Where Is the Fierce Five Now? A Look at the Gymnasts’ Lives After Their 2012 Olympic Gold Medal Win

At the 2012 Olympics, gymnasts Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, Kyla Ross and Jordyn Wieber won the United States' first team gold medal in women’s gymnastics since 1996

After the Magnificent Seven in 1996, came the Fierce Five in 2012: U.S. gymnasts Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, Kyla Ross and Jordyn Wieber earned the team nickname ahead of the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London.

The talented group were originally dubbed the Fab Five by the media before realizing that the name was already used to refer to another set of famous athletes — particularly, the 1991 University of Michigan men’s basketball team recruiting class, which included future NBA stars Chris Webber and Jalen Rose. To set themselves apart in the world of sports history, the teen gymnasts changed their nickname to the Fierce Five before traveling to London to represent the U.S. in the 2012 Olympic Games.

“There have been Fab Fives in the past but I like Fierce Five because we are definitely the fiercest team out there,” Maroney told reporters about the name switch.

And the gymnasts lived up to their new name at the London Games. Led by their captain Raisman, they went on to win a team gold medal by a resounding margin over Russia — marking the United States' first team gold win since the 1996 Olympics and the first team gold ever won on foreign soil. Following their historic achievement, team coach John Geddert referred to the group as the “best team of all time.”

He added, “Difficulty wise, consistency wise, this is USA’s finest.”

After taking home the gold from London, the Fierce Five never competed together at an Olympics again. The majority of the legendary 2012 team — with the exception of Douglas — has officially retired from elite gymnastics in the years since their epic win; now, the women are leaving their mark on the world as coaches, activists, authors and entertainers.

From their Olympic days to their current lives, here’s a look at where all the Fierce Five gymnasts are today.

Gabby Douglas, 28

Gabby Douglas, a native of Virginia Beach, Va., made history at the 2012 Olympics when she became the first Black woman to win gold in the women’s all-around — the most coveted medal in the sport. With the Fierce Five’s team gold win at the 2012 London Games, Douglas also became the first American gymnast to win both all-around and team gold medals at the same Olympics.

After her historic appearance at the 2012 Olympics, Douglas went on to win another team gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. However, the trailblazing gymnast faced backlash and social media criticism during her second Olympics, with critics calling her “unpatriotic” and unsupportive of her fellow teammates. Though Douglas described the cyberbullying as “hurtful,” she still walked away from the Rio Games feeling positive.

“There’s a lot to be happy about,” she told PEOPLE at the time. “We won the gold medal as a team, and it was just such an amazing experience ... I can only do what I can do, and if people want to say their stuff on social media, I can’t stop them.”

In July 2023 — after an eight-year hiatus from the sport — Douglas revealed that she had resumed training with the intention of competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, after testing positive for COVID-19 before the 2024 Winter Cup, failing to qualify for the all-around championships at the 2024 American Classic and withdrawing from the 2024 Core Hydration Gymnastics Classic after two falls on the uneven bars, Douglas ended her quest for the 2024 Olympics. She did not rule out competing in the 2028 Games, though.

“I love this sport and I love pushing my limits,” she told ESPN in May 2024. “My plan is to continue to train for the L.A. 2028 Olympics. It would be such an honor to represent the U.S. at a home Olympics.”

Outside of the competitive gymnastics world, Douglas released an “inspirational memoir,” titled Grace, Gold, and Glory: My Leap of Faith, in December 2012. Her life story was also told in the 2014 Lifetime movie The Gabby Douglas Story, for which Douglas performed all the gymnastics stunts. Douglas has also made appearances on the reality television shows Undercover Boss and The Masked Dancer, which she won in February 2021.

McKayla Maroney, 28

When McKayla Maroney competed with the Fierce Five at the 2012 London Olympics, her near-perfect vault in the team final earned the highest women’s score in any event, per NBC — and helped her team to a gold medal.

“It was just, like, godly,” the Newport Beach, Calif. native later said about her Amanar vault. “Like I really think that there was angels or something like that.”

In addition to Maroney’s legendary vault performance at the 2012 Games (she also earned a silver medal in the vault final), she was also remembered for her side smirk while standing on the medal podium. The image quickly became an Internet sensation known as “McKayla is not impressed,” with everyone from Prince William to Barack Obama mimicking her scowl.

Injuries and health issues forced Maroney to retire from elite gymnastics in February 2016, Sports Illustrated reported. Maroney’s retirement from the sport marked the end of her impressive vault career — but it also stopped years of alleged sexual abuse at the hands of former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar. Maroney revealed the alleged abuse in a lengthy post on X (formerly Twitter) in October 2017, stating that it began when she was just 13 years old and didn’t stop until she “left the sport.” Maroney later sued Nassar, Michigan State University, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and USA Gymnastics (USAG) for covering up the abuse, according to the Los Angeles Times — and she also provided a powerful statement that was read at Nassar’s sentencing hearing in January 2018.

“I had a dream to go to the Olympics and the things I had to do to get there are disgusting,” she wrote in her emotional letter, which was read by Assistant Attorney General Angela Povilaitis. Maroney continued, “He was not a doctor. He was a child molester. He left scars on my psyche that will never go away.”

In January 2019, one year after Nassar’s conviction, Maroney faced another devastating blow when her father Mike Maroney died at the age of 59. The Olympian shared the sad news on her social media and wrote an emotional tribute to her father on X.

“Love u dad. I can’t believe it’s real. I don’t want to. I’ll miss you forever. Rest in peace. You were the most incredible dad,” she wrote at the time.

