McKayla Rose Maroney (born December 9, 1995) is an American retired[3] artistic gymnast.

[7] Her father was a quarterback at Purdue University,[8] and her mother was involved in figure skating and high school sports.

[19] In September, Maroney competed at the 2010 Pan American Gymnastics Championships in Guadalajara, Mexico.

[26] In October, Maroney competed at the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

[28] She told International Gymnast Magazine, "For every competition, I just went in there with confidence in myself and in my team, and each day it felt like I gained more and more experience.

"[29] Maroney upgraded her second vault to a round-off, half-on, full-twisting front layout.

[33] During warmups for the second day of competition, she fell on a tumbling pass on floor landing on her back.

[35] At the beginning of July, Maroney competed at the Olympic Trials in San Jose, California.

My team mate Kyla Ross, we have been best friends since we were six years old so it's just absolutely amazing to be going to the Olympics.

This marked the first time an entire Olympic gymnastics team had been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

During training, she aggravated a previous bone break in the big toe of her right foot but competed on vault, although she did not take part in the floor routine as she hoped.

"[40] In 2021, she claimed she broke her entire foot, and team doctor Larry Nassar lied to the coach about it.

[51][52][53] The image went viral after it was Photoshopped into various places and situations such as on top of the Great Wall of China and standing next to Usain Bolt.

[56] She later poked fun at the meme on various occasions, including appearances on Late Show with David Letterman, The Colbert Report, Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars, Extra, and when she and the rest of the U.S.

Gymnastics team met United States President Barack Obama at the White House in November 2012.

[59] In September 2012, Maroney was injured during an uneven bars dismount while performing at the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions in Ontario, California.

She wore an immobilizer to keep the leg straight until doctors determined that she was ready to resume limited walking and rebuilding range of motion.

[62] Maroney returned to The Kellogg's Tour on October 4, 2012, in Oklahoma City on light duty.

She was seen during the finale wearing her leg and foot splints and also at the VIP Meet and Greet session after the event.

[citation needed] On January 12, 2013, Maroney served as one of the judges for the Miss America pageant.

In an interview after she finished, Maroney said she hoped to upgrade both her vaults by the 2016 Olympics, as well as her tumbling on floor.

Due to Maroney having lower execution, albeit having higher difficulty, Ross progressed to the final.

[72] On August 31, 2014, underage nude images of Maroney were published as part of the 2014 celebrity photo leaks.

[73] In March 2015, Maroney claimed in a YouTube video that she struggled with adrenal fatigue following the 2013 World Championships.

[74] On February 24, 2016, popular gymnastics podcast GymCastic released a candid 49-minute-long interview with Maroney regarding her health issues preceding and following the 2012 Olympic Games.

[76] In the summer of 2016, Maroney announced that she would be making a singing debut with a single named "Ghost".

[77][78][79][80][81] On October 18, 2017, Maroney alleged that the USA Gymnastics team physician Larry Nassar had repeatedly molested her, starting when she was 13 years old, until her retirement from the sport in 2016.

Nassar had been arrested in November 2016 and accused of sexually assaulting female minors throughout his career.

[82][83][84] In December 2017, Maroney filed a suit against Nassar, Michigan State University, the United States Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics[85] accusing the latter two of covering up the sexual abuse by asking Maroney to sign a $1.25 million confidentiality agreement.

[90] Maroney made her acting debut in the CW television series Hart of Dixie on November 20, 2012.