What Happened To US Olympic Gymnast Dominique Dawes?

As an Olympic gymnast, Dominique Dawes spent her entire career making history. Dawes joined the U.S. National Gymnastics team in 1988, making her the first Black gymnast to do so. At the 1996 Olympic Games, Dawes and her teammates — who were dubbed the "magnificent seven" — delivered a stellar performance and won a gold medal. Dawes also scored a bronze medal for her floor routine, securing her place as the first Black American to win an individual medal in gymnastics. Dawes' awe-inspiring performance at the 1996 Olympics earned her the nickname "awesome dawesome."

Unfortunately, Dawes' Olympic career wasn't a typical tale of guts and glory. Behind the scenes, the gold-medalist was struggling to keep up with the demands of her coaches and her gymnastics career. By the 2000 Olympic Games, everything started to unravel and Dawes dropped out of the preliminary trials. "It had nothing to do with my performance; I could feel that the selection team didn't want me there," she recalled in an op-ed for The Washington Post. "My coach talked me into finishing, though I know now that I didn't want to — I felt forced." Dawes retired from gymnastics shortly after competing in the 2000 Olympics.

Since her exodus from the sport, Dawes has stepped back from the spotlight, seemingly joining the ranks of Olympic Gold medalists you never hear about anymore. However, the trailblazing gymnast has been plenty busy over the last several years. From starting a family to opening her own gym, Dawes' post-Olympics life has been quite the ride.

After retiring from gymnastics in 2000, Dominique Dawes made an unlikely career pivot: she became a Broadway actor. During her short-lived stage career, the former Olympian played the role of Patty Simcox in "Grease." As Dawes later recalled to The New York Times, it wasn't long before she learned that she wasn't cut out for show business. "I did do Broadway for a little less than a year and realized quickly I don't have a passion for it," the gymnast confessed. "And, more importantly, I don't have a talent in it." Still, Dawes was eager to find a career path that would challenge and inspire her, so she kept an open mind while planning her next move.

Following her Broadway exit, Dawes became a co-anchor on Yahoo! News' Weekend Edition. As a retired Olympian with plenty of on-camera experience, she felt optimistic about her new career endeavor. Speaking with The New York Times in 2009, Dawes explained that she wanted to use her platform to spread positivity, and she also hoped to become a sports newscaster. "I love athletics," Dawes gushed. "As an athlete, I like to believe I can still do the things I used to do when I was once young. So definitely, sports is of interest to me, but it is any story that is going to inspire people, empower people or lift them up."

In 2013, Dominique Dawes said "I do" to her husband, former schoolteacher Jeff Thompson. The following year, the pair expanded their family with the birth of their first child, Kateri. Their next daughter, Quinn, came along less than two years later. In November 2017, the gymnast announced that she was expecting twins. "Now being 41 couldn't feel better" Dawes wrote on Instagram, "unless you're extremely pregnant — with TWINS, due this January!" The Olympian added, "It's surreal to know that this pregnancy has been tough, as most are, but extremely joyful." Dawes' twins, a boy named Lincoln and a girl named Dakota, were born in January 2018.

In 2020, the family of six moved back to Dawes' hometown in Montgomery County, Maryland and opened a gym. Nowadays, Dawes and her husband operate their gym together while their children play and learn gymnastics skills at the facility. In 2016, Dawes told "Today" that motherhood was tougher than being a gymnast because it forced her to go with the flow. "But when you're a mom, you don't have full control and you have to learn to let go," she told the outlet. "And that is very difficult for many gymnasts, because gymnasts tend to have a controlling nature and a level of perfectionism." She added, "Now, as a mom, I've had to learn to really let go of that nature of perfection, because the minute I walk in my house, the mini-tornadoes have already taken over."

Dominique Dawes started her motivational speaking career in 1996 — the same year as her trailblazing performance at the Atlanta Olympics. Since then, the retired gymnast has flourished as a public speaker. Today, Dawes travels across the country to share her wisdom on sports, life, and everything in between. In 2024, the athlete raved about her motivational speaking career on Instagram, writing, "It's been an incredible 28-year journey since my first speaking engagement. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine it would be this fulfilling." Not only does Dawes find purpose in being a public speaker, but it also appears to be a pretty lucrative gig. According to her Premiere Speakers Bureau profile, the Olympic all-star charges $30,000 for her services.

