Phoebe Mills

Phoebe Mills
Mills at the 1988 Olympic Games
Country represented	United States of America
Born	November 2 1972 (1972-11-02) Northfield, Illinois, USA
Years on National Team	1985-1988
Club	Karolyi's Gymnastics
Coach(es)	Bela & Marta Karolyi
Current status	Retired

Phoebe Mills (born November 2, 1972 in Northfield, Illinois, U.S.) is a retired American artistic gymnast. She was the first American to medal at a fully-attended Olympics, winning bronze on balance beam at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.

Career

Mills was coached by Marta and Béla Károlyi in Houston, Texas. She attended her first U.S. Nationals in 1984, finishing eighth in the junior division. While Mills was sometimes overshadowed in the media by her teammate Kristie Phillips, she developed a reputation as a steady, consistent competitor in national and international meets, placing third at the 1985 City of Popes competition and second at the 1986 U.S. Olympic Festival and U.S. Nationals (junior division). In 1987 she attended her first and only World Gymnastics Championships as a member of the sixth-place American team.

1988 was Mills' breakout year. She won every meet she entered, including the U.S. Nationals, the American Cup, the Mardi Gras Invitational and the International Mixed Pairs, was named the United States Olympic Committee's Gymnast of the Year and was nominated for the prestigious James E. Sullivan Award. She also placed first at the U.S. Olympic Trials, easily earning a spot on the American squad for the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.

Mills emerged as the U.S. team's most successful gymnast at the Olympics. While she finished a modest fifteenth place in the all-around, she also qualified for three event finals, more than any other member of the team. She performed a solid, artistic routine to win a bronze medal on the balance beam, behind Daniela Silivaş and Elena Shushunova. With her third-place finish, Mills became the first individual American female gymnast to win a medal in a fully attended Olympics, and the only American gymnast, male or female, to medal in Seoul.

Mills continued to compete in early 1989, but retired later that year, due in part to the effects of Epstein-Barr syndrome. She has occasionally returned to the sport as a coach. In 2000, Mills was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

Medal Count

.Year	Event	TF	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
1984	Junior National Championships		8
	Junior U.S. Classic		4
1985	Junior American Classic		2nd
	Junior U.S. Classic		4
	Junior National Championships		3rd
	Junior World Invitational		9
	City of Popes		3rd		4	2nd
	USA vs. France		1st
1986	American Classic		4
	Junior National Championships		2nd
	U.S. Olympic Festival		2nd	2nd	1st	2nd	2nd
	World Sports Fair			2nd
	Canadian Classic		2nd	2nd	1st	1st
	USA vs. China		1st
1987	McDonald's American Cup		3rd	1st	1st	1st	6
	International Mixed Pairs		1st
	USA vs. USSR		1st	2nd		2nd
	Rotterdam World Championships	6
1988	McDonald's American Cup		1st	2nd	2nd	1st	2nd
	Mardi Gras Invitational		1st	1st	2nd	1st	1st
	International Mixed Pairs		1st
	U.S. Classic		1st
	U.S. National Championships		1st		4	3rd	1st
	U.S. Olympic Trials		1st
	Seoul Olympic Games	4	10		8	3rd	6
1989	International Mixed Pairs		3rd