Magnificent Seven

The Magnificent Seven was the 1996 United States Olympic women's gymnastics team that won the first ever gold medal for the United States in the women's team competition at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The seven members of the team were Shannon Miller, Dominique Moceanu, Dominique Dawes, Kerri Strug, Amy Chow, Jaycie Phelps, and team captain Amanda Borden. Miller, Dawes and Chow also won an individual gold, silver and bronze medal respectively in Atlanta. The team is perhaps best known for Strug sticking the landing of a vault to clinch the gold medal while injured. 1996 Olympics Individual stars The leader of the Magnificent Seven is often said to be Shannon Miller, the second most decorated American gymnast in history and that year's reigning national champion. The other two individual stars on the team were Dominique Dawes and Dominique Moceanu, the previous two national champions (in 1994 and 1995 respectively). However, Kerri Strug eventually qualified for the individual all-around over Moceanu. The other three members on the team were less heralded. Nevertheless, they were an integral part of the team's success. Amy Chow had the highest difficulty of anyone on the team, most notably on the uneven bars. Jaycie Phelps provided clean lines and solid gymnastics on all four events. The final member to qualify for the team, Amanda Borden, was named team captain.