| Hilliard to be inducted into USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame |
By Cornelius Fortune |
Published
06/18/2008
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Sports
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Wendy Hilliard
WENDY HILLIARD shares time with a group of young aspiring gymnasts.
Wendy Hilliard had already done what many considered a long shot – becoming the first African American to make the U.S. Rhythmic gymnastics Senior National Team in 1978. She then remained on the team a record-setting nine times, including serving twice as National Team captain.
Now, Hilliard will be among six gymnasts that will be honored by the USA Gymnastics 2008 Hall of Fame. The ceremony will be held on Sunday, June 22, at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown.
The honor surprised her, Hilliard said.
“It actually did,” she said. “I was surprised and quite honored. It’s a big deal as far as gymnastics is concerned. It’s great to be honored by those who know your work best.”
A 1978 graduate of Cass Technical High School who studied broadcasting and Russian language at Wayne State University and an honors graduate from New York University, Hilliard has achieved much.
She has been a four-time U.S. National Team coach and was the personal coach of 1996 Olympian Aliane Baquerot. She also was the first African American and gymnast to become president of the Women’s Sports Foundation in 1995.
Hilliard’s own non–profit organization, the Wendy Hilliard Foundation, has provided free gymnastics for over 5,000 inner city youth in New York City since 1996.
“I really wanted to offer more kids the opportunity,” she said. “Gymnastics is a very disciplined sport. It’s a great way to participate in the sport. We have free programs, low costs programs. We think that really helps them. They appreciate being able to achieve things step by step. We have kids that do well in national championships, but the most important thing is to learn this process of achievement.”
Hilliard served as the athlete representative for gymnastics to the United States Olympic Committee and on the Executive Committee of USA Gymnastics for over 10 years.
She has been a TV commentator for many sports and gymnastics events, including the Olympic Games. She also has performed on numerous television shows and tours with the world’s top gymnasts and also performed on Broadway.
Hilliard is a founding member and associate choreographer for ANTIGRAVITY and was Director of Sports for NYC2012. NYC2012 was the U.S. Olympic Bid City, vying for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
As a member of the Senior Staff, her responsibilities included overseeing all of the sports and athlete issues concerning the bid, including over 2,000 Olympians and Paralympians worldwide that supported the bid.
She also traveled to International Olympic Committee meetings representing NYC2012.
In 2006, Hilliard designed and opened a 15,000 square foot gymnastics center for Aviator Sports and Recreation, a new multi-million/multi-sport complex in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Along with her foundation, Hilliard is currently a sports consultant with Aviator Sports and Recreation and Riverbank State Park.
She currently resides in Harlem with her husband, Robert Mensah, and sons, Kennedy and Bailey.
Despite living in New York, Hilliard is still grateful to her parents and her hometown of Detroit.
“The connections are always strong in Detroit,” Hilliard said. “It was very important to my success.
Everyone around me gave me the confidence to enter into the world and try to achieve different things. It’s always very close to my heart.”
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