In 2023, Dawes spoke during a gathering of hospitality professionals known as the Welcome Conference. During her oration, the gymnast spoke about the importance of setting aside ego and embracing teamwork in order to achieve your goals. Dawes told listeners about how she came to realize the importance of investing emotionally in her teammates, and how that realization impacted her performance at the 1996 Olympics. "Without an ego, I appreciated them and what they brought to the table," Dawes emphasized (via YouTube). "It was about coming together collectively as a team and supporting each other."

In 2010, Dominique Dawes teamed up with former First Lady Michelle Obama to launch a new committee called the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition. The former Olympian served as a co-chair of the project alongside New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. Per the White House, the project aimed to assist Americans in embracing a healthy lifestyle. "Everyone has an important role to play in this effort," Dawes wrote in a White House blog post. "And we're calling on all Americans to choose to move and to help educate and activate those around you, including your children, your parents and grandparents, your co-workers, your co-worshippers, your neighbors, your entire community. It is our goal to make healthy eating and safe play accessible, affordable and attractive for everyone regardless of age, background or ability."

As a member of the President's council, Dawes honed in on several important causes, including nutrition and diabetes awareness. Her work included making public appearances and helping facilitate diabetes screenings in cities like New York and Washington, D.C. "Well, I've been interested in health advocacy for so many years," Dawes told NPR in 2011. "I've been retired from the sport for 11 years and much of that time has been focusing on combating childhood obesity, educating women on cardiovascular disease and then I just teamed up recently with Sweet'N Low to raise awareness to diabetes."

Over the years, the gymnastics community has been rocked by numerous scandals and abuse allegations against powerful figures in the industry. Most notably, former USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar pleaded guilty to sexual assault charges after dozens of young athletes reported that he sexually abused them. Additionally, several Olympic gymnasts — including Dominique Moceanu, Maggie Nichols, and former Olympian MyKayla Skinner — have accused their former coaches of verbal and emotional abuse. In 2021, Dominique Dawes penned an op-ed for The Washington Post where she addressed the "appalling culture" of competitive gymnastics. "Many coaches rule through intimidation and fear — and have been rewarded for it," the athlete wrote. 

In an effort to help transform the culture of the sport, Dawes decided to open her own gymnastics training facility. The Dominique Dawes Gymnastics & Ninja Academy opened its doors in 2020 and has since expanded to two locations. Per their website, the academy doesn't subject children to grueling training schedules or intimidation tactics. Instead, they focus on teaching positive values like kindness, respect, and good sportsmanship. "What we are preaching here is what we are teaching here, in that it's about empowering your child," the gold-medalist told MoCo 360 in 2022. She added, "While we may not be on top of an Olympic podium anytime soon, our young kids are going to leave the sport and remain in the sport happy and healthy. And that matters more to me than an Olympic gold medal and making history."

In 2021, Dominique Dawes served as an executive producer on the docuseries, "Golden: The Journey of USA's Elite Gymnasts." The six-episode series was filmed during the trials for the 2020 Summer Olympics (which took place in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). "Golden" told the story of five gymnasts — Laurie Hernandez, MyKalya Skinner, Morgan Hurd, Konnor McClain, and Olympian Sunisa Lee — who were all vying for a shot at Olympic glory. In an interview with the Associated Press, Dawes explained that the documentary was intended to shed light on the athletes' lives both in and out of the gym. "The majority of this docuseries is not the young athletes training in the gym," Dawes explained. "Everyone kind of gets the grueling nature of the sport of gymnastics, the level of sacrifice and commitment. But, you also see the behind-the-scenes with regards to the anxiety, the fear, the intimidation."

When viewers tune in to watch Olympic gymnastics, they're only seeing the tip of the iceberg. Below the surface of their polished performances, Olympic gymnasts have spent years training and pouring their lives into the sport. As a veteran Olympian, Dawes wanted to show viewers what that process looks like. "I love the sport. It's a beautiful sport," the athlete remarked. "It's something I'm passionate about, but there is an ugly side of the sport where it is too much of a physical, emotional, and social sacrifice."

