{{Short description|American gymnast (born 1981)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}} {{Infobox gymnast | name = Alyssa Beckerman | image = | imagesize = | caption = | fullname = Alyssa Erin Beckerman | altname = | nickname = | country = {{USA}} | formercountry = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1981|01|23}} | birth_place = Long Branch, New Jersey, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | height = {{convert|5|ft|3|in|cm}} | discipline = WAG | level = | natlteam = 3 (1997–2001) | club = Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy | gym = | collegeteam = University of California, Los Angeles | headcoach = | assistcoach = | formercoach = Mary Lee Tracy<br>Valorie Kondos Field | choreographer = | music = | eponymousskills = | retired = September 11, 2003 | show-medals = yes | medaltemplates = <!-- see Template:MedalRelatedTemplates --> {{MedalSport|Women's artistic gymnastics}} {{MedalCountry|the {{USA}}}} {{MedalCompetition|Pan American Games}} {{MedalSilver|1999 Winnipeg|Team}} {{MedalCountry | UCLA Bruins }} center|80px {{MedalCompetition|NCAA Championships}} {{MedalGold|2001 Athens| Team }} {{MedalGold|2003 Lincoln| Team}} {{MedalBronze|2002 Tuscaloosa| Team}} }}
'''Alyssa Erin Beckerman''' (born January 23, 1981) is an American former gymnast and balance beam national champion.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=https://usagym.org/pages/athletes/archivedbios/b/abeckerman.html |title=USA Gymnastics Official Biography: Alyssa Beckerman |website=usagym.org |access-date=October 23, 2019 |archive-date=December 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204055953/https://usagym.org/pages/athletes/archivedbios/b/abeckerman.html |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> She was a member of the United States national team from 1997 to 2000,<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> and competed on the University of California, Los Angeles intercollegiate gymnastics team from 2001 to 2003.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |url=https://www.region5gyminsider.com/region-5-rewind-region-5-elites-who-chased-olympic-glory-alyssa-beckerman-cga/ |title=Region 5 elites who chased Olympic glory: Alyssa Beckerman, CGA |last=Dowis |first=Kim |date=2016 |website=Region 5 Gym Insider |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419123212/http://www.region5gyminsider.com:80/region-5-rewind-region-5-elites-who-chased-olympic-glory-alyssa-beckerman-cga/ |archive-date=April 19, 2018 |access-date=}}</ref> She was an alternate for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://usagym.org/pages/pressbox/history/olympics_rosters_women.html |title=USA Gymnastics {{!}} Olympic Games - U.S. Women's Team Rosters|website=usagym.org|access-date=2019-10-24|archive-date=2022-10-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221025213317/http://usagym.org/pages/pressbox/history/olympics_rosters_women.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Gymnastics career==
=== Pre-elite === Beckerman began training in gymnastics in 1986, when she was five years old.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" />
=== Elite career === In 1996, Beckerman placed twenty-fifth in the all-around junior division at the Coca-Cola National Championships.<ref name=":0" /> In 1997, Beckerman became a senior competitor and a member of the United States national team.<ref name=":0" /> She competed at the 1997 US Classic and placed ninth in the all-around.<ref name=":0" /> She also competed at the 1997 John Hancock US Gymnastics Championships, placing twentieth in the all-around.<ref name=":0" />
In 1998, Beckerman moved from New Jersey to Ohio to train with coach Mary Lee Tracy at Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |url=https://www.ocregister.com/2018/01/23/out-of-balance-a-look-inside-usa-gymnastics-culture-of-abuse/ |title=Out of Balance: A look inside USA Gymnastics’ culture of abuse |date=January 23, 2018 |website=Orange County Register |language=en-US |access-date=October 23, 2019}}</ref> Tracy trained Beckerman for up to ten hours per day, and kept Beckerman on a restrictive diet of under 1100 calories per day.<ref name=":5" /> According to Beckerman, Tracy "controlled every element, in and out of the gym" creating a competitive culture of anxiety and silence.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |url=https://www.insidegymnastics.com/news-features/inside-perspective-alyssa-beckerman-in-search-of-solutions-for-the-next-era-of-usa-gymnastics/ |title=Inside Perspective: Alyssa Beckerman {{!}} In Search of Solutions for the Next Era of USA Gymnastics|date=September 20, 2018|website=Inside Gymnastics Magazine|language=en|access-date=2019-10-23|archive-date=2019-10-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191024000909/https://www.insidegymnastics.com/news-features/inside-perspective-alyssa-beckerman-in-search-of-solutions-for-the-next-era-of-usa-gymnastics/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Beckerman was a silver medalist on bars at the 1998 US National Championships and placed second in the all-around at the 1998 Ecoair Gymnastics Cup.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Beckerman was third on bars and fourth in the all-around at the 1999 US National Championships.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> She was third in the all around at the 1999 American Classic and a team silver medalist at the 1999 Pan American Games.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> She took third in the all-around at the 1999 World Championships trials<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> and was named to the 1999 US World Championships team but was unable to compete due to a broken wrist.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":6" /> Beckerman won the all-around and team competition at the 2000 Spieth Sogipa.<ref name=":1" /> She was first on balance beam, second on bars and fifth in the all-around at the 2000 US National Championships.<ref name=":0" /> She was named an alternate member of the 2000 US Olympic team,<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" /> but did not compete because fellow alternate Tasha Schwikert was selected instead to replace injured team member Morgan White.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":6" />
