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- Named to 2012 U.S. Olympic Rhythmic Gymnastics Team
- 2011 Pan American Games- 1st All-Around (AA), Ribbon (RB), Ball (BA); 2nd Hoop (HP)
- 2011 Rhythmic Challenge- 1st AA, HP, RB; 2nd CL; 3rd BA
- 2010 Visa U.S. National Championships- National Champion, 1st place All-Around, Hoop, Ball, Ribbon; 2nd place Rope
- 2010 USA Gymnastics “Sportsperson of the Year”
- 2010 USA Gymnastics “Rhythmic Athlete of the Year”
- 2010 Nominated: United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Athlete of the Month (December)
- 2010 National Qualifier- 1st place All-Around
- 2010 Rhythmic Challenge- 1st place All-Around (AA), Rope (RP), Hoop (HP); 2nd place Ribbon (RB);
- 2010 Pan American Games- 1st AA, RP, BA; 3rd RB
- 2010 Chicago Cup- 1st RB; 2nd AA, RP, HP, BA
- 2010 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships- First U.S.-born American to qualify for All-Around competition at the Rhythmic World Championships
- 2009 Visa National Championships- 3rd AA, RP, BA, RB; 4th HP
- 2009 National Qualifier- 1st AA, HP, BA, RB; 3rd RP
- 2009 Rhythmic Challenge- 3rd AA
- 2009 Chicago Cup- 2nd AA, RP, RB; 3rd HP, BA
- 2008 Visa U.S. National Championships- 3rd RP, CL, RB; 4th AA, HP
- 2008 Rhythmic Challenge- 3rd place AA
- 2007 Visa National Championships- 1st place RB; 2nd HP; 3rd AA, RP, CL
- 2007 Senior Pan American Games- 2nd RB; 4th AA
Julie Zetlin- the USA’s top rhythmic gymnast- has built an impressive list of accomplishments. In February 2012 Julie was named to the 2012 U.S. Olympic team for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, where she will represent not only the U.S., but all of North, Central and South America.
Julie is the 2010 U.S. National Champion and the 2010 and 2011 Pan American Champion. Her performance at the 2010 Rhythmic World Championships made Julie the first American-born gymnast to qualify for the rhythmic all-around finals at the World Championships.
Julie has won numerous national and world medals and elite titles both as a junior and as a senior athlete. Julie followed her 2010 U.S. Rhythmic Gymnastics National Champion title with another big gold medal win at the 2010 Pan American Games, and also led the U.S. to a team silver medal. At the 2011 Pan American Games Zetlin once again took the All-Around gold medal in addition to several individual medals. With this performance, and at the Olympic Qualifying competition that followed a few months later, Julie qualified for a spot to compete individually at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, where she will represent not only the U.S., but all of North, Central and South America.
Since the age of 4, Julie Zetlin has been driven to perform, to become a champion, and to fulfill her greatest dream- to compete at the Olympics. Julie was introduced to the sport by her mother, Zsuzsi, who was a National Champion rhythmic gymnast in her native Hungary.
Julie enjoys dancing, swimming, skiing and surfing and has a passion for fashion. She hopes to pursue a career in acting and fashion some day.
Twitter: @JulieZetlin
Time Magazine for Kids
Gymnast Julie Zetlin is proud to be representing Team USA in London. Zetlin will be competing for a medal in rhythmic gymnastics. Time For Kids caught up with Zetlin for a quick lesson at the Road to London event in New York City. Watch the interview here. (read more)
Gabrielle Douglas, gymnastics
“My mom makes sure that we have every opportunity to fulfill our dreams and is always by our side to cheer, encourage and build us up in that journey. She will put others before herself and won’t hesitate to drop everything when someone needs her.”
Julie Zetlin, rhythmic gymnastics
“My mom used to go everywhere with me. She never missed one competition until I started to travel internationally. She’s my constant companion and has always been there for me.”
Shawn Johnson, gymnastics
“Our family has always loved boating and spending time at the lake. My mom always made every trip perfect, with friends, food and activities. She puts love into everything she does for and with me.” (read more)
As part of USA TODAY Sports’ ’100 Olympic hopefuls in 100 Days’ series, prospective U.S. Olympians give their thoughts on the Games in their own words. 2012 Olympic rhythmic gymnastics qualifier Julie Zetlin, gives us the inside scoop.
USA Today, London 2012
Before auditioning for a Welch’s grape juice TV commercial, a 4-year-old Julie Zetlin heard the producers were looking for a kid with dimples.
“I didn’t have any dimples, so my mom said, ‘You’ll figure something out,’” Zetlin says. “I went in and smiled and pressed my fingers to my cheeks, and I got the part!”
Such ingenuity and improvisation carried the now 21-year-old Zetlin to an Olympic berth in London, where she’ll be the lone American rhythmic gymnast.
Unlike many of her international peers, Zetlin practices gymnastics just once a day, when the Catholic school in Darnestown, Md., where she trains isn’t hosting youth basketball or volleyball teams. She tempers her practice due to multiple knee surgeries, yet unleashes world-class leaping ability in competition.
Zetlin, who put off college to compete on the world stage, plans on leaving Maryland for Los Angeles and pursuing a career as an actress, but not before representing her country in London.
(read more)
Team USA: Road to London series
Road to London: Julie Zetlin Earns an Olympic Nomination
In this episode of Team USA’s “Road to London” series, get a sneak peak at the USA Basketball team’s new uniform, a rhythmic gymnast turns an injury into an Olympic nomination, and the U.S. women’s soccer team has a new co-captain. (read more)
NPR
Julie Zetlin is the United States’ top-ranked rhythmic gymnast; she has already qualified to compete in London. And while she wants a medal from the Summer Olympics, she also wants more Americans to take her sport seriously.
In the United States, rhythmic gymnastics [isn't always high on the register but is a sport rising in popularity] — and popular media has not been kind. Take Will Ferrell’s spoof of the sport in the comedy Old School, in which the comedian prances around on the mat with a red ribbon in his hand.
In the scene from the film, Ferrell looks more silly than athletic — and Zetlin doesn’t find the satire very funny.
“People are like, ‘Do you run around with a streamer? Is that what you do? That’s a joke,’ ” says Zetlin, 21. “And I’m just like, ‘Honey, that’s not what I do.’ ”
Zetlin has a sense of humor — she laughs about those comments.
“Rhythmic gymnastics is a beautiful sport, but it’s also extremely athletic,” Zetlin says. “You have to have crazy hand-eye coordination, because you’re tossing your equipment, and you have to catch it — not just in your hand, but in your back; in your shoulder blades; with your foot. Then, you have to have the ballet techniques. You have to have a lot of strength, too.” But she wishes people would see rhythmic gymnastics for what it is.
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