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Kristina Comforte Retires From Gymnastics
Jan. 5, 2009
UCLA gymnastics head coach Valorie Kondos Field announced on Monday that senior Kristina Comforte has retired from the sport due to a labrum tear in her left shoulder and will move into a coaching role as an undergraduate assistant coach.
Comforte was a five-time All-American during her three seasons of competition. Last season, she earned All-America honors on all three events on which she competed (vault, bars and beam) and was the NCAA runner-up on uneven bars. She also captured the balance beam title at the 2008 NCAA Southeast Regional Championships and earned Pac-10 All-Academic honors. As a freshman in 2006, she earned NCAA runner-up honors on vault and first-team All-America status in the all-around and on vault.
The three-time U.S. National Team member from Burr Ridge, IL was the last Bruin to score a perfect 10, receiving the mark on vault at Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 3, 2006. She had career-high marks of 9.95 on uneven bars, 9.9 on balance beam and floor exercise and 39.525 in the all-around.
"This is definitely the hardest decision I have ever had to make in my career, but ultimately I know it is for the best," said Comforte. "I found out about my shoulder near the end of the summer and wanted to try and work through the pain rather than have season-ending surgery. I gave it my best effort, but the more I trained the worse it continued to get. This obviously isn't how I wanted my last year of gymnastics to play out, but I am excited to take on a new role. More than anything, I want to be there for my team and help lead them to a successful season in any way I can. I want to thank everyone for their support over the years; I am deeply grateful."
"We will certainly miss her gymnastics and are sad to see her competitive career end like this, but we are fortunate to still have her here to supplement our coaching staff with a good deal of knowledge and experience," Kondos Field said.
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