Bridget Sloan was born to Jeff and Mary in Cincinnati, Ohio on June 23, 1992. She has two brothers, Kyle and Nathan, and a sister Kassie. She currently resides in Pittsboro, Indiana. In 1996, at the age of four, Bridget started gymnastics at Indy School of Gymnastics. Today she trains with Marvin Sharp at Sharp's Gymnastics.
In 2001, Bridget won the all-around title at the Charleston Cup as a level seven. She also placed first on beam. By 2003, Bridget was competing as a level nine. She won the all-around title at the IGI Chicago Style. Bridget also competed as a child national elite at the US Challenge. She was on the national elite training squad. The next year she competed as a level ten. She won the all-around title at the Hard Rock Invite and Chalk Bowl Classic. Bridget placed second all-around at the Surf City Classic as well.
Bridget began competing as a junior international elite in 2004. She competed at the American Classic. Injuries kept her out of competition the remainder of the season. In 2005, Bridget returned to elite competition. At nationals, she made her first national team. In early 2006, Bridget finished second all-around at the Gymnix International. Unfortunately, she had an ankle injury the prohibited her from competing at the US Classic and all four events at Nationals. Bridget won the bronze on beam at Nationals. She was also added to the national team roster.
2007 was a great year for Bridget. She originally was named to the International Gymnix Tournament. However, her performance at a training camp earned her a spot on the USA team for the USA vs Great Britain International Competition in Lisburn, Ireland. Bridget helped the USA team earn a gold medal. Individually, she earned a bronze medal on floor. Her next meet was the Houston International Invitaitonal. She finished third all-around. After making the decision to compete as a senior, Bridget won the US Classic in Battle Creek, Michigan. She finished second on bars and third on the other three events. Her next meet was the US National Championships. She finished fifth all-around and second on floor! She was named to the World Team as an alternate. In the fall, she competed at the Good Luck Beijing International Tournament and Toyota Cup. She finished third all-around in Beijing and second on floor. At the Toyota Cup, she finished third on bars and floor.
Bridget had a great 2008 season. She competed at the Italy-Spain-Poland-USA competition in Jesolo, Italy. In April, she had knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus. She worked her way back to competed on bars and beam at the US National Championships. She finished third on bars. At the Olympic Trials, she competed on bars, beam and floor. She had a rough meet on day two. She then traveled to Texas for the Final Olympic Selection Camp. She was named to the Olympic Team! At the Olympic Games, she competed in the all-around during preliminaries. She was the leadoff performer on vault during the team finals. She helped the United States to second place.
Bridget showed no signs of slowing down in 2009. She easily finished second all-around at the American Cup. She lead the United States Team at both the USA v. France and USA v. Germany meets winning the all-around each time. She hopes to make the World Team this fall.
Photos © Lloyd Smith
