Madison Kocian
Madison Taylor Kocian is an American retired artistic gymnast. On the uneven bars, she is one of four 2015 World co-champions and the 2016 Olympic silver medalist. She was part of the gold medal-winning team dubbed the "Final Five" at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and she was a member of the first-place American teams at the 2014 and 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2020, where she was a member of its women's gymnastics team. She helped the UCLA Bruins win the 2018 NCAA Championships. She is the second female gymnast to win NCAA, World, and Olympic championship titles, after Kyla Ross.
Early life
Kocian was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. Her parents, Thomas and Cindy Kocian, put her in gymnastics at a young age. At age five, she began training at the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy in Plano, Texas. WOGA was the gym where Olympic all-around champions Carly Patterson and Nastia Liukin trained. Patterson and Liukin served as early inspirations for Kocian, particularly Liukin, who Kocian has likened to an older sister. Kocian has one younger brother. She was raised Catholic. She attended Spring Creek Academy in Plano, Texas, and graduated in 2015.Junior elite career
2009–2010
Kocian made her elite gymnastics debut at the 2009 U.S. Classic, finishing 18th in the all-around. At the 2009 U.S. Championships, she placed sixth in the all-around competition and was added to the U.S. Junior National Team. Later that year, Kocian was selected to make her international debut at the Top Gym Invitational in Charleroi, Belgium. She won a bronze medal in the all-around behind Larisa Iordache and Julie Croket. In the event finals, she won a gold medal on the vault, and a silver medal on the balance beam behind Iordache.Kocian began the 2010 season at the WOGA Classic where she finished second in the all-around to her club teammate Grace McLaughlin. She then placed fifth in the all-around at the U.S. Classic in Chicago. At the U.S. Championships, she won a bronze medal on the uneven bars and once again finished fifth in the all-around.
2011–2012
Kocian began the 2011 season by winning a silver medal in the all-around at the WOGA Classic. At the City of Jesolo Trophy, she won a gold medal with the American team and finished second in the all-around to Kyla Ross.Kocian finished second in the all-around at the 2012 WOGA Classic behind club teammate Katelyn Ohashi. She missed the rest of the season due to a broken growth plate in the radius of her wrist.
Senior elite career
2013
Kocian became age-eligible for senior competitions in 2013. She returned to competition at the WOGA Classic competing on the vault and the uneven bars, where she finished third and second, respectively. She then won the all-around title at the American Classic. At the U.S. Classic, held in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, she placed seventh all-around and earned a silver medal on the uneven bars behind Kyla Ross. On the first day of the U.S. Championships, she led the all-around competition after two rotations. However, on the floor exercise, she rolled her ankle on a triple twist and suffered a third-degree sprain. She withdrew from the competition and did not compete for the rest of the year.2014
Kocian returned to competition at the WOGA Classic. She only competed on the uneven bars and the balance beam, winning gold and silver on the events, respectively. At the City of Jesolo Trophy, she stuck her full-twisting double back dismount to win the uneven bars gold medal. She once again only competed on uneven bars and balance beam at the U.S. Classic. She won the silver medal on the uneven bars behind Ashton Locklear, and she placed eighth on the balance beam. At the U.S. Championships, she again finished second to Locklear on the uneven bars and also placed fifth on the balance beam.Kocian competed at the Pan American Championships in Mississauga, Canada. She helped the American team place first in the team competition. In the event finals, she placed second on the uneven bars behind teammate Ashton Locklear. She also qualified for the balance beam event final and finished fourth. On September 17, Kocian was selected to compete at the 2014 World Championships in Nanning, China, alongside Locklear, Alyssa Baumann, Simone Biles, Kyla Ross, and Mykayla Skinner. In qualifications, she competed in the all-around and finished in 14th place with a score of 55.966, but she did not make it into the all-around final due to the two-per-country rule, with Biles, Ross, and Skinner all outscoring her. She competed in the team final on the uneven bars and contributed a score of 14.900 to the U.S. team's gold medal finish.
After the World Championships, Kocian chose to have wrist surgery. After breaking a growth plate in 2012, her ulna bone grew to be 6 millimeters longer than her radius. She had a plate and seven screws put in, and she missed five months of training.
2015
Kocian returned to competition at the U.S. Classic, competing only on the uneven bars and balance beam. She finished first on the uneven bars and ninth on the balance beam. At the U.S. Championships, she placed sixth in the all-around and won her first national title on the uneven bars. She was once again named to the senior U.S. national team. She was invited to the World Championships selection camp held on October 6.Kocian was selected to compete at the World Championships in Glasgow, alongside Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Brenna Dowell, Maggie Nichols, and Aly Raisman. During the qualification round, Kocian competed on the balance beam and on the uneven bars, where she qualified for the event final in third place. Her scores helped the American team qualify for the team final in first place and secured a team berth for the 2016 Olympic Games. She then helped the U.S. team win the gold medal in the team final. In the uneven bars final, she scored a 15.366, placing her in an unprecedented four-way tie for the gold medal with Russians Viktoria Komova, Daria Spiridonova, and China's Fan Yilin.
2016
Kocian began the Olympic season at the WOGA Classic and competed on the uneven bars and balance beam, winning the gold medals in both events. In March, Kocian, along with fellow National Team members, attended the Team USA Media Summit in Los Angeles, an event for the media to interview and interact with Olympic hopefuls. Kocian attended the event on crutches and wearing a cast, and confirmed to reporters that she had a fractured tibia. She missed six weeks of training.Kocian returned to competition at the U.S. Classic and competed on the uneven bars and balance beam. She finished second on the uneven bars behind Ashton Locklear and placed 15th on the balance beam. She returned to competing on all four events at the U.S. Championships and placed fifth in the all-around. She once again finished second to Locklear on the uneven bars. At the U.S. Olympic Trials, she placed eighth in the all-around and won the uneven bars gold medal.
On July 10, 2016, Kocian was named to the U.S. team for the 2016 Olympic Games alongside Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, and Laurie Hernandez.