Julissa Gomez

Julissa D'Anne Gomez (November 4, 1972 – August 8, 1991) was an American artistic gymnast whose rapid rise through the ranks of elite gymnastics in the mid-1980s was cut short by a vaulting accident in 1988 that left her a quadriplegic. She eventually died from her injury. She was being coached by Al Fong, and had previously been coached by Béla Károlyi.

Her injury sparked major changes to the vaulting discipline of women's gymnastics with the goal of preventing such serious injuries.

Career Gomez was born in San Antonio, Texas, the older of two daughters born to a pair of former migrant farm workers from Laredo, Texas. Her parents, mother Otilia and father Ramiro, worked their way up from their farm working days to become a teacher and a welder, respectively, and struggled to keep their family together while giving 10-year-old budding gymnast Julissa a chance to train with renowned gymnastics coach Béla Károlyi in Houston. At the 1986 U.S. Championships, she placed fourth in the all-around in the junior division and won a place on the U.S. National Team. By 1987, she was representing the United States in international meets. Especially strong on the uneven bars and balance beam, Gomez was considered a legitimate contender for the 1988 U.S. Olympic team.

In mid-1987, Gomez wanted to move further up the rankings and reportedly became frustrated with Károlyi's sometimes abusive training methods. Gomez's search for a new coach led her to select Al Fong, who was the trainer of another up-and-coming gymnast eager to make the 1988 Olympic team, Christy Henrich.

During warmups for the final, held on May 5, 1988, Gomez continued to practice the Yurchenko. As she raced toward the vault on one of her practice runs, her foot slipped off the springboard and she slammed headfirst into the vaulting horse at high speed. The resulting impact paralyzed her from the neck down. A subsequent accident at a Japanese hospital, in which she became disconnected from her ventilator, Gomez's family cared for her for three years before she succumbed to an infection and died in August 1991 in Houston.

In 2001, the traditional vaulting horse was completely phased out and replaced by a larger, more stable vaulting table to provide gymnasts with additional safety.