| Annia Hatch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Annia Portuondo Hatch | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1978-06-14)June 14, 1978 (age 47) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gymnastics career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Women's artistic gymnastics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented |  United States(2002–2004) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former countries represented |  Cuba(1988–1996) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Stars Elite | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Headcoach(es) | Alan Hatch | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Formercoach(es) | Rene Sanson Rivera | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | August 22, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Annia Portuondo Hatch (born June 14, 1978, inGuantánamo,Cuba)[1] is aCuban-Americanartistic gymnast who competed for the United States at the2004 Summer Olympics.
Hatch began gymnastics in her native Cuba at the age of four.[2][3] She won her first Cuban National Championships when she was ten;[3] over the course of her career, she would win the title seven times.[3][4]
Competing for Cuba, Hatch made her debut at theWorld Gymnastics Championships in1993 and placed tenth in the all-around.[1] In 1995, she won three medals at thePan American Games, placing second on thebalance beam and third on thevault anduneven bars, as well as fourth in the all-around.[1] The following year, she became the first Cuban gymnast to win a medal at theWorld Championships, with a bronze on the vault.[1][4]
Hatch qualified to the1996 Olympics as an individual competitor, but a lack of funding prevented theCuban Olympic Committee from sending her.[2][3] She retired in 1997; married an American, Alan Hatch; and moved to the United States.[5] With her husband, she became a part-owner and coach of the Stars Academy gym inWest Haven,Connecticut.[1] In 2001, she became an American citizen.[2][4]
Hatch resumed training at the elite level in 2001, with her husband as her coach.[4][5] In mid-2002, she won theU.S. Classic, a qualifier to theNational Championships, defeating reigning national championTasha Schwikert.[6] She went on to place fourth at Nationals, performing two strong vaults (a double-twistingTsukahara and a double-twistingYurchenko) and establishing herself as a contender for a medal at the2002 World Championships:Muriel Grossfeld, a former national champion who worked with Hatch, called her "probably the best vaulter in the world".[7]
Although Hatch was a U.S. citizen, Olympic rules stated that during the first year after obtaining citizenship in a new nation, an athlete needed permission from her former country of citizenship to represent the new one in international competition.[7]Fidel Castro refused to give Hatch permission to compete for the U.S., prompting American government officials and former PresidentJimmy Carter to petition Cuba, unsuccessfully, on her behalf.[7] Because Cuba would not release her, Hatch had to wait until 2003 to represent the United States internationally.[4]
Hatch won the vault title at the 2003 National Championships[1] and was named to the2003 World Championships team, but tore heranterior cruciate ligament (ACL) the day before the start of the competition.[4] It can take up to six months afterACL reconstruction for an athlete to be able to resume training.[8] However, Hatch was able to return to competition by the middle of 2004, in time for the National Championships and Olympic Trials,[4] and she was named to the U.S. team for the2004 Olympics inAthens.[9][10]
In theteam competition at the Olympics, Hatch performed on vault and contributed to the United States' silver medal.[11] Although her ACL was not completely rehabilitated, she still qualified to thevault event final, where she won a silver medal behindMonica Roșu ofRomania.[2][12] She was the first American woman to win an Olympic vault medal sinceMary Lou Retton in 1984.[13]
After the Olympics, Hatch turned to coaching, while also working in fashion (including developing her own clothing line). In January 2012, she moved to Ashburn, VA where she resides now. Her Annia Cares project organization was launched in 2016 to help and support athletes and families around the world.
| Men's artistic gymnastics athletes |
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| Women's artistic gymnastics athletes |
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