Ragan Smith

At 24 years old, Ragan Smith has this physical status:

Ragan Elisabeth Smith (born August 8, 2000) is a former American artistic elite gymnast.

She has served on the US National Team five times (2014-2019).

She is the 2017 United States national all-around champion and was an alternate for the 2016 Olympic team.

Personal life

Smith was born in Snellville, Georgia, to Michael and Kerry Smith. She has two younger brothers. Her mother was a gymnastics coach. Smith started gymnastics in 2004. Smith lived in Lewisville, Texas, for six years, and now resides in Norman, Oklahoma.

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Junior career

Smith earned Junior International Elite status in 2013 and qualified for the 2013 Secret U.S. Classic in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. She finished 23nd in the all-around and advanced to the United States Nationals later this month, where she came in 17th all-around.

Smith served in Venice, Italy, for her first international service in March 2014. She had a 5-650 all-around score. Smith finished 13th in the all-around and first on floor in August 2014, advancing to the U.S. Nationals where she placed seventh in the all-around with a two-day average of 110.750 and 29.150 respectively.

Smith competed in the City of Jesolo Trophy for the second time in March. Smith finished fifth in qualifying, which also served as an all-around/team final, and earned both the vault and floor finals. She scored a 14.350 on the vault, a third-place finish, and 14.250 on the floor, placing second.

Smith placed 1st on the floor, took second in the all-around and 3rd on vault in the Secret U.S. Classic, as well as 2nd in the all-around and 3rd on vault. Smith competed at the 2015 US Nationals in August. She won both balance beam and floor in her third all-around, with a two-day average score of 116.450. Smith enrolled in the University of Oklahoma and the Sooners program on December 19, 2015.

Senior career

Smith's senior debut came at the 2016 City of Jesolo Trophy, where she came in second on beam, floor, and all-around. She appeared in the Pacific Rim Championships in April, winning balance beam with a score of 15.225. Smith finished fifth on beam and tied for sixth on bars at the Secret U.S. Classic, second on bars. She received 15.3 on the balance beam and finished second on the occasion at the U.S. Olympic Trials in San Jose on July 10, 2016. Smith, alongside Ashton Locklear and MyKayla Skinner, was named as an alternate to the 2016 Olympic team on July 10.

Smith earned the gold medal ahead of Asuka Teramoto, a Japanese Olympian, at the American Cup in Newark, New Jersey, on March 4. Smith competed in the United States Classic on uneven bars and balance beam only in July. Both events took first place.

Smith won the 2017 National Gymnastics Championships all-around title by 115.250, over three points behind silver medalist Jordan Chiles. She also finished first on floor exercise ahead of Jade Carey and Trinity Thomas, first on balance beam before Riley McCusker and Thomas, and third on uneven bars behind McCusker and Locklear. For the fourth year in a row, she was named to the national team.

Smith was selected to represent the United States at the 2017 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Montreal by September 20, alongside Carey, Locklear, and Morgan Hurd. Despite an unfortunate fall on the balance beam during qualifying, Smith advanced to the all-around final in second place behind Mai Murakami of Japan. Smith finished in first place in the floor exercise final, ahead of Murakami and teammate Carey. She was certainly the favorite to win the all-around title, but she strained her ankle during warmups and was barred from the all-around final. This was only one of many injuries suffered by major contenders over the course of the championships, with Kohei Uchimura of Japan, Rebeca Andrade of Brazil, and Larisa Iordache of Romania all withdrawing from the sport due to illness. The athlete representative, Oksana Chusovitina, said that the current podium preparation scheme only allowed the gymnasts a few minutes on each piece, not giving the gymnasts enough time to get used to the equipment, and that this could be a contributing cause for a much larger number of mistakes and injuries than normal. Smith was also forced to miss the final of the floor exercise competition due to Smith's injury. Smith's recovery included extensive physical therapy and rehabilitation as she sought to reduce the risks of surgery.

Smith competed at the City of Jesolo Trophy in April in her comeback meet. Smith and her clubmate Emma Malabuyo competed as individuals, but the United States did not field a squad. Smith was named in silver in the all-around, balance beam, and uneven bars. In late July, she appeared in the 2018 United States Classic in late July. She only competed on vault, balance beam, and uneven bars. On balance beam, she came in third place.

Smith finished 10th on beam, broken toes, and mental struggles at the 2018 U.S. Championships in August, finishing eighth on beam, tied for 11th on bars, and 11th on floor over the cumulative two-day tournament. She was not selected for the eight member national team for 2018.

Smith attended the World Team Selection Camp in October. She finished fifth in the all-around, third on balance beam, and fourth on uneven bars. Biles, Morgan Hurd, McCusker, Grace McCallum, and Eaker were among the three women selected to compete in the 2018 World Championships the day before. Smith was called back to the National Team after being on the World Championship team. She was selected as the alternate in Doha while she was in Doha. Despite the fact that she did not compete at the World Championships, her teammates and her teammates still won a gold medal.

Smith officially signed with the Oklahoma Sooners women's gymnastics team in December, beginning in the 2020–21 season.

Smith attended the U.S. Women's National Team camps in January, February, and May, but was noticeably absent from the June camp, sparking rumors that she would attend the University of Oklahoma in the fall. Smith revealed on Instagram in July that she had opted to join the Oklahoma Sooners for the 2019–2020 season, potentially ending her professional career as she was not on the roster to play at the forthcoming U.S. Classic.

NCAA career

Smith revealed in July that she would be joining the Oklahoma Sooners women's gymnastics team for the 2019-2020 season rather than waiting for a year as she had expected. She made her NCAA debut at the Collegiate Challenge in which she competed all-around and helped Oklahoma finish first, putting her team's highest score on balance beams.

Smith met Alabama on January 9 in a meet. She competed on uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise, assisting Oklahoma in winning the tournament. Smith earned her first collegiate ten on the balance beam in a meet against Texas Women's University on February 6.

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