Stella Umeh

Stella Umeh
Full nameStella Umeh
Born (1975-05-27) May 27, 1975
Toronto, Ontario
Gymnastics career
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
Country
represented
 Canada
College teamUCLA Bruins (1994-1998)
Retired1998
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Artistic Gymnastics
Commonwealth Games
1990 Auckland Team
1994 Victoria All-Around
1994 Victoria Vault
1994 Victoria Team
1994 Victoria Uneven Bars
Representing UCLA
NCAA Championships
1995 Athens Floor
1997 Gainesville Team
1998 LA Floor
1995 Athens Beam
1996 Tuscaloosa Team
1996 Tuscaloosa Beam
1995 Athens All Around
Notable workVarekai

Stella Umeh (born 27 May 1975) is a Canadian former artistic gymnast and current actress and performer. She competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics placing 16th in the all-around.[1] She is of Guyanese and Nigerian descent.[2]

Gymnastics career

Umeh's first big international meet was at the 1989 American Cup in Fairfax, Virginia where she finished fifth.[3] She then competed at the 1990 Commonwealth Games but was originally an alternate.[4] She won a gold medal with the Canadian team.[5] She competed at the American Cup again in 1991, but placed 8th.[6] She went to the 1991 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. She finished 17th in the all-around.[7] In 1992, Stella started her season at the American Cup in Orlando, Florida, USA and finished 7th.[8] In April, she competed at the 1992 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Paris, France. She qualified to Vault and Beam finals, but placed 8th and 5th.[9] Later, she qualified to the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. She finished 16th in the all-around, and 10th with the Canadian team.[10] In 1993, she went to Worlds and placed 15th AA and 8th in the FX final. In 1994, she went to the 1994 Commonwealth Games and won 2 golds and 2 silvers, as well as placing 4th and 5th in Floor and Beam finals.

College career

In 1994, she accepted a college scholarship to UCLA and started attending the school in 1994.[1]

Throughout her four years at college, she won three golds, three silvers and one bronze at the NCAA Championships. She was twice the Pac-12 conference all-around champion.[11]

Acting and Entertainment

Stella studied Theatre at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in the hopes of becoming an actress.[12] In 2000, she joined Cirque du Soleil and performed Mystère in Las Vegas. In 2002, she performed in Fire Within and then in Varekai as a triple trapeze in 2003.[13] She played small roles in Ghostly Encounters and Delroy Kincaid. She recently had a leading role in a stage play called, 'Pinteresque' which will be in the SummerWorks Performance Festival.[14]

Currently, Stella lives in Australia.

References

  1. ^ a b "Stella Umeh (CAN)". Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  2. ^ Dan Gutman (1 August 1998). Gymnastics. Penguin Young Readers Group. pp. 112–. ISBN 978-1-101-16065-7.
  3. ^ "USA Gymnastics Online: Results: 1989 McDonald's American Cup" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-12-21.
  4. ^ "May Birthday Profile: Stella Umeh | the Couch GymnastThe Couch Gymnast". Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  5. ^ 1990 Commonwealth Games#Artistic
  6. ^ "USA Gymnastics Online: Results: 1991 McDonald's American Cup" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-12-21.
  7. ^ 1991 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
  8. ^ "USA Gymnastics Online: Results: 1992 McDonald's American Cup" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-12-21.
  9. ^ 1992 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships#Women
  10. ^ "USA Gymnastics Online: Results: 1992 Olympics" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-12-21.
  11. ^ List of Pac-12 Conference champions#Gymnastics
  12. ^ "Stella Umeh - For Introduction Purposes" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  13. ^ "Stella Umeh". IMDb.
  14. ^ "Stella Umeh - Athletes - Welcome to Motivate Canada!". Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2014-03-16.