In 2008, Dominique Dawes' former Olympic teammate, Dominique Moceanu, revealed that she had been abused by her coaches. Her admission was a lightbulb moment for Dawes, who summoned the strength to start talking about the abuse that she endured as a budding gymnast. In 2022, Dawes told MoCo 360 that she was "a very young child" when she was first traumatized by her coaches. At the time, Dawes was afraid to do backflips on the balance beam, but her coaches forced her to do them anyway. "They ignored my fears," she recalled. "At the end of practice, I remember having my name screamed by the gym owner and the coach for me to come out. This was nearly at 9 p.m. I had to get back on that balance beam and do those repetitions."

Dawes also faced a hefty amount of racism and body-shaming. In a past interview, the gymnast revealed that she was constantly subjected to Western beauty standards. "And there is a certain look that they want in gymnastics — that European look, that lean, classical look, which is a look that I did not have," Dawes explained (via BlueWire). Plus, coaches frequently criticized her natural body proportions. "It's being told, for so many years, 'Your legs are not the shape that we want. Look over at that athlete, Shannon Miller. Those are the legs you're supposed to have,'" she recalled. 

When fellow gymnast Simone Biles made her jaw-dropping exit from the Tokyo Olympics due to mental health issues, Dominique Dawes applauded her. In an op-ed for The Washington Post, Dawes spoke candidly about the lack of mental health support available to gymnasts. Dawes revealed that she'd experienced a mental breakdown moments before the podium ceremony at the 1996 Olympics. "Somehow, I pulled it together," she wrote. "But that experience haunted me for years."

In her op-ed, Dawes recalled being criticized for her physical characteristics, such as her bowed legs and flat feet. Eventually, Dawes began feeling like a constant failure. Moreover, she was exhausted from trying to measure up to the impossible standards of the sport. "Young gymnasts push through agony and sickness out of fear and compete in emotional and physical pain," the champion wrote. "We may smile for the cameras and offer politically correct sound bites, but this hides the fact that for many of us, true happiness and freedom are rarely felt."

Ultimately, when Simone Biles wrote on Instagram that she felt like the weight of the world was on her shoulders, Dawes completely understood the feeling. "What Biles has underscored for us all is that mental health is worth more than a gold medal — more than any title," she wrote. "Biles is the greatest gymnast of all time, but she's so much more than that. She's a mental health advocate, a survivor, an inspiration to millions."

In 2022, Dominique Dawes appeared in "Black Pop: Celebrating the Power of Black Culture," a four-part docuseries that highlighted groundbreaking Black athletes and entertainers. During the series, the former gymnast sat down for an interview to talk about her pioneering gymnastics career. She also dished about her experience starring in the 1996 music video for Prince's song, "Betcha By Golly Wow!" Dawes shared a snippet of the interview on her LinkedIn account, where she recalled that Prince was "so down to Earth" and wore a purple lace suit. "I had the wonderful opportunity to be in episode 1 of 'Black Pop: Celebrating the Power of Black Culture,' produced by Stephen Curry on E! Channel," Dawes wrote in the caption. "It's wonderful to look back at my experience with the iconic pop legend Prince." 

Dawes also starred in episode two of the series, which featured a host of Black athletes like Sugar Ray Leonard, Allyson Felix, and Andre Iguodala. Dawes was joined on the set of "Black Pop" by her eldest daughter. On Instagram, the gymnastics icon shared several behind-the-scenes photos and wrote, "What a fun day in NYC!!! Thank you Executive Producers @stephencurry and @melissahaizlip for allowing me to share my story! These days I try my best to make my work trips opportunities to share with my family. I think my daughter has a future in video production as she caught such great behind the scenes footage. #momlife"

Not only does Dominique Dawes own a gymnastics training facility, but she also has her very own piece of the Atlanta Falcons. As reported by ESPN, the former Olympian became a limited partner of the NFL team in May 2024. Dawes proudly shared the news via an Instagram post, where she was quoted as saying, "Having been a global ambassador for the United States, I hope that my platform and influence as one of the few African American women to be a limited partner in the National Football League has broad impact throughout the NFL community and beyond." The athlete also gushed about her love for Atlanta and vowed to have a "positive impact on those in the Atlanta community." In addition to Dawes, the team selected two prominent business executives and a television producer to join as limited owners.  

So, what does limited ownership mean in terms of Dawes' involvement with the Falcons? According to The Washington Times, limited partners are investors who basically operate as second in command to full owners. Unlike full owners — who make decisions involving the team — limited partners have little say in the decision-making process. Nevertheless, Dawes is one of few people who can say that she owns part of an NFL team — and that's an impressive brag.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).