KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Terin Humphrey, a St. Joseph native who later graduated from Odessa High School and trained at the GAGE Center in Blue Springs, won two silver medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Russia’s Svetlana Khorkina was a heavy favorite on the uneven bars, having won gold in the event in 1996 and 2000, but she fell and that opened the door for other contenders.
Humphrey posted a 9.662, which proved good enough for second place and the individual silver medal.
She also helped the U.S. team win a silver medal in the team competition, finishing behind Romania and edging third-place Russia.
Humphrey competed in the team final in the uneven bars (9.587) and balance beam (9.487).
Fellow GAGE Center gymnast, Lee's Summit North graduate Courtney McCool, also competed on the 2004 U.S. Olympic team alongside Humphrey.
A balance-beam skill — 2 1/2 turns in the squat position — has been dubbed “The Humphrey” in her honor.
Prior to the Olympics, Humphrey was a key figure on the 2003 U.S. team that won the country’s first team gold at the World Gymnastics Championships.
She also competed on the 2002 team at the World Championships after making the senior U.S. team for the first time at age 16.
Humphrey went on to become the first Olympic gymnast to compete at Alabama, earning 11 All-America honors and winning the NCAA title in the uneven bars in 2005 and 2007.
She retired from competitive gymnastics due to a back injury in March 2008 shortly before the NCAA national meet her senior season.
Humphrey was inducted in the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame as part of the 2003 world title squad in 2008, and was inducted as an individual gymnast in 2015.
She was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
She worked with the Raymore Police Department for more than four years before retiring from law enforcement to coach and choreograph youth gymnastics.
Humphrey, who also competed on American Ninja Warrior twice, served on the selection committee for the 2012 and 2016 U.S. Olympic gymnastics teams and spent 10 years on the USA Gymnastics Athletes’ Council before she was removed for a social media post deemed inappropriate.
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The Kansas City region has a deep, rich history with respect to the Olympic Games. As the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games approach with the Opening Ceremony scheduled for July 23, we will profile an athlete with ties to Kansas City, Missouri or Kansas each day.
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