Andrea Schmid Shapiro

August 4, 1934 - September 21, 2022

Andrea (Bodo) Schmid Shapiro passed away peacefully on September 21, 2022, in her home in Novato, California, at the age of 88 with family by her side. She was born in Budapest, Hungary and grew up during a difficult time, World War II followed by the Soviet occupation. It was during this time that she encountered a coach in school who introduced her to the world of gymnastics and recognized her high potential. She went on to represent Hungary in gymnastics in two consecutive Olympic Games, 1952 in Helsinki, Finland, and 1956 in Melbourne, Australia, receiving a gold medal, two silver, and a bronze.

While competing in Australia, the Hungarian 1956 uprising against the Soviets was crushed and she and many of the Hungarian Olympic athletes decided not to return to their homeland. After initially remaining in Australia, these athletes accepted an offer by the new Sports Illustrated magazine to participate in a three-month tour of the United States known as the Freedom Tour. The tour arrived in San Francisco on December 24, 1956, where she and her teammates were welcomed by then California State Governor Knight. After the tour she settled in San Francisco.

Despite struggling with English and raising a young daughter, she went on to earn an undergraduate degree in physical education and a doctorate in Higher Education/Teacher Education at the University of California Berkeley. She began coaching and teaching gymnastics at San Francisco State University in 1963 and co-authored the book Gymnastics for Women with her colleague Blanche Drury. During the 1960s they brought women’s gymnastics to California schools actively guiding the development of the sport in the state. She went on to also teach curriculum and instruction and sport psychology at the undergraduate and graduate level. She was a Professor of Kinesiology at San Francisco State University for 35 years, retiring in 1998.

Schmid Shapiro was instrumental in the development of rhythmic gymnastics in the United States. She authored the book Modern Rhythmic Gymnastics, worked passionately to build the sport and coached select rhythmic gymnasts who competed on the national and international level. She became an internationally rated judge in the sport in 1973 and went on to judge multiple national and international competitions, including four Olympic Games. She served on numerous professional committees including the International Gymnastics Federation’s Rhythmic Technical Committee and the USA Gymnastics’ Executive Committee.

In 1997, she was granted the Hungarian Cross of Merit for her lifetime in sports. In 2001, as an acknowledgement of her achievements, she was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

In addition to her professional accomplishments, she was an avid skier and served as a volunteer National Ski Patrol at Heavenly Valley for over 20 years. She loved to travel the world as well as enjoy time with family at her home by the water. She is survived by her husband Charles Shapiro, her daughter Aniko Molnar (Wade Van Valin) and her granddaughters Renna Bazlen and Kyla Bazlen.

Donations in her memory may be made to the International Myeloma Foundation.