As a retired professional gymnast, being at the Olympics in Paris right now looks a little different than when I competed for Team USA in 2008 in Beijing: It’s half family vacation, half work. I’m toting around three babies–my 4-year-old daughter Drew, and sons Jett, 3, and Bear, who just turned 1–while working for Yahoo Sports covering gymnastics and going to events representing Team USA. I put my work hat on for a few hours, take the trains all over, come back to the apartment where we’re staying, get the kids ready, put my mom hat back on, and then go lug strollers around the streets of Paris.
One thing that hasn’t changed since 2008? The Olympics come with attention—security issues, complaints about cleanliness, all the little things. What people don’t understand is that the opening ceremonies are supposed to be a direct reflection of the host city. Friday night’s ceremonies in Paris were beautiful and interesting. Here we are, the entire world coming together, with every political value and religious belief represented.
Now that I’m on the sidelines, I see the Games differently. And I see my sport differently too. I was an athlete in the era of the old USA gymnastics. During that time our physical and mental health were often ignored, It was survival of the fittest—the younger the better, the more naive the better. It was a very militarized system. We weren’t allowed to have personalities. We couldn’t have a life outside of the sport. We weren't allowed to evolve or become fully realized adults.
Watching the Olympic Games now, the team embodies everything the old system was against. These girls have rebuilt it in a way that prioritizes mental and physical health and longevity and you can see them on the floor having fun. It’s amazing to see how Simone Biles has advocated for awareness around mental health and to watch Suni Lee talk openly about her health struggles. It says so much about the power of USA gymnastics that these competitors are in their 20s and returning, stronger than ever.
Because I’m one or two Olympics removed from the girls on the team right now, we don’t have personal relationships. We’ve met, but they were babies when I was on the team. Watching Simone Biles is inspiring and I can’t believe I got to see Suni Lee edge out Jordan Chiles during the qualifying rounds. I wish all three could be in the All-Around finals because I really believe that they would take the gold, silver, and bronze, but that’s not how the rules work. (Only two athletes can qualify to the medal round.) But to see Suni and Simone reign––it’s a wow moment for me.
I won four Olympic medals, including one gold, and although I definitely feel settled and fulfilled in my life, watching Olympic gymnastics gives me FOMO because the person I was back in the day comes back out. The second I step into the arena, I feel transported back to that life, and it’s a real déjà vu moment. Seeing what the girls are going through, all their excitement, it’s so much fun.
I’m in a sport where at 32, I'm an old retired woman now and I watch from the stands. In some ways, watching is harder for me than competing because I feel so anxious for the team. The athletes work so hard to get here and I just get caught up in the patriotism and that unifying feeling. It’s really special. For a moment, I feel like, Should I go compete again? The answer is absolutely not, but watching does reignite my love and passion for the sport.
This time, I brought my 4-year-old daughter and my mom to watch the gymnastics All-Around competition on Tuesday. Truthfully, my daughter has no idea what’s going on. She understands mommy did gymnastics and she’s seen videos, but her life in Paris is Disneyland. Bringing her is more for me than anything else, but I still want her to see this team.
They’ve changed lives for generations to come. Before, repeating any type of competition year after year was pretty much impossible. But now, it’s so beautiful to see how at Simone’s third Olympics and Suni Lee’s second, these girls are revolutionizing the sport. In the old USA gymnastics system, the trials they went through would probably have ended their careers. Instead, I’m watching the greatest gymnastics I’ve ever seen in my life.
