Gail Evelyn SONTEGRATH

Gail Sontgerath was an alternate to the 1959 Pan American team but in 1960 she won the AAU all-around and balance beam, easily making the 1960 Olympic team. She competed at the 1962 World Championships and after not making the 1964 Olympic team, retired from competition. By then she was a student at Florida State University (FSU). She graduated in 1966 and then earned a masters’ degree from FSU in 1967. Sontgerath paid her way through college by performing and competing in Gymkana shows. She then taught physical education at Florida State for two years before returning to West Palm Beach and opening the Gail Sontgerath Training Center, where she taught young gymnasts from 1969-76, first in West Palm and then in Jupiter, Florida. She closed the center to raise her two children after marrying Bill Whitney, a veterinarian.