National Team Member Samantha Shapiro was born on May 18, 1993. Her younger sister, Nicole, is a National TOP Team Member and California State Champion as well. They both train at All Olympia Gymnastics Center in Los Angeles, California. Samantha was a National TOPS team member in 2002, 2003, and 2004. She had the highest overall score in strength and flexibility in 2003 and 2004.

Level five is one of the first competitive levels in the junior olympic program. Samantha competed this level in 2001. She won several medals through the season at meets such as the Chart Oak Invite and AOGC Invitational. At the Sectional Championships, Samantha swept the gold medals. Her final level five meet was States. She finished fourth overall and first on bars. She moved up to level six in 2002. She won the all-around at the AOGC Invitational. Like the year before, Samantha swept the gold medals at Sectionals. At States, she finished first on floor and in the all-around. Samantha was second on the other three events.

The first optional level is seven. Samantha moved up to level seven for the 2003 season. She finished first all-around at the Flips USA Invite, California Classic and Friendship Challenge. At States, she won four gold medals! Samantha placed second on bars. Samantha skipped level eight and moved up to level nine. This proved to be a smart move when she won the Friendship Challenge, Crystal Cup and AOGC Invitational. At States, she had a few falls that kept her down in the standings. Her consistency improved by Regionals, where she took fourth all-around. Samantha also placed second on bars and floor. Her final meet of the season was the Western Championships in Auburn, Washington. She finished fourth on bars!

In 2005, Samantha moved up to the tenth level. She won the all-around title at the San Diego Classic and Friendship Challenge. At States, she won bars and the all-around title. Samantha was second on beam and floor. At Regionals, she took the silver in the all-around and gold on bars. Her final level ten meet was the JO Nationals. She finished in the top ten on bars, floor and in the all-around. In early 2006, Samantha competed as a level ten for experience. She placed first all-around at the AOGC Invitational and fourth at States. Samantha also competed at the WOGA Classic as a junior elite. She finished second! During the summer, Samantha moved officially up to junior international elite. She finished fourth all-around at the US Classic. At Nationals, falls kept her down in the standing. Marta Karolyi added her to the national team after the competition.

After struggling with injuries in 2007, Samantha came back to place second all-around at the US Classic. She won uneven bars. at the US National Championships, she won beam. She finished second on bars, floor and the all-around. Her final year as a junior was in 2008. She won bars and placed third on beam at the WOGA Classic. At the Gymnix International, she won bars, beam and the all-around. Samantha won bars at the Jesolo Grand Prix. She also won bars at the Pacific Rim Championships. She placed second all-around. In June, Samantha finished second all-around at the US National Championships. She won uneven bars and balance beam. In the fall, she competed at the PAGU Individual Event Championships. She won uneven bars and beam. In March of 2009, she won uneven bars at the Gymnix World Cup.

Fast Facts Name: Sami Shapiro Birthday: May 18, 1993 Club: All Olympia Level: Sr. Int'l Elite Fansite All Olympia

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS 2006 US National Team Member 2006 US Classic: 4th AA 2005 JO Nationals Top Ten AA 2005 Level 10 State Champion 2002-2004 TOPS Nat'l Team Member

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Photos © Lloyd Smith & Stacy Burchfield