryland & Texas and has now expanded to metro Atlanta, in this case, Alpharetta. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)
Dominique Dawes became an instant household name during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics as part of the “Magnificant Seven,” the first American women’s team to take home the gold medal for all-around competition.
Three decades later, Dawes is bringing her gold medal to her new Dominique Dawes Academy in Alpharetta, which has a free open house from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and officially starts classes Monday.
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Dominique Dawes holds her 1996 Olympics gold medal during the opening day of Dominique Dawes Academy, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Alpharetta. 1996 Olympics medal winning gymnast Dominique Dawes has seven gymnastics academies in Maryland and Texas, and has now expanded to metro Atlanta — in this case, Alpharetta. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)
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htiw ohw ot etats denepo fo deirram sdik si ni ni emoh reh reh ruof tsrif sega ymedaca .dnalyraM ,sewaD 8 0202 ,21
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hcihw saw saw ot emit eht os ehs ehs suoires ,cimednap ,snoitarepo denepo on reh gnildnah dah .scitsanmyg tsrif gnirud yad-ot-yad hcaoc .egnellahc ysub dettimda yllautca ymedaca a ehS ehS 91-DIVOC
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eht deppat ehs liater elpoep elpitlum .yrtsudni ni ,reh scitsanmyg ediug stnatlusnoc ,sehcaoc ssenisub dna oT
m’I“ htiw ot dnuorrus retrams trams ehs .dias ”,elpoep flesym hguone
tnurg“ d’I“ .sraey ’krow ot ,emit eht eht naht ehs ehs ehs ,egawes emas .dias dias erom ”,seussi dah teg ruof rof od sllac tuoba tuoba CAVH tA
ot ot eht ehs laer nepo swen erom si ,emocni ni reh doog etareneg hguone gnilbane werd sremotsuc .aera dna seimedaca ainigriV ehT dnalyraM
.raey llew saw owt ot ot siht taht taht ehs ehs ehs dezilaer etavirp nepo dedeen yenom tnemeganam snoitacol retal ni ni ni fi reh pleh gniog mrif dnapxe ytiuqe delbane yb .ssenisub thguorb sa sa dna a ,tsevirT notsuoH ,selbaG adirolF retnE sewaD laroC tuB atterahplA ,4202
Dominique Dawes speaks during the opening day of Dominique Dawes Academy, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Alpharetta. 1996 Olympics medal-winning gymnast Dominique Dawes has seven gymnastics academies in Maryland and Texas, and has now expanded to metro Atlanta — in this case, Alpharetta. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)
m’I“ ehs .dias no won erom ”,rebmem desucof draob gnieb dna na rodassabma
tuoba“ ot ot eht eht hcaet dias erusserp yhposolihp elpoep sdik t’nsi ni yhtlaeh evah myg gnitteg nuf emoc tub dniheb eb dna dna dna ”.evitca ffistieZ
I“ lliw :sebannaw kniht ,stneduts ,htgnerts dias lanoitaercer sedivorp ton tsom tsuj scitsanmyg taerg noitadnuof rof ”.ytilibixelf sremotsuc ,noitanidrooc eb ecnalab :etelhta yna dna a cipmylO sewaD
ot eht .dias snur egnar yramirp enin shtnom morf rof ega ega ymedaca tuoba ehT sewaD ,31
eW“ eW“ uoy tnaw lairt ot eht ekat ehs ees .dias trap reffo on htnom-ot-htnom .spihsrebmem mret-gnol ekil sdik si ni ni fi ”.tnemnorivne .tnemtimmoc emoc emoc ”,sessalc dna erehT tsuJ
ot .sevirht eht elpitlum ortem noitacol ni fi sepoh dda seimedaca ehS atnaltA atterahplA
Interior of Dominique Dawes Academy, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Alpharetta. 1996 Olympics medal-winning gymnast Dominique Dawes has seven gymnastics academies in Maryland and Texas, and has now expanded to metro Atlanta — in this case, Alpharetta. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)
sraey htiw owt ot seit eht rentrap ylno detimil reh reh tcerid emaceb t’nera dna .oga ymedaca a ehT ehS scipmylO snoclaF .atnaltA atnaltA
I“ htiw detnaw ot ehs ehs .dias dias oiloftrop renwo tuo ym ym ytirojam tol dnel denrael tsuj ni sah gnignah ”,sdleif ,raf esitrepxe yfisrevid tnereffid rednuof-oc dna dna a oS emoH snoclaF topeD sewaD .knalB ruhtrA
detisiv tnemanruot eht eht nekat trap wen ni sah flog rof rof ytirahc dna dna a gnirettutS ehS .hcraeseR .M .M latipsoH noitacudE s’nerdlihC retneC knalB knalB ruhtrA ruhtrA
s’tI“ gninniw rehtegot eht eht ,maet ehs .dias gnittup ton tsuj ni tcapmi s’eh dah ”,ytinummoc pihsnoipmahc tub dna tuoba a atnaltA
USA’s Dominique Dawes, of Gaithersburg, Md., performs her routine on the balance beam at the women’s team compulsory gymnastics competition of the Centennial Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta on July 21, 1996. (Amy Sancetta/AP)
If you go
ytrap gninepo yad euqinimoD sewaD ymedacA
.m.p moc.ymedacascitsanmygsewadeuqinimod 3-.m.a .yadrutaS tnioP htroN ,eerF ,elcriC .atterahplA 9 083
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
