Arguably the beauty of the Olympics is that some star-gazing teenager or 20-something sweats away with only a hope and a dream. And, the next thing you know, they’re a household name across the country, climbing atop the awards stand a half a world away.
In essence, that’s the story of Terin Humphrey, whose journey began at a young age at a non-descript gymnastics gym in St. Joseph before, at age 11, she moved on to mentor under a renowned coach in Blue Springs. Little did Humphrey know that she was only seven years away from the Olympics.
“The way I went about it, I wasn’t worried about anybody else,” Humphrey said. “I wanted to be better than myself the last time out. And, originally, I was just going for a college scholarship. When my coach said the Olympics are in your future, I said, ‘Yeah, right.’”
Humphrey went on to win two silver gymnastics medals in the 2004 Athens Olympics for the United States as part of a storied career. Now the teen who helped bring prestige to U.S. gymnastics is part of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, which is proud to induct Humphrey as part of the Class of 2016. Enshrinement Ceremonies presented by Killian Construction are Sunday, January 31 in Springfield. For tickets, call 417-889-3100 and see our information box below.)
Humphrey was a member of the U.S. National Gymnastics team for six seasons beginning in 1999 and represented the U.S. in nine international meets. She competed in the 2002 and 2003 World Championships, the latter of which saw the U.S. team win its first gold medal. And that set her up for the Olympics, in which Humphrey helped win a team silver and an individual silver. She competed on bars and beam in the team finals and contributed solid scores of 9.587 and 9.487, respectively. She also earned silver in the uneven bars and introduced a new skill called “The Humphrey.”
From there, Humphrey won the 2005 and 2007 NCAA Championships in uneven bars for the University of Alabama, as part of becoming an 11-time All-American.
This from an athlete who was age 2 when her parents enrolled Humphrey in the Arising Stars Gym in St. Joseph and later continued her training under coach Al Fong at Gage Gym in Blue Springs. When she was 9, she and her mother moved to Grain Valley to determine the value of more intense workouts with Fong and, a year later, the rest of the family joined them in the move. It was the launching pad to the Olympics.
“Even when I was 2, my mom couldn’t keep up with me and wanted me to do ice skating or gymnastics,” Humphrey said, “and my dad said no to ice skating.”
Humphrey’s path to the Olympics was not easy. For one, the U.S. gymnastics team takes only six girls, and that’s only after grueling training and a series of events such as classics, nationals, worlds and Olympic trials. Even then, nothing is guaranteed. For instance, in 2003, Humphrey was dropped from the team despite showing well.
Fortunately for her, her big break came during the World Championships as the U.S. team lost one member to a knee injury and another fell ill. With no time to warm up, Humphrey pulled off the impossible as she turned in one of the best rotations on the floor.
“(Being dropped) kind of fueled my fire. In my mind, I said, ‘The next Olympics, I’m going to make sure you have no reason to take me off the team,” Humphrey said. “At Worlds, I was going to make sure they had no reason to take me off the team again.”
Humphrey graduated from Odessa High School in 2004 and was in the Olympics three months later. And that was despite her not learning she was on the team until two days before the U.S. flew overseas.
After the Olympics, Humphrey chose to attend college than turn pro and enjoyed more success at Alabama, where she also earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. Humphrey then threw everybody a curve and attended a police academy in Missouri, soon to become a police officer in Raymore – and held the role for almost five years. Her brother, an Iraq War veteran-turned-policeman, had inspired her.
These days Humphrey works with the U.S. Olympic committee as an athlete representative for USA Gymnastics, which brought her aboard for the role in 2009. Along with assisting teen gymnastics in Lee’s Summit, the role has helped her give back to the sport.
“It’s made me realize how far gymnastics helped me,” said Humphrey, who was inducted individually into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2015, which inducted the U.S.’ 2003 world championship team in 2007. “It’s been so great. I love helping the girls who were in my position. It’s more rewarding.”
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Enshrinement Ceremonies 2016 presented by Killian Construction
What: Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Enshrinement
When: 11 a.m. reception presented by Meeks The Builder’s Choice at the Hall of Fame, 3861 E. Stan Musial Drive; 4 p.m. reception & 5 p.m. dinner & event on Jan. 31
Where: University Plaza Hotel & Convention Center
Missouri Sports Legend: University of Central Missouri athletic director Jerry Hughes
Class of 2016: Mizzou Tigers football coach Gary Pinkel; former big-league pitcher Jerry Reuss, longtime NFL coach Gregg Williams, Springfield native and retired PBR bull rider L.J. Jenkins, Kansas City Chiefs center Tim Grunhard, St. Joseph native and Olympic gymnastics silver medalist Terin Humphrey, Kansas City native and St. Louis Cardinals linebacker Eric Williams, longtime Kansas City Royals scouting director Art Stewart, Evangel University men’s basketball coach Steve Jenkins, West Plains native and former Texas Christian University baseball coach Lance Brown, former University of Missouri and Olympic track and field standout Natasha Kaiser-Brown, Missouri Southern men’s basketball coach Robert Corn, St. Louis University High School racquetball coach Joe Koestner, Missouri State University sports information director Mark Stillwell, John Burroughs High School football coach Jim Lemen, The John Burroughs School football program and the Mizzou Tigers’ 1966 Sugar Bowl team. The John Q. Hammons Founder’s Award will go to Med-Pay, Inc., owned by Gordon and Marshall Kinne, and Ken Meyer of Meyer Communications is the recipient of the President’s Award.
Tickets: Call 417-889-3100. Individual tickets are $150. Tables of 10 are $1,500 and include associate sponsor recognition in the printed program and autographed prints. Sponsorship opportunities such as congratulatory ads also are available.
