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Wendy Hilliard coaches an athlete at the 2025 Harlem Gymnastics Invitational.
Julieta Okot – Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation
Before Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, and Dominique Dawes, there was Wendy Hilliard. In 1978, Wendy Hilliard became the first African-American rhythmic gymnast to make the U.S. National team.
The Detroit native went on to compete internationally for Team USA at multiple world championships. Though her athletic accomplishments were numerous, Hilliard made an even greater impact after packing up her leotard.
Hilliard has held nearly every leadership role in the sport – serving as chair of the Athletes’ Council of USA Gymnastics, the USA Gymnastics’ vice president for rhythmic gymnastics, and an athlete representative to the U.S. Olympic Committee.
In 1995, Hilliard became the first African-American and the first gymnast to become the president of the Women’s Sports Foundation. That same decade, Hilliard coached American rhythmic gymnast Aliane Baquerot Wilson to the 1996 Olympic Games.
A Spark In 1996
However, in 1996, she created her legacy. Following the Atlanta Games, Hilliard founded the Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation (WHGF) in Harlem to provide gymnastics programs for inner-city youth.
The rest was history – but not exactly as she anticipated. When Hilliard created her foundation, she knew one thing: her advocacy had no expiration date.
"When I started the foundation, I was not thinking long term... I was just thinking of starting it," she laughed.
In 2026, the foundation enters its 30th year of breaking down barriers to entry into gymnastics. For nearly 30,000 children and counting, the foundation has paved the way for success in gymnastics and beyond.
Back in her early career, Hilliard witnessed those barriers firsthand.
Unlike many of her wealthy competitors who hailed from the suburbs, Hilliard grew up on the west side of Detroit. “Nobody was hanging out in Detroit. Nobody cared about Detroit,” Hilliard told me.
But that didn’t matter. “We had all this crazy gymnastics energy in the city,” she reflected with a smile. For Hilliard, her energy was first channeled into tumbling. She began her storied gymnastics career at the now-defunct Fisher YMCA in downtown Detroit.
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Detroit Born, Soviet Bred
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Wendy Hilliard competes in the Ribbon competition at a USA Gymnastics event.
USA Gymnastics
Even at a young age, the gymnast knew she needed more advanced training than the classes her local YMCA could provide. After years spent shuttling to and from the suburbs for practice, Hilliard’s mother and local families lobbied for the Detroit Recreation Department to found an inner-city gymnastics program.
They succeeded, and the result was “groundbreaking.” The department hired Ukrainian coaches, Vladimir and Zina Mironov, bringing elite-level coaching to Detroit’s urban center.
Suddenly, the Detroit metro’s best gymnasts were eagerly flocking to the city’s west side. For the first time in her life, Hilliard – and her talent – were prioritized.
Though the event preceded her foundation’s founding by nearly two decades, its underlying message continues to resonate in 2026. Inner-city youth didn’t just deserve access to gymnastics programs – they deserved to have access to the best minds and resources in the sport.
"There’s no reason to teach bad gymnastics," Wendy recalled her coach, Zina Mironov, reciting. Mironov would go on to earn the title of “Master of Sport” from USA Gymnastics.
The simple yet poignant belief later became the Foundation’s philosophy.
In Hilliard’s eyes, accessibility and quality must go hand in hand. “I’ve always just made sure that [WHGF offers] the highest quality gymnastics no matter what,” she confirmed. Though the dense urban centers of Detroit and Harlem sit nearly 5,000 miles from Mironov’s native Kyiv, the coach’s message continues to shape the training of young gymnasts today.
The Financial Hurdle
With operational excellence comes a cost. Hilliard freely admits her sport is “elitist.” Gymnastics often ranks among the most expensive youth sports in the United States, with families taking on the burden of training tuition, sequined leotards, endless accessories, competition entry fees, and lofty travel costs.
The hurdles that families face aren’t just financial, Hilliard warns. They’re emotional, physical, and interpersonal. “It’s not just the expense, it’s the freaking dedication,” she tells me. During the winter gymnastics season, the sport can become all-consuming for families, with multiple cross-state meets per month.
“When your kid is, like, seven years old... all winter – all you knew was traveling with a kid. They’re traveling all over the place [for competitions].”
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Wendy Hilliard speaks to WHGF Harlem gymnasts after a competition.
