Wright has been based in the United States for 30 years but she was raised and schooled in Dunedin and was part of a family - the Marlows - that had a huge role to play in the development of the sport.
She has been rediscovering her roots this week, back in the city to visit her parents and check on the next generation of gymnastic talent.
"I would like to come back for good eventually and I'd like to help get gymnastics going in the right direction down here," Wright said.
Wright runs the Olympus School of Gymnastics in Utah, ranked the best gym in the state and one of the best in all of the United States.
She has 12 staff, four of them full-time, at a massive facility in the town of Sandy.
"It's a 14,500sq ft [1350sq m] facility, so it's quite large.
"It's state-of-the-art, with all the best equipment."
During Wright's time in the United States she has worked with 10 Olympians, with her athletes competing at the 1976, 1980, 1984 and 1988 Games.
"That was a big thrill but it was a combination of many people's input."
Wright is also an assistant coach at the University of Utah, which has won more national titles than any other college.
She said gymnastics was still booming at college level and for many of her young athletes, the sport was their ticket to higher education.
It was difficult to compare the sport in America to the state of New Zealand gymnastics, Wright said.
New Zealand was isolated and, culturally, it was harder for people in this part of the world to understand how much time it took to get to a high level.
"Our top girls train 24 to 26 hours a week, and they're aged 9 to 17," she said.
"That's a huge commitment, but that's what the rest of the world is doing and that's the only way to achieve the goals you want."
Gymnastics was in Wright's blood.
Her mother, Rita Marlow, was a member of a famous troupe, the Silver Six, in the 1930s, and later became a pioneer of gymnastics coaching.
"I didn't have a choice but to get into gymnastics.
"You have to have a passion for it, but it's worth it.
"I competed when I was younger but started coaching very early.
"I had some success at an early age and got the bug and decided coaching was my forte."
Wright lived in Christchurch for about five years after leaving Dunedin in her late teens and then went to the States to pursue a job opportunity.
It is a decision she has never regretted.
She has been named American coach of the year and Utah coach of the year and is a four-time winner of American choreographer of the year.
