Maddie Diab has deep roots in gymnastics. While her family introduced her to the sport, she made her own way to wearing the cardinal and gold and her performance has secured her place in Cyclone history.
Her father and fellow Iowa Stater Mark Diab was a two-time NCAA and Big Eight Conference champion in his event specialty in the 1980s. He was named Iowa State’s Male Athlete of the Year in 1986 and is a member of the Iowa State University Athletics Hall of Fame. Her mother, Jenny Diab, was a gymnast at the University of Wisconsin, she has two older brothers who have competed for the University of Illinois, and two younger siblings that have a growing passion for the sport.
“My whole family got me into gymnastics, but I fell in love with the sport on my own. I chose Iowa State because of the atmosphere I felt on campus and in the gym during my visit,” she says. “I have always loved competing.”
And compete she has.
In 2022, Maddie Diab logged 10 scores of 9.9 or higher, tying for most in a season on the event in school history. She scored a 9.95 at the Big 12 Championships to tie for the title, earned a trio of 9.9s, and even posted a perfect 10 on Feb. 25, 2022, becoming the second gymnast in school history to do so on floor and the second Cyclone gymnast to earn a perfect score in Hilton Coliseum. She tied for 21st nationally with an NQS of 9.93. Among her many accolades are Academic All-Big 12 honors each year.
“This year my main priority is to enjoy every moment with my team,” she says. “I would like to build on the success I had last year and hope to achieve some of the same accomplishments as my dad.”
