World Olympic Gymnastics Academy
The World Olympic Gymnastics Academy is a two-facility gymnastics club located in Plano and Frisco. Since its inception, WOGA has garnered a strong reputation for consistently contributing top notch gymnasts to the U.S. Junior and Senior National Teams. WOGA trained gymnasts have a long and established history of competing in and winning at the highest level of competition, with several former National Champions, World Champions, and Olympic Champions amongst their past and present students.
The head coaches at WOGA are former USA Gymnastics women's national team coordinator Valeri Liukin, who was a Soviet medalist at the 1988 Olympic Games, and Yevgeny Marchenko who coached gold medalist Carly Patterson. Some of the notable past elites are Elizabeth "Lizzy" LeDuc, Katelyn Ohashi, Grace McLaughlin, Briley Casanova, Ivana Hong, Rebecca Bross, World Champions Hollie Vise and Alyssa Baumann, as well as Olympic Champions Carly Patterson, Nastia Liukin and Madison Kocian. Edouard Iarov, former coach of Valeri Liukin, the USSR and Canadian national teams also trained gymnasts at the club.
History
World Olympic Gymnastics Academy opened in 1994 by co-founders Valeri Liukin, a 1988 Olympic Champion and Yevgeny Marchenko, a World Sports Acrobatic Champion.In 2003, WOGA gymnasts Carly Patterson and Hollie Vise won 2 individual medals and contributed to the first team gold for the US at the World Championships. In 2004, Carly Patterson became the second American gymnast to become the Women's Olympic All-Around Gymnastics Champion, and the first American to do so in a non-boycotted Olympics.
WOGA is home to three Olympic Champions – Patterson, Nastia Liukin, and Madison Kocian ; and home to six World Champions – Patterson, Hollie Vise, Liukin, Ivana Hong, Kocian, and Alyssa Baumann.
WOGA Classic
WOGA hosts an annual meet at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas, which has competitions from levels 1-10 as well as an International elite competition which has seen competitors such as Laurie Hernandez, Katelyn Ohashi, Madeline Gardiner, Marine Brevet, Mira Boumejmajen and Jordyn Wieber.Notable Gymnasts and Alumni
Nastia Liukin:- 2008 Olympic All-Around Champion, Balance Beam, Uneven Bars, and Team Silver Medalist, Floor Exercise Bronze Medalist
- 2007 World Balance Beam and Team Champion, Uneven Bars Silver Medalist
- 2006 World Uneven Bars and Team Silver Medalist
- 2005 World Uneven Bars and Balance Beam Champion, All-Around and Floor Exercise Silver Medalist
- 2006 and 2005 US National Gymnastics All-Around Champion, 13x National Championships medalist
- 2007 Pan American Games Team Champion and Uneven Bars and Balance Beam Silver Medalist
- 2006 and 2008 American Cup Champion
- 2004 Olympic All-Around Champion, Team & Balance Beam Silver Medalist
- 2003 World All-Around Silver Medalist, 2003 World Team Gold Medalist
- 2004 National All-Around Champion
- 2003 and 2004 American Cup Champion
- 2016 Olympic Team Champion and Uneven Bars silver medalist
- 2014 Team World Champion
- 2015 Team and Uneven Bars World Champion
- 2015 Uneven Bars National Champion
- UCLA Bruins gymnastics scholarship
- 2018 NCAA National Team Champion
- 2019 NCAA National Team Bronze medalist
- 2003 World Team and Uneven Bars Champion
- Oklahoma Sooners gymnastics scholarship
- 2008 Olympics U.S. Team Alternate
- 2007 World Team Champion
- 2009 World Bronze Medalist on Balance Beam
- Stanford University gymnastics scholarship
- 2009 World All-Around Silver and Uneven Bars Bronze Medalist
- 2010 World Team and Balance Beam Silver and All-Around and Uneven Bars Bronze medalist
- 2010 US National Gymnastics All-Around Champion; 8x National Championships medalist
- 2007 Pan American Games Team and Floor Exercise gold medalist
- 2010 American Cup Champion
- 2014 Team World Champion
- 2014 and 2015 National Balance Beam Silver Medalist
- Florida Gators gymnastics scholarship
- 2018 NCAA National Team and Floor Exercise Bronze Medalist
- 2018 World Team Silver Medalist
- 2018 European Team Champion
- Member of the Russian National Team
- 2016 U.S. Classic Junior champion
- Stanford University gymnastics scholarship
- 2011 US National Gymnastics Junior All-Around Champion
- 2013 American Cup gold medalist
- UCLA Bruins gymnastics scholarship
- 2018 NCAA National Team and Floor Exercise Champion
- 2019 NCAA National Team and Balance Beam Bronze medalist
- 2019 Junior World Championships Team bronze medalist
- 2019 L'International Gymnix Team, Vault, and Uneven Bars gold medalist
- 2020 L'International Gymnix Team and AA gold medalist, VT, UB, and BB silver medalist, FX bronze medalist
- 2008-2010 All-Around National Champion
- 2009 - 2011 Senior National Team Member
- 2010 World Finalist - Acrobatic Gymnastics
- 2008-2010 All-Around National Champion
- 2009 - 2011 Senior National Team Member
- 2010 World Finalist - Acrobatic Gymnastics
- competed in the 2009 Visa championships and finished 8th all-around
- 2008 Regional Champion; 2008 Texas State Champion
- Star of Nickelodeon's teen sitcom, Bucket & Skinner's Epic Adventures
- 2011 Pan-American Games Team Gold Medalist
- Florida Gators gymnastics scholarship
- 2015 NCAA National Team Champion
- 2017 and 2018 NCAA National Team Bronze Medalist
Lawsuit
alleging that they had failed to properly screen and supervise the coach. The suit does not seek a specific amount of money from the academy owners and doesn't accuse them of abuse.
Bill Boyd, the gym's attorney, has said all instructors receive a criminal background check and the gym was not aware of any accusations until a police investigation in 2005, after Wagoner had left.
Wagoner was arrested in Jacksonville, Florida and received a 15 year prison sentence after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting the gymnast.