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Kerri Strug

Kerri Strug

American Olympic Gymnast & Gold Medalist; Author; Political Appointee

Kerri Strug is a two-time Olympian and gold medalist. She was the youngest Olympian at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain at age 14. After four more years of hard work and training, she captured America's spirit at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. As the team competition neared its end, Kerri was up last on vault. After shocking spectators by falling and injuring her ankle on her first vault, she managed to stick the landing on her second vault before collapsing in pain, helping to secure gold for the American team. It was a moment that landed Kerri on the front page of newspapers around the world and catapulted her into the spot...

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Kerri Strug is a two-time Olympian and gold medalist. She was the youngest Olympian at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain at age 14. After four more years of hard work and training, she captured America’s spirit at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

As the team competition neared its end, Kerri was up last on vault. After shocking spectators by falling and injuring her ankle on her first vault, she managed to stick the landing on her second vault before collapsing in pain, helping to secure gold for the American team. It was a moment that landed Kerri on the front page of newspapers around the world and catapulted her into the spotlight. She was only eighteen years old.

Kerri’s passion for gymnastics was sparked when she was very young. She did flips and somersaults from the time she was four years old, following in the footsteps of her older brother and sister. Kerri steadily moved up the gymnastics ladder, but it wasn’t until 1990 that she decided to make a tremendous sacrifice for her dream. At 13, Kerri moved away from her home in Tucson, Arizona, leaving behind her family to train with world-famous coach Bela Karolyi in Houston, Texas. It was a difficult move, but it put Kerri squarely on the path to the Olympic Games and to achieving gold.

Today Kerri splits her time between Arizona and Washington, D.C.  In her free time Kerri enjoys running marathons, working with charities, traveling the world for special events, and cheering on young athletes as they go after their own dreams.

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Testimonials

Although small in stature, Kerri is larger than life. Her message of ‘following your dreams’ was appreciated and enjoyed by students and cruise line guests between the ages of 5 and 95. She has a genuine passion for what she presents, and her innate personality is infectious.

Cruise Director

Kerri is the ultimate VIP guest at Woodward West Gymnastics Camp; she interacts with our campers every chance she gets, clearly understands her impact as a role model, and makes sure her visit here is memorable for the kids. As a bonus, she is professional and easy to work with. We look forward to having Kerri here every summer as part of Woodward West’s camp experience.

Woodward West

Topics

Topics

Landing On Your Feet: Pursuing Your Dreams
In this compelling, inspiring presentation, Kerri shares her experience as the brave young gymnast who struggled for years in the shadow of flashier athletes, then secured her place in the Olympic pantheon for her brilliant success under fire. Whether you aspire to be an Olympian or simply master a new skill, Kerri provides the motivation and tools to keep you on your toes and land on your feet in pursuing your dreams and achieving your goals.

Motivation

Inspiration

Videos

Videos

Kerri Strug
Kerri Strug Speaker - PDA Speakers

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The American Psychological Association was thrilled to have Dr. Antonia Novello as our speaker for the 2024 APA Convention. Dr. Novello was fantastic, and her presentation was a tremendous success. Thank you, Peter, for all your hard work in making this event such a resounding success.

American Psychological Association

For our annual Native American Heritage Month celebration, PDA Group arranged for John Echohawk to join us for a virtual moderated discussion. The program was thoughtful, engaging, and highly impactful for our audience of lawyers and professional staff. We are grateful for their partnership and look forward to working with them again.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

We have partnered with PDA Group on multiple successful events, including our charity luncheon with Lisa Edelstein and our Women’s Philanthropy Kickoff Event featuring Allegra Goodman. Their professionalism, expertise, and commitment to excellence make them an outstanding partner. Thank you for your exceptional work and continued support.

UJA-Federation

We have received so much fantastic feedback following our virtual event. It was an absolute success, and Sylvia Fowles was excellent. Thank you again to Sylvia and the entire team for your partnership!”

U.S. Bank

Kurt Warner was spectacular—he completely wowed the audience and solidified major leadership points. He was an amazing partner, and we will be talking about this experience for years to come. We will definitely leverage the PDA team for all of our speaking needs!”

Sysco Corporation

The events over the past two years went very well — everyone had a great time with Dr. Mark Esper in 2025, and Sam Hinkie led a very engaging Q&A with our Principal, Jean Reynolds, in 2024. Thank you for working with us these last two years; your support has been instrumental to the success of our programs!

Investcorp Strategic Capital Group

It was an absolute privilege to have Dr. Sanjay Gupta as our keynote speaker for the 2026 GME Leadership Conference. He delivered an outstanding address that resonated deeply and left a lasting impression on everyone in the room. The entire planning process was seamless and collaborative. It was a pleasure working together, brainstorming suggestions, and ultimately selecting the perfect fit for our event. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

HCA Healthcare

We had a fantastic day with Inge! She was very engaging with all those that attended. Her personal stories about the holocaust were very special and we were moved that she was willing to share them with everyone. Thank you again, PDA for all your hard work and dedication to make this program such a success!

Salt Lake Community College

It was a great pleasure to work with PDA Group! The communication was always prompt, friendly and helpful. We loved the speakers and events we booked through Mr. Peter Walker (PDA Group).

Western Michigan University

On behalf of myself and my organization Entertainment Unlimited the Campus Programming Board of Ferris State University, we thank you PDA and Dan for a successful event!! Dan was magnificent! Students really enjoyed the presentation. I know I did. Can’t wait to bring in more programs with PDA Group.

Ferris State University

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