Jessica Howard

Howard started with gymnastics when she was three years old in 1987. She was 5 years part of the national team from 1997 to 2002. She became three times National Champion; fifteen-time U.S. Gold Medalist; Goodwill Games Bronze Medalist; Pan American Silver Medalist; Pacific Alliance 4 time Gold Medalist; World Championships finalist and Junior Pan American Champion. She was the USA Gymnastics Rhythmic Athlete of the Year three times. Howard missed qualifying for the 2000 Summer Olympics team at two competitions. She was coached by Efrossina Anguelova and Mila Marinova.[1]

Howard was induced in the US Gymnastics hall of fame in 2015.[1]

During her career she was sexual abused during the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal.[2][3] In February 2017, three former gymnasts, Jamie Dantzscher, Jeanette Antolin and Howard, gave an interview with 60 Minutes in which they accused Larry Nassar of sexually abusing them. The gymnasts also alleged that the "emotionally abusive environment" at the national team training camps run by Béla and Márta Károlyi at the Karolyi Ranch gave Nassar an opportunity to take advantage of the gymnast and made them afraid to speak up about the abuse.[4]