Childhood & Early Life
Madison Taylor Kocian was born on June 15, 1997, in Dallas, Texas, to Thomas and Cindy Kocian. She was one of the two children in the family and grew up with her younger brother, Ty. Hers was a Catholic family.
She had an athletic body ever since she was a kid. She also showed keen interest in outdoor sports, which made her parents enroll her into gymnastic classes. She was enrolled at the ‘WOGA’ when she was just 5 years old.
Located in Plano, Texas, the ‘WOGA’ was established by former Russian ‘Olympic’ champion Valeri Liukin and is one of the most reputed institutes for learning gymnastics in the US. It has produced champions such as Carly Patterson and Nastia Liukin.
Valeri Liukin’s daughter, Nastia Liukin, became Madison’s closest friend, and Madison looked up to Nastia as an older sister. Together, they trained in all-around. Even before she was a teenager, Madison began winning awards and accolades at several gymnastic events.
Upon growing up, Madison attended the ‘Spring Creek Academy’ in Plano, Texas. She had Nastia Liukin and Carly Patterson as classmates there, too. Following her high-school graduation, Madison joined the ‘University of California, Los Angeles’ (UCLA). She joined the college’s gymnastic team and continued to participate in local and international tournaments.
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Career
Madison began her junior career in 2009, at the age of 12, when she was selected to be part of the US junior national team. She competed in the all-around category and was ranked sixth in the final tallies.
Despite an average performance, she was named to the US junior team that was to compete in the ‘Top Gym Junior Competition’ held in Belgium. Her performance improved by leaps and bounds as she ended up with the bronze medal in the all-around competition, the gold in the uneven bars competition, and the silver medal in the balance beam event.
In 2010, she was selected to compete in the ‘US Classic’ and attained the fifth spot, thus qualifying for the ‘US National Championships,’ where she ended up with a bronze medal in the uneven bars category.
In the following 2 years, she participated in the ‘WOGA Classic’ and the ‘City of Jesolo Trophy’ (CJT) competitions. She won gold in the ‘Junior Division’ of the ‘CJT’ and earned a silver medal at the ‘WOGA Classic.’
Madison began her senior gymnastic career in 2013. Despite the fact that she was a highly competitive all-around player, she focused on her best strength, the uneven bars. Moreover, she had suffered a wrist injury in the 2012 season, which also bothered her during her debut senior season. Despite that, she ended up winning a silver medal at the ‘US Classics,’ held in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
At the 2014 ‘National Championship,’ she participated in both the uneven bars and the balance beam competitions. In the balance beam competition, she won the fifth place, while in the uneven bars competition, she performed exceptionally well once again and earned a silver medal.
She also reached the second place in the uneven bars category at the ‘Pan American Championship’ held in 2014. The American team ended up at the first spot in the team events, in which Madison played a huge role.
In September 2014, she participated in the ‘World Championships’ held in Nanning, China. She missed a place in the all-around finals but contributed greatly to her national team winning the gold medal.
At the ‘Secret US Classic’ in 2015, she competed in the uneven bars competition and finished with a gold medal. However, in the balance beam competition, she finished at the ninth spot.
She was named to the US national team to compete at the 2015 ‘World Championships’ to be held in Glasgow, Scotland. She assisted her national team in winning the third consecutive gold medal in the uneven bars competition. In the individual section, she reached the finals and tied with three other gymnasts to end up with a shared gold medal.
In the 2016 ‘WOGA Classic,’ she finished first in both the uneven bars and the balance beam events. Although she missed many important tournaments due to an ankle injury, she made her way into the American team to participate in the 2016 ‘Olympics’ that was held in Rio de Janeiro.
On August 14, 2016, she was awarded with a silver medal in the uneven bars competition of the 2016 ‘Olympics.’ It was her country’s first silver win in the uneven bars category in the ‘Olympics’ since 2008.
While she received treatment for her injuries in 2017, she also participated in several college tournaments over the next 2 years.
Family & Personal Life
Madison Kocian is currently majoring in psychology from the ‘University of California, Los Angeles’ (UCLA).
She accused Larry Nassar, the doctor of the US national gymnastics team, of sexual abuse. Her ‘UCLA’ teammate Kyla Ross also confirmed the allegations. Larry was eventually convicted of several crimes of sexual nature and was sentenced to 40–175 years in prison.
She has not openly accepted being in a relationship with anyone.
