Regardless of her mistake in , we will always remember her for her accomplishments in Follow gabezal. Enjoy our content? Join our newsletter to get the latest in sports news delivered straight to your inbox! Your sports.
However, this year we will see even more success for the Americans. Wieber was the all-around winner at the World Championships and is a two-time defending U. However, her rival and friend, Douglas, finally surpassed her at the U. Douglas was considered the second-best gymnast in the world after finishing just two-tenths of a point behind Wieber at the national championships in June. However, Douglas beat Wieber by one-tenth of a point at the U.
Olympic trials, punching her ticket to London. Four years later, Liukin faced even longer odds as she tried to make the Olympic team at age No all-around champion had returned for an Olympic encore since Nadia Comaneci in — and sure enough, Liukin fell short during Olympic trials earlier this month, dropping with a thud from the uneven bars. Like that, the competitive career of one of America's most decorated gymnasts was over. See, a gold medal changes things. When Liukin won gold in Beijing, it opened up a world of new career options: celebrity spokeswoman, fashion designer, model, actress and even tabloid catnip, courtesy of her rumored romance with Olympic gold medal-winning ice skater Evan Lysacek.
She'll do some television work in London but will also work behind the scenes as a go-between for gymnasts and their sport's governing body. She and other Olympic gymnasts will take the floor in what she describes as a combination of traditional gymnastics and Cirque du Soleil.
During a stop to speak with kids at LaFleur's gym in Tampa, we caught up with Liukin to talk about the London Games, which kick off Friday. Here are excerpts. I'm the athlete rep for the Federation of International Gymnastics. When I was competing, I didn't even know that we even had an athlete rep. But since , I've gone to every world championship, and a lot of different meetings in Switzerland and Mexico and Korea.
The athlete rep gets a vote for all the rules and everything that they do. So it's a really big position. Tears formed and began to roll down my cheeks. I had just finished the absolute worst routine of my career, and these people still were supporting me. I waved to each section of the crowd and mouthed thank you. Their reaction was actually hard for me to comprehend. I loved what this wonderful group of spectators had done for me, but did not yet quite understand it.
Then I saw my dad, went over to him, and hugged him for all the years of love and guidance that he had devoted to me. I had never earned a standing ovation before.
Not even when I won the all-around at the Olympics. I still find it very ironic that the first time people thought enough of my performance to stand up and clap for me was when I fell, splat, onto some very hard gymnasium mats.
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