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For me going down in history being the first black American to win the gold, I think more colored people are going to start coming to the gymnastics world and say 'okay, anything is possible. If Gabby did it, then I can do it too.'
Eleven years old is not an early age to set your sight on the Olympics for a gymnast, because we normally peak in high school. I first qualified for the Olympics team during my sophomore year in high school, when I was 15 years old.
Because up to sixteen years old you feel gymnastics more. You can show your emotion, grace, like woman gymnastics, not kid's gymnastics. I feel I have good shape, and I can do it elements everything, but, it's not competition for me.
With literature, sometimes a book is presented in the media as being say, a Muslim story or an African story, when essentially it's a universal story which we can all relate to it, no matter what race or social background we come from
I was always really inspired by watching the older girls competing, just seeing other Olympians do great things, and I just really wanted to be a part of that whole experience. And to be able to represent USA was always a goal of mine.
With literature, sometimes a book is presented in the media as being say, a Muslim story or an African story, when essentially it's a universal story which we can all relate to it, no matter what race or social background we come from.
My parents didn't know anything about collegiate scholarships, so they had accepted the national team training stipend, the monthly stipend that I received after making the national team, so I was ineligible for NCAA eligibility anyway.
My mom and dad were extremely supportive. But my mom, she definitely made a lot of sacrifices, specifically because she wasn't working at the time. She ended up going and finding a job so she could continue to put me through gymnastics.
There’s a lot of stress out there, and to handle it, you just need to believe in yourself, always go back to the person that you know you are and don’t let anybody tell you any different, because everyone’s special and everyone’s awesome.
There's a lot of stress out there, and to handle it, you just need to believe in yourself; always go back to the person that you know you are, and don't let anybody tell you any different, because everyone's special and everyone's awesome.
I missed being considered an athlete and having that competitive drive, and missed having something to work for every day. I'd taken two and a half years away from the sport and was out of shape. I wanted to get back to where I was in 2008.
I think it's good for parents to be supportive, to motivate, and to somewhat nudge their kids because the majority of kids will want to quit something when it gets hard - that's just their nature. Children will normally take the easier road.
Remember before nineteen seventy two Olympic Games I was total skinny, I was small, very strong, they may be don't like to see a gymnastics like that. I don't know but, gymnastics, might. Nineteen seventy two supposed to be change somewhere.
We've always had each other's backs in and out of competition. We support each other the most because we're the only ones that know what it's like to go through what we do, and so we can't be more thankful for each other. We're like sisters.
When I was younger, my coach, Liang Chow, made all the decisions. I would go to the gym for practice, do exactly what Chow told me to do, go home, come back and start all over again. If Chow told me to do 50 squat jumps, I did 50 squat jumps.
There are so many little girls who follow me and look up to me. I'm their role model, so I have to make sure I'm always being professional and not putting any swear words out there - just really putting positive things out there on the Internet.
I feel great. I feel younger. And I don't feel anything at all. I don't know who knows, but right now I'm, how, how many years have I, fifty five, something like that. Forty three years old. And I feel like seventeen, like twenty five years ago.
There's a point in gymnastics where once you get to a certain age your body just isn't going to be able to handle it anymore. But I'd like to continue on as long as I'm able to help the team out and be a contributor to the success of the U.S. team.
I was able to represent my country and put on the red, white, and blue - how many people in the world get to do that? Standing on the podium with my teammates, and being the first women's gymnastics team to win this gold medal, it was life-changing!
I didn't want people to think of me as someone who wasn't impressed with a silver medal, because obviously that's a huge accomplishment, and I was so happy. It was more about me just being not impressed with falling at the Olympics in my last event.
When it comes to gymnastics, you can be 30 points ahead going into that competition, but on that day, it's all about luck. It's about who has a good day, who stays healthy, it's how happy the judges are that day, there are so many different factors.
Even if kids don't love gymnastics, if they start at any age with some classes, they can learn so many different things - they can build a lot of character, strength, flexibility, and courage. Hopefully, they can also develop a sense of fearlessness.
In the end, you have to forgive in order to heal and move forward with your life. For people who hurt you very deeply, you don't have to forgive them for their sake but for your sake, so that you can move forward and have a healthier and happier life.
Cheerleading is a part of you. You live it all the time. People will judge you based upon it, but you can't be ashamed because although they may make fun of you, they are just jealous that you are on of the elite, the superior, the best... a cheerleader!
If I had tried the Olympics any younger, I wouldn't have been as prepared as I am right now. But there are definitely a ton of juniors out there, all around the world and in the USA, that if there was no age limit, they could definitely make the Olympic team.
I love learning, so it's definitely something I could see myself doing when I'm 30 or something. I always wanted to go for music production and health and psychology. But my whole life, I was in a gym for eight hours a day. I'm ready to be young and have fun.
I struggled with self-esteem issues as a young girl, and it was not until my gymnastics career was completed in 2000 that I realized my accomplishments would not have been possible without my type of body, and I finally started to appreciate and celebrate myself.
