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ave you ever wondered what happened 10 u.s. gymnastics shlrs of the past? USA Gymnastics thought it would be interesting 10 contact former national team members 10 catch up with their lives after gymnastics. By Mary Whitehead, Butler University Student
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CATHY RIGBY Cathy Rigby was one of America's first prominent gymnasts who helped to change women's gymnastics in the United States. In the 1968 Olympic Games, in Mexico City, Rigby earned the highest U.s. all-around score in over 30 years of Olympic competition. Rigby was also the first American woman to win a medal in world competition, earning a silver medal on the balance beam at the 1970 World Championships in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia. When she retired in the early 1970s, she had a total of 12 international medals, eight of which were gold. In 1972 Rigby began to study acting and in 1981 made her theater musical debut as Dorothy in the "Wizard of Oz." In 1987 she first starred in "Peter Pan" as Peter Pan. In 1990 and 1991 one of her greatest acting accomplishments came when she starred and toured in the 35th Anniversary Production of "Peter Pan" and received outstanding reviews and praise for her performance. Along with the 'Wizard of Oz" and "Peter Pan," she has also starred on stage in "Meet Me in St. Louis," "Paint Your Wagon" and
"They're Playing Our Song." Rigby has also made numerous television appearances. Besides acting, Rigby speaks on many topics and contributes her spare time to many publiC service organizations. Rigby is married to Tom McCoy, a noted producer, and the mother of 4 children: Bucky, 15; Ryan, 11; Theresa, 8; and Kaitlan, 5.
MARKCASD Mark Caso was an accomplished collegiate gymnast at UCLA from 198084. He was team captain of the 1984 gold medal NCAA Championship team. At the 1984 NCAA Championships he received a bronze medal in the all-around, a silver medal on
Cathy Rigby McCoy USA
GYMNASTICS~MAY/JUNE
1992
Mark Caso the vault, and placed fourth on the still rings. Along with his outstanding career at UCLA, Caso was also a member of the U.S. National Team from 1981 to 1986. In 1983 he competed in the Pan American Games, in Caracas, Venezuela and won a silver medal on vault and two bronze medals on rings and floor. Caso also invented his own gymnastics move, the "Caso Twist," a full-twisting front uprise Stutz. Today Caso is very busy, acting in the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" films. He plays Leonardo-to all you turtle fans- and starred in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze." Along with his gymnastics experience, Caso had to learn martial arts for the role of Leonardo. Caso is currently working on "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III" and lives in Los Angeles, California. He just finished doing a film called "Die Today," which is the Tex Watson story. Caso plays Charlie Manson. The movie is expected to hit the movie screens later this year.