Six days after announcing the dismissal of Courtney Kupets Carter, Georgia has named Cecile Canqueteau-Landi and Ryan Roberts as co-head coaches of the gymnastics team.
Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks called the pair “two of the most accomplished gymnastics coaches in the sport” in a statement on Thursday.
“The combination of their leadership and experiences will give us one the most dynamic coaching staffs in the country,” Brooks said. “Both coaches have developed and mentored the very best gymnasts in the world, and I know our current and future student-athletes will be excited to learn from two of the best coaches in the country.”
Canqueteau-Landi has worked as a personal coach to Simone Biles at the World Champions Centre (WCC) in Spring, Texas, since 2017 alongside her husband, Laurent Landi. She has also worked with Olympians Jordan Chiles and Madison Kocian during her career, in addition to several other national team members.
In a statement, the WCC said Canqueteau-Landi would be starting her new role in August, presumably after the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The gym added that Laurent would remain the head coach of the women’s gymnastics program and that the process for replacing Canqueteau-Landi had already started.
“Her departure will certainly be felt, but her legacy will forever shape the foundation of World Champions Centre,” the WCC said in its statement.
Biles has yet to comment, but she reposted Georgia’s post about the coaching hire on X.
Roberts, meanwhile, has been as assistant at Georgia the past two seasons and was previously at Alabama for four years. During his six seasons as an assistant coach, he has helped signed three top-five recruiting classes, including Georgia’s No. 1 signing class in 2023. Lily Smith, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Year, had originally committed to Alabama while Roberts was on its staff, but decommitted and signed with Georgia after Roberts was hired in Athens.
Prior to their most recent roles, Roberts and Canqueteau-Landi worked together at the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy (WOGA) in Frisco, Texas.
“I have known Cecile for years, and she is the exact person to help propel this team to greatness,” Roberts said in a statement. “She is a phenomenal person and coach. Articulating how phenomenal she is isn’t possible and I am very much looking forward to leading this team with her.”
Georgia announced it had fired Kupets Carter on Friday after seven seasons as head coach. One of the most decorated collegiate gymnasts of all time, Kupets Carter had led the GymDogs to four straight national championships in 2006-09 and had won nine individual NCAA titles during her time as a student-athlete at the school, but she had been unable to replicate that success as a coach.
Georgia finished in last place at the SEC championships for the third year in a row in March and hasn’t reached the NCAA championships since 2019. The team recorded a 7-12 record this year and went 1-6 during the SEC regular season. Georgia has the most national championship team titles in women’s gymnastics history with 10 but has not won since Kupets Carter’s senior year.