I was very hungry to compete internationally when I was 10 years old, and I was good enough to compete, so that part never made me afraid or worried at all. When I was at my peak, around 12 and 13, I won my junior national and senior national titles back to back.
You get depressed because you're like, 'Everybody's working and I'm here sitting.' I feel for all gymnasts who get hurt. Injuries are just awful, but at least I had 'Bones' to work on when I wasn't training. It got my mind off the fact that I couldn't do anything.
My school friends are really understanding and still want to hang out with me. Ever since I was in sixth grade, I was at the gym every day to work out while my friends were getting their nails done or going to the mall. I used to feel left out, but I don't anymore.
I've always loved so many different things about social media and music and art and fashion. I always loved it. But I've been too scared to jump into it, knowing that people would be upset about it. So that's why I hid from it. And now, I'm not afraid to be myself.
I've never been to the Olympics, so I don't know what to expect. It's better for me, just like my first Worlds... My third Worlds, I knew what it was like, so I was like, 'Oh my goodness. But this is my first Olympics, and not knowing what to expect is good for me.
My parents, Romanian immigrants, struggled to provide me a better life than the ones they had left in their homeland. They worked hard to give me every opportunity in life, and once I showed natural talent as a young gymnast, they spent every last penny on my training.
People always accused me of not smiling like my rival Olga Korbut, but that was just my personality. When you're balancing on a nine-inch beam, you have to concentrate. But if you look back at the footage, I was always smiling and waving at the crowd after my performances.
O2O and all-in-one systems mean we have to make online and offline inventory accessible to each other. This is complicated both in terms of the technical aspect and in cost. A story sounds wonderful, but if it is too costly, it is not good. Technology has to match business.
Japan had the big earthquake in 2011, and the Olympics will be a good opportunity to bring strength to the people of the Tohoku region - and also to show everyone around the world that Japan is doing fine again. These are messages we have to convey through the power of sport.
The first time I walked into the Olympic athlete village seeing the Visa ATM machine with my picture on it and the Chinese characters saying "Destiny." For some reason, it just boosted my confidence and it was before I had even worked out or had my first training or competed.
The first time I walked into the Olympic athlete village seeing the Visa ATM machine with my picture on it and the Chinese characters saying 'Destiny.' For some reason, it just boosted my confidence and it was before I had even worked out or had my first training or competed.
You never really think about what happens after the Olympics - you're just like, 'I want to compete. I want to do well' and thinking about that. After it all happened, it was such a whirlwind. I've gotten to do so many amazing things. My favorite thing was getting into acting.
If you ever have a mistake, you try to just kind of forget about it because if you carry that with you for the rest of the routine, then the rest of your routine might not go as planned. So you just kind of shake it off, and you just continue your routine like you didn't fall.
In the environment of the mobile Internet, there is value and need to explore every commercial context. What I care about is not just technology but the changes in people's behavior in this environment, which makes it possible that everyone can get connected with everyone else.
I was a gymnast my whole life. I mean, I'd go to Starbucks and people would be like, 'Are you going to the next Olympics?' And when I'd say no, they'd literally look sad. So it was very hard for me to get excited about anything else. I thought that I had to do gymnastics forever.
At the 2012 Olympic Trials, I wanted to make a second Olympic team. I fell face first, and in a blink of an eye, my dreams of competing in a second Olympics were over. Even so, I got up, finished my routine, and saw twenty thousand people cheering. It was my first standing ovation.
I feel like I'm really blessed and lucky that I have a very good social life outside of the gym, and I have a really amazing family. My parents are so supportive. I have a younger brother and two younger sisters, and they're really awesome. So I feel like I get the best of both worlds.
Everyone works hard when they want to, when they get quick results, when it's convenient to put forth effort. The best work hard when they don't want to, when it's inconvenient to give it that little extra effort... and that extra effort might be just what they need to place them on top.
There are so many negatives in our society. To be on the cover of a magazine these days, you have to have been through drug rehab three times. What message is this giving to young people? But there are positives in our society. And I try to surround myself with good-natured, positive people.
I would say to always follow your dream. And dream big because my whole career, including any of the things that I've accomplished, I never thought in a million years that I would be here. So it just proves that once you believe in yourself, and you put your mind to something, you can do it.
One of the things about my sport that's important is consistency - being able to do your routines consistently and training consistently. If you change it up or try to make everything more intense because the Olympics is coming up, you tend to put too much pressure on your mind and your body.
I'm very fortunate to have a coach that I got to stay with all this time. Every year the bond gets stronger and better, and we understand each other more. And it's like she can tell if I walk into the gym what kind of mood I'm in, what she has to fix for the practice I need, or how I'm feeling.
There's such a stereotype about men and women. Obviously, people think men are faster and stronger and all these other things, and I don't want people to get sucked into that anymore. I want them to realize that the women are out here and doing just as awesome things. They can be just as great, too.