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HILARY GRIVICH
Hilary Coplin Grivich (born May 23, 1977; died May 4, 1997) was a world-class American gymnast and diver.
One of the original members of the "Károlyi six-pack," Grivich trained under Béla Károlyi in Houston, Texas.
A strong and consistent competitor, she was the all-around U.S. National Champion in the junior division in 1990. The following year she
was a member of the silver medal-winning American team at the 1991 World Championships, acting as the leadoff gymnast during compulsories
and competing second in the lineup on all four events in team finals.
Grivich seemed on course for the 1992 Olympics, placing seventh in the all-around and third on balance beam and floor exercise at that
year's National Championships. However, at the Olympic Trials she placed eighth and did not qualify for the Olympic squad. Béla and
Marta Károlyi and many other gymnastics insiders protested this turn of events, claiming that U.S. judges deliberately underscored
Grivich to keep the team from having too many Károlyi club gymnasts.
In 1993 Grivich switched her focus from gymnastics to diving. After only two years in the sport, she earned a scholarship to the
University of Houston. She excelled in NCAA competition and hoped to eventually make the U.S. Olympic team as a diver.
Less than a month before her twentieth birthday, Grivich was killed in an early morning car accident on a Houston highway.
A scholarship with the Strake Jesuit Scholarship Fund was established in her name. In addition, Grivich's diving club, Woodlands Diving
Academy, holds an annual elite meet in her honor, the Hilary Grivich Memorial Invitational.
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