Julieta Okot – Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation
For Hilliard, this reality presented an obstacle, but not an insurmountable roadblock. She wanted to build her Foundation the right way.
“I really didn’t want to introduce gymnastics to kids [that] I couldn’t take all the way,” she says. The last thing Hilliard wanted to do was turn an athlete away because of insufficient resources – so she turned to fundraising.
Though the Foundation was “quite small” until the early 2010s, Hilliard launched her first fundraiser in 2013. This move helped usher in a new era of access, including expanding to her hometown of Detroit in 2016 at the Kemeny Recreation Center and a partnership with the Harlem Children’s Zone.
Increased funding brought increased visibility. Hilliard’s fundraising also saw major boosts in 2012 and 2016 from two names: Gabby Douglas and Simone Biles.
Gymnastics’ “Williams Sisters Era”
Douglas made history in 2012, becoming the first Black gymnast to win the Olympic all-around title – the sport’s highest honor. Four years later, Simone Biles dominated to win her own all-around title and went on to become the most decorated athlete in gymnastics history.
Douglas and Biles’ back-to-back Olympic titles were just the beginning. With their wins, the two trailblazers ushered in a tidal wave of international prominence for black gymnasts. Rebeca Andrade. Fred Richard. Jordan Chiles. The list goes on.
In fact, Hilliard’s Foundation has its own list: Black Gymnasts in History.
The page was recently updated to celebrate Donnell Whittenburg, who in October 2025 became the first American gymnast to win the World title on Still Rings.
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Simone Biles with athletes from the Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation.
Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation
“I tell people we’re in our Williams sisters era,” Hilliard says excitedly. The recent successes have had a lasting impact on the youth served by the foundation. “It just makes a difference when people understand your journey," Hilliard reflects.
In addition to inspiring athletes with their performances, many top stars have been vocal supporters of the Foundation, including Biles and Chiles. In September 2025, Chiles appeared on Celebrity Family Feud, playing to win funds for the Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation. The UCLA senior goes for more gymnastics hardware this April at the NCAA Gymnastics Championships.
That difference has already helped WHGF athletes to new heights.
In 2025, trampoline and tumbling athletes ZaQuae Carter, Ty-La Morris, and BJ Mensah represented Team USA at the World Championship. Mensah came home with a World silver medal.
The Cost of Survival
Though Black gymnasts continue to dominate global podiums, the sport’s financial constraints simultaneously inhibit careers and aspirations.
Hilliard likened her Foundation to the “HBCU of gymnastics.” But when Fisk University announced the creation of the first HBCU gymnastics program in 2022, Hilliard hoped more programs would share her sentiment.
However, after just four seasons, the historic Fisk women’s gymnastics team was cut. Talladega College’s program suffered the same fate after only one year.
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FILE - Members of Fisk University team, including coach Corrinne Tarver, in yellow, cheer during a Super 16 gymnastics meet Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chase Stevens, File)
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
As of spring 2026, only Wilberforce University’s gymnastics team remains. After 2022 ushered in unprecedented momentum for HBCU gymnastics, progress seemingly came to a screeching halt. “It’s a shame. I don’t think they understood what they could have had [at Fisk],” she tells me.
But what did Fisk need? More financial commitment and logistical expertise, Hilliard says. Straight out of the Foundation’s playbook.
The Next 30 Years
As the Foundation cruises through its 30th year, Wendy Hilliard’s primary goals are sustained impact and permanence. Since its founding, WHGF athletes have solely practiced in rented and shared spaces in the two cities. The Foundation aims to secure permanent, exclusive facilities for its athletes.
“We have to have a legacy for our space, our dedicated gymnastics banner in New York and in Detroit." The former Olympic coach also wants to get back to the mat.
In June, the Foundation will host its 30th Anniversary Benefit at the New York Athletic Club. The benefit will honor a handful of the Foundation’s supporters, including former USA Gymnastics President Li Li Leung. Jordan Chiles and tennis icon Billie Jean King will serve as Honorary Co-Chairs.
For Hilliard, the work is no longer about being the first—it’s about ensuring she isn’t the last. In an historically white sport, this means pushing systemic reform to “break barriers and build futures.” When I asked if the responsibility sometimes feels like a burden, she didn’t waver.
"It’s not so much a burden," she says with a smile. “It’s just how it’s turned out to be. And we love it.”
This article was originally published on Forbes.com
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