Here & Now: Gymnastics legend Wendy Hilliard on how her foundation empowers youth

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Wendy Hilliard has long been a major force in women's, Olympic, and community sports. She was the first Black rhythmic gymnast to represent the United States globally, and she remained on the Rhythmic Gymnastics National Team a record-setting nine times, serving twice as national team captain.

Hilliard competed in three World Championships and the 1984 Olympic Trials. She was a four-time U.S. National Team coach and coached 1996 Olympian Aliane Baquerot Wilson. In 2008, Hilliard was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

Today, Hilliard is the leader of Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation, a nonprofit she founded in 1996. The goal of Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics is to empower the lives of young people from underserved communities by improving physical and emotional health through the sport of gymnastics.

The foundation has provided free gymnastics for almost 25,000 urban youth in NYC since 1996 and expanded to Detroit in 2016. Hilliard appeared on "Here & Now" alongside one of her promising students, ZaQuae Carter, to discuss the foundation.