The Life and Legacy of Shannon Miller Did you know that there is a female gymnast who is ranked higher than any other woman and even any other man in gymnastics? This woman's name is Shannon Miller. If you've never heard his name mentioned, you're about to. Shannon was born in Missouri, grew up in Oklahoma, took up gymnastics, and later became a world champion and U.S. Olympic gold medalist. Shannon Lee Miller was born on Thursday, March 10, 1997. Coming into this world wasn't all that spectacular. She almost walked in without a name. Ron and Claudia, Shannon's parents, along with their other daughter Tessa lived in Rolla, Missouri at the time. His parents had tossed around names but couldn't pick one. Even in the delivery room they had difficulty making the choice. Shannon's mother, Claudia, preferred more unique names while her father liked the more common ones. Claudia got the name Shannon from someone who suggested the name to her while she was in a bookstore. Claudia presented the name to Ron and at the birthing table they decided to name the baby Shannon. Her middle name, Lee, came from her paternal grandmother Mabel Lee, her parents loved the name so they decided to add it to Shannon's. After Shannon was born, Ron began working as a professor. Soon after getting the new job, Ron was transferred to Oklahoma, Edmond to be precise. About six months after Shannon was born, the family moved to Edmond, a town of about 60,000 people. Once they moved in, Shannon developed a quick interest in shopping. One afternoon Claudia had decided to take Tessa and Shannon shopping. He later realized that this wasn't a very wise idea. After looking around for a while, Claudia realized that Shannon was missing. She is... middle of the paper... The couple got married on August 25, 2008 and later had a son named Rocco. In February 2001, Shannon revealed that she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, after doctors found a cyst the size of a baseball. The cyst had been removed the previous month. After three cycles of chemotherapy from 7 March to 2 May 2011 he defeated cancer. On January 14, 2013, Shannon announced that she and her husband were expecting their second child. Their daughter, Sterling Diane Falconetti, was born in the summer of 2013. Shannon now lives at home in Rolla, Missouri with her husband and two children and enjoys coaching a gymnastics team for young children. Works Cited “Personal Information.” Usagym.org.2004.Web. January 31, 2014. Quiner, Krista. Shannon Miller: America's most decorated gymnast. East Hanover: The Bradford Book Company, 1997. Print. “Shannon Miller.” Ebscohost.com.2001.Web. January 29th. 2014.