Career-wise, Maroney has pursued acting and singing since her gymnastics retirement. The former gymnast released two singles in 2020, “Wake Up Call” and “Covid Lockdown.” As an actress, she had a recurring role on the CW’s Hart of Dixie in 2012, made appearances on Bones and Superstore, and also starred in GEICO commercials in 2021. Maroney also revealed in 2021 that she was working on a book, writing on X, “I’m extremely excited to share my story, and all the things I learned from being an elite gymnast.”

She added, “It felt too hard to write about before, but I’m ready now.”

Aly Raisman, 30

Needham, Mass.-native Aly Raisman led the Fierce Five as their team captain at the 2012 Olympics. In addition to their team gold win, Raisman also took home a gold medal for floor exercise and a bronze medal on the balance beam — making her the most decorated American gymnast at the London Games.

Raisman led the Americans as team captain once again at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where she picked up another team gold medal and a silver medal in the all-around finals, behind teammate Simone Biles.

“It was only the second time in U.S. history that gymnastics had gone 1-2 — I remember watching Shawn and Nastia do it in 2008,” Raisman reflected on their all-around medals to PEOPLE. “So to be able to do that and to share that podium with Simone, I think about all the little girls who are watching us, and maybe they’ll be able to do it someday. It gives me chills.”

Raisman retired from gymnastics ahead of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, instead focusing her efforts on putting an end to the sexual abuse she and dozens of other gymnasts endured at the hands of disgraced doctor Nassar. Raisman delivered a powerful statement at Nassar’s sentencing hearing in 2018, demanded an independent investigation of the USOC and USAG and testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee about the FBI’s mishandling of the Nassar investigation.

“I realize that this is more important than any gold medal,” Raisman told PEOPLE in 2018 about her advocacy work (which earned her and the other survivors an Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the 2018 ESPYs). “My main focus is fixing this organization and getting to the bottom of what happened.”

Another way Raisman is preventing future abuse: She penned a children’s book about consent, titled From My Head to My Toes, which was released in April 2024 and became a New York Times bestseller.

“On my own journey to healing, I’ve learned the importance of education and prevention, self-trust, and support for survivors,” she said ahead of the book’s release. “I believe that we can work to create a safer environment for children by talking openly about consent, healthy boundaries, and abuse prevention.”

In addition to her advocacy work, Raisman joined ESPN in January 2024 as a gymnastics analyst, covering NCAA gymnastics events for the network. The three-time gold medalist, who turned 30 in May 2024, is currently embracing life as a single woman, she revealed in a personal essay for PopSugar.

“I think the most important relationship we will have in life is with ourselves,” she wrote. “I am still on a path of self-discovery, and through that I’ve learned that I can want to find a life partner yet still love the experience of being single.”

Kyla Ross, 27

Though she was born in Hawaii, Kyla Ross was raised in Aliso Viejo, Calif. — where she was best friends with fellow Fierce Five team member McKayla Maroney.

“I’ve known Kyla since I was, like, 6 years old and we will always be best friends,” Maroney told FloGymnastics in 2012.

Ross earned a team gold medal alongside her best friend Maroney and the rest of the U.S. team at the 2012 London Olympics. Following her appearance at the 2012 Games, Ross announced her retirement from elite gymnastics ahead of the 2016 Rio Games — instead pursuing a collegiate career at UCLA. During her freshman year, she became the NCAA balance beam champion and uneven bars co-champion, making her the first female gymnast to ever win an Olympic, World and NCAA Championship, according to her UCLA bio.

After receiving her degree from UCLA in molecular, cell and developmental biology, Ross went on to become an assistant coach of the University of Arkansas gymnastics team in 2021. She coaches alongside her Fierce Five teammate Jordyn Wieber.

In her personal life, Ross married her fiancé Justin Rittman on June 29, 2024, she revealed on her Instagram. Her Olympic teammates Wieber, Raisman and Maroney were in attendance at the nuptials, where they “reunited with so many friends and danced the night away,” according to Wieber’s Instagram.

Jordyn Wieber, 28

Jordyn Wieber of DeWitt, Mich. made her family proud when she won a team gold medal with the Fierce Five at the 2012 London Olympics.

“It was one of the proudest moments for our whole family — seeing Jordyn being able to represent the country and her sport and make it to that level,” her mother Rita Wieber told PEOPLE in 2012. “I always say, 20 different planets have to align to make it on the Olympic team in gymnastics!”

Following the 2012 Olympics, Wieber enrolled at UCLA where she studied biology and served as a team manager and volunteer assistant coach for the gymnastics team. In March 2015, she became the first member of the Fierce Five to announce her retirement from competitive gymnastics.

“It’s time for me to retire from elite gymnastics,” she wrote in an essay for The Players’ Tribune. “But I can honestly say that I don’t have any regrets looking back on the past 15 years.”

Following her graduation from UCLA, Wieber remained as a coach for the gymnastics team for two more seasons before becoming the head coach at the University of Arkansas. Her hiring at Arkansas marked the first time an Olympic champion gymnast became an NCAA head coach, NBC Sports reported. In 2024, she led the team to their first NCAA national championship appearance in six years.

In 2018, Wieber became the fourth Fierce Five team member to accuse Nassar of sexual abuse — joining Douglas, Maroney and Raisman, TIME magazine reported. She, along with Raisman, testified in person at Nassar’s sentencing hearing, telling the disgraced team doctor, “You are nothing,” per NBC News.

In Wieber’s personal life, she began dating fellow Olympic gymnast Chris Brooks in 2016. The couple, who both coach at the University of Arkansas, became engaged in October 2021 and wed in Bentonville, Ark. on May 28, 2024.

“To become husband and wife is so exciting,” Wieber told PEOPLE about their nuptials, which were attended by her Fierce Five teammates Raisman and Ross. “It means we are committing to building a special and meaningful life together and to make the commitment in front of our favorite people at our wedding meant the world to us.”

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