Phoebe Mills has a special sports gene in her DNA that has passed to her siblings as well. If she were to be cloned, the result would be a combination of a speed skate, a balance beam, a diving board, and a snowboard. The result would be beautiful, graceful, courageous, and modest. Phoebe exemplifies once again the all-around capacity of many gymnasts to excel in more venues than the gym. She and her siblings have captured so many medals, honors, and admiration that an extra room is needed to preserve their contributions to sports for the next generation of their families. We, the gymnastics aficionados of America, are proud to have this woman represent us in world-wide places where the best of the best come together to determine just who is the best. Phoebe Mills ruled most of the time.

Mills started her athletic career as a speed skater that became just one of her sports achievements. She turned to gymnastics and was coached by Bela and Martha Karolyi in Houston, TX through her gymnastics years. After retiring from gymnastics in 1989, Phoebe attended the University of Miami where she excelled as a diver competing in national diving events and winning gold in the 10-Meter in the Big East diving competition three years in a row. She retired from diving after graduating with a degree in environmental science.  Olympic Games: Bronze-BB, was a finalist in three events and the first U.S. woman gymnast to medal in a non-boycotted Olympic Games, Seoul, Korea, (1988). World Championships: Team member, Rotterdam, Netherlands, (1987). USAG Championships: Gold-AA & FX, Silver-V, Bronze-BB. American Cup: Gold-Team Intl. Mixed Pairs, Bronze-AA, (1987); Gold-AA & Team Intl. Mixed Pairs, (1988); Bronze-Intl. Mixed Pairs, (1989). Additional Competitions: Canadian Classic Championships: Gold-UB & BB, Silver-AA & V, (1986). Jr. U.S. National Championships: Silver-AA, (1986). U. S. Olympic Festival: Gold-UB, Silver-AA, V, BB, & FX, (1986). World Sports Fair: Bronze-V, (1986). USA vs. USSR: Silver-Team, (1987). U.S. Classic Championships: Gold-AA, (1988). Honors: Named U.S. Olympic Committee’s Gymnast of the Year, (1988); Nominated for the prestigious James E. Sullivan Award. General: After her graduation, Phoebe became a Head Snowboard Coach for the Okemo Mountain School as well as being part of the coaching team for the Junior U.S.A. Snowboarding Team. Mills enrolled at the Vermont Law School, where she is majoring in Native American and Environmental Law. Family: An athletic family, Phoebe has five brothers and sisters who were featured in the June issue of Sports Illustrated. Reportedly, one brother, Nathan made it to the 1992 (Albertville) and 1994 (Lillehammer) Winter Olympics as a speed skater, and her sister, Jessica, won the World Junior figure Skating Championship, (1989).

Sources: Starting with Jerry Wright’s Gymnastics Who’s Who, 2005 and progressing through a number of websites, this biography of Phoebe Mills was created. Acknowledgement and thanks are due www.gymn-forum.com/, www.wikipedia.org/, www.usa-gymnastics.com/, www.gymnpics.com/, and secondary sources including International Gymnast, Sports Illustrated. Photos courteously provided by Jerry Wright. Introduction and formatting by Dr. Larry Banner, Web Manager.