ATHENS — Junior Gym Dog and two-time Olympic medalist Courtney Kupets has decided not to make a second run for the 2008 Olympics, Georgia head coach Suzanne Yoculan has announced. Kupets, the NCAA all-around champion as a freshman and sophomore, instead has decided to focus solely on her team goals, her collegiate career and academic future.
“Courtney is by far the most complete gymnast that I have ever coached,” Yoculan said. “She has power, poise, finesse and most importantly mental toughness under pressure. Our entire coaching staff supported Courtney during her deliberation concerning making another Olympic run and now respect her final decision not to try. The Georgia team has high expectations this upcoming season and we will look to Courtney for leadership.”
Kupets was a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic team that competed in Athens, Greece, where she won a silver medal with the team and an individual bronze medal on the uneven bars. She also finished ninth in the all-around and fifth on the beam. No U.S. gymnast ever has trained for and competed in the Olympics while also competing for a college and attending classes there.
“Gymnastics is a sport that I love to do and I have two more years of it,” Kupets said. “Whether it’s college gymnastics or elite gymnastics, I just want to have fun and enjoy what gymnastics brings. This year that means I need to focus on my role on the Georgia gymnastics team and give all my strength to this year’s goals, and I couldn’t be happier to do so.”
Kupets has led the Gym Dogs to back-to-back NCAA titles along with garnering numerous personal accolades. In addition to her back-to-back all-around crowns, she also won the title on bars and beam in 2006 and vault in 2007. She is tied for second all-time with five individual titles, trailing only Jenny Hansen of Kentucky who had eight. Additionally, she is a 10-time All-American and earned first-team status in all five categories in 2007, helping her to capture last year’s Honda Award as the top female collegiate gymnast.
Kupets also has made a name for herself academically at Georgia. The furnishings and interiors major earned a spring semester 4.0 gpa and was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American as well as an NACGC Academic All-American and a member of the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll.
“Courtney’s accomplishments in this sport are second-to-none, and she is only a rising junior,” Yoculan said. “By the time her career is done, she may be the most decorated collegiate athlete ever.”
“Courtney is by far the most complete gymnast that I have ever coached,” Yoculan said. “She has power, poise, finesse and most importantly mental toughness under pressure. Our entire coaching staff supported Courtney during her deliberation concerning making another Olympic run and now respect her final decision not to try. The Georgia team has high expectations this upcoming season and we will look to Courtney for leadership.”
Kupets was a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic team that competed in Athens, Greece, where she won a silver medal with the team and an individual bronze medal on the uneven bars. She also finished ninth in the all-around and fifth on the beam. No U.S. gymnast ever has trained for and competed in the Olympics while also competing for a college and attending classes there.
“Gymnastics is a sport that I love to do and I have two more years of it,” Kupets said. “Whether it’s college gymnastics or elite gymnastics, I just want to have fun and enjoy what gymnastics brings. This year that means I need to focus on my role on the Georgia gymnastics team and give all my strength to this year’s goals, and I couldn’t be happier to do so.”
Kupets has led the Gym Dogs to back-to-back NCAA titles along with garnering numerous personal accolades. In addition to her back-to-back all-around crowns, she also won the title on bars and beam in 2006 and vault in 2007. She is tied for second all-time with five individual titles, trailing only Jenny Hansen of Kentucky who had eight. Additionally, she is a 10-time All-American and earned first-team status in all five categories in 2007, helping her to capture last year’s Honda Award as the top female collegiate gymnast.
Kupets also has made a name for herself academically at Georgia. The furnishings and interiors major earned a spring semester 4.0 gpa and was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American as well as an NACGC Academic All-American and a member of the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll.
“Courtney’s accomplishments in this sport are second-to-none, and she is only a rising junior,” Yoculan said. “By the time her career is done, she may be the most decorated collegiate athlete ever.”