By the end of Beckerman's elite career, she had suffered nine broken bones, undergone two surgeries, and developed bleeding ulcers from overuse of anti-inflammatory drugs.<ref name=":5" /> During her career, she also suffered from disordered eating.<ref name=":6" /> During her elite career, her favorite event was uneven bars.<ref name=":0" />
=== Intercollegiate career === Beckerman competed on the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) intercollegiate gymnastics team from 2001 to 2003 while pursuing a degree in sociology.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |url=https://uclabruins.com/sports/2013/4/17/208191066.aspx |title=Player Bio: Alyssa Beckerman - UCLA Official Athletic Site |website=UCLA |language=en |access-date=October 23, 2019}}</ref> In 2001, Beckerman was limited to three competitions due to a wrist injury.<ref name=":1" /> She placed second and recorded a score of 9.875 on balance beam at Arizona State, as well as placing fifth on balance beam with a score of 9.8 at the UCLA Invitational.<ref name=":1" /> She earned NACGC Scholastic All-America honors that year.<ref name=":1" /> During the 2002 season, Beckerman was UCLA's anchor on balance beam, averaging 9.77 over the year and winning individually six times.<ref name=":1" /> She was NCAA South Central Regional balance beam champion and Pac-10 balance beam champion, as well as earning a Pac-10 All-Academic honorable mention.<ref name=":1" /> On September 11, 2003, at the beginning of her senior year, Beckerman was dismissed from the UCLA team by coach Valorie Kondos Field.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |url=http://dailybruin.com/2003/10/06/gymnastics-beckerman-questions/ |title=Gymnastics: Beckerman questions dismissal |website=dailybruin.com |language=en |access-date=October 23, 2019}}</ref> Kondos Field claimed that the dismissal was due to Beckerman's performance in training and unenthusiastic attitude, although Beckerman disputed those allegations.<ref name=":2" /> Beckerman was stripped of her athletic scholarship and housing,<ref name=":2" /> but completed her degree.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |url=http://www.njsports.com/alyssabeckermano.html |title=Alyssa Beckerman OS |website=www.njsports.com |access-date=October 23, 2019}}</ref> In 2020, following widespread public discussion on social media under the hashtag "#gymnastalliance" of allegations by gymnasts of an abusive gymnastics culture that rewarded coaches who damaged and belittled gymnasts, Beckerman posted an open letter to Ms Kondos Field on social media where she related her experiences of competing at UCLA.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |url=https://twitter.com/AlyssaBeckerman/status/1296980212790505472 |title=Alyssa Beckerman's Twitter |website=www.twitter.com |access-date=August 22, 2020}}</ref>
=== Post-gymnastics career === As of 2018, Beckerman owns a music school and works as an emergency medical technician in New Jersey.<ref name=":6" /> In a 2018 interview after the USA gymnastics abuse scandal became public, Beckerman expressed that she was "leaning toward" favoring the dissolution of USA Gymnastics because "the structure needs to be changed completely so obedience isn't the desired outcome."<ref name=":6" /> She said:<blockquote>"When [a coach] has so much control, it puts a young person in a mindset that the coach has more authority than anyone else in their life - that they should put all their faith in them...There's a fine line between...where the culture is healthy, to a culture of silence...[In elite gymnastics, gymnasts] were not allowed to speak...That does a lot to you, psychologically. You try to be as meek and as serious as possible. 'Stoic' was this huge compliment at [national training] camp. We all strived [sic] for that. Being someone who never complained was a compliment. So, you don't speak out, because it's ingrained in you that if you do, you have poor integrity, that you're a bad gymnast, a bad teammate. Asking questions [in elite gymnastics] is very taboo."<ref name=":6" /></blockquote>
== Personal life == Beckerman was born in Long Branch, New Jersey to Howard and Melanie Beckerman.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /> She has two brothers and is the middle sibling.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /> Beckerman grew up in Middletown Township, New Jersey,<ref name=":3" /> where she attended Middletown High School South.<ref>Van Develde, Elaine. [https://archive.centraljersey.com/2000/10/04/olympians-to-get-the-royal-treatment-oct-22-parade-will-honor-local-swimmer-and-gymnast/ "Olympians to get the royal treatment Oct. 22 parade will honor local swimmer and gymnast"], Central Jersey Archives, October 4, 2000. Accessed November 21, 2020. "Beckerman, a former Middletown High School South star, trained in Cincinnati, Ohio."</ref> In 2014, she married Matthew King.<ref name=":4" />
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://members.usagym.org/pages/athletes/archivedbios/b/abeckerman.html Alyssa Beckerman] at USA Gymnastics * {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725154600/http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/w-gym/mtt/beckerman_alyssa00.html |date=mdy |title=Alyssa Beckerman at UCLA}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beckerman, Alyssa}} Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:American female artistic gymnasts Category:Jewish American sportspeople Category:Middletown High School South alumni Category:UCLA Bruins women's gymnasts Category:Sportspeople from Long Branch, New Jersey Category:Sportspeople from Middletown Township, New Jersey Category:People from Wyoming, Ohio Category:Sportspeople from Hamilton County, Ohio Category:U.S. women's national team gymnasts Category:Gymnasts at the 1999 Pan American Games Category:Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Category:Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in gymnastics Category:21st-century American Jews Category:21st-century American sportswomen Category:20th-century American sportswomen