ST. GEORGE – Shannon Miller remains the most decorated American gymnast, male or female, in history. She is the only American to rank among the Top 10 All-Time gymnasts and is the only female athlete to be inducted into the US Olympics Hall of Fame – Twice! (Individual in 2006 and Team in 2008).
Miller will be the keynote speaker at the Huntsman World Senior Games Opening Ceremonies, October 4, at 7:00 pm at Hansen Stadium, Dixie State College. Admission is free and everyone is invited to attend.
Shannon has won an astounding 59 international and 49 national competition medals. Over half of these have been gold. She is the only US gymnast to win two World All-Around Titles. Her tally of five medals (2 silver, 3 bronze) at the 1992 Olympics was the most medals-won by a US athlete. At the ’96 Games, she led the “Magnificent Seven” to the US Women’s first ever Team Gold and for the first time for any American gymnast, she captured Gold on the balance beam.
Miller also holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from the University of Houston and a law degree from Boston College.
Miller launched her company, Shannon Miller Lifestyle: Health and Fitness for Women, with a content driven website, partnered with St. Vincent’s HealthCare to host her weekly talk radio show on WOKV and has published a series of fitness books and cookbooks, DVD’s, and even designed a personal fitness mat to help prevent injuries during at-home or gym fitness.
Her ties to the gymnastics community remain strong. Miller’s broadcasting career has afforded her an opportunity to serve as host, commentator and analyst on a wide range of topics and activities including Olympic and NCAA gymnastics, women’s health and women’s fitness with NBC, ABC, ESPN, MSNBC, Comcast and many more.
In January of 2011, Miller was diagnosed with Stage 1A ovarian cancer. She had a baseball-sized tumor removed successfully and followed up with nine weeks of chemotherapy for this rare germ cell malignancy. Miller has remained open and public about her diagnosis and treatment through the media and her blog, “My Journey.”
As Miller continues to be a strong advocate for making health a priority, her message with regard to annual exams and screenings is, “Do not delay, do not reschedule, early detection saves lives.”
In addition to her focus on women’s health, Miller has dedicated her foundation to fighting childhood obesity. The Shannon Miller Foundation currently serves over 7,000 children with the Shannon Miller Foundation Running Club, an in-school program for children ages 5-14 in the Jacksonville, Fla. area.
As an Olympic gold medalist, wife, mother, health and fitness advocate and, now, cancer survivor, Miller is a true role model. Through her personal stories of trial and triumph, she shares with her audience the idea of “balance” in our efforts to be successful and live a healthy and fit lifestyle.
Miller resides in Jacksonville with her husband, John Falconetti and their son, Rocco.
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