Made in America - Presented by USA Gymnastics (2016)

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you in 2000 that's when I became an elite-level gymnast and made the national team I think a lot of changes were going on in USA Gymnastics at the time and we were starting to go to Corollas ranch as our national team facility every month they realize that having everyone come together was beneficial we had national team coaches and he had Marta who started to be the rain of things kind of telling us rotation we were actually the first squad that Marta was the national team coordinator so we were kind of the guinea pigs when it came to training camps they really have this new program the verifications that was really new to come into camp and have to verify on every event it was almost like every day at practice it was some sort of a competition I knew every single month that one week that we were going to the Curley ranch to train I knew that I was gonna see the absolute best gymnast in the US and I always wanted to be on my game and to do my best around them I wanted to impress the coaches I wanted to impress those girls and I know they wanted to do the same everyone always wants to be the best but it was also just great to get together with the rest of the national team because you you build a bond you've got to know these girls month in and month out at these training camps and you saw the hard work everybody was putting in and it just really did help connect us I think as a team and I think that really pushed everyone to become a better gymnast become a better teammate and always strive for more always strive to be better than you were that last month the camp and and the new system had been in place for three years leading up to the 2003 team having World Championships in Anaheim California just kind of in our our backyard was a really special thing we knew that we had a world championship team full of talent but I don't know if we knew exactly what to expect you know we just went in there doing the best we could I don't think I was even aware that a US team had never won gold at the World Championships that World Championships was such a crazy thing of events that kept happening to us it was almost like our team was cursed or something the week of World Championships just a lot of things seemed to be going wrong Ashley Postell got the flu courtney kupets tore her Achilles and the practice one day and on your hatch tore her ACL so we were down three girls and both of our alternates ended up stepping in Chellsie Memmel and tear and Humphrey everything seemed to be going so wrong but then on the other hand knowing that we did have strong alternates who were ready to come in I mean me being one of them that was my job that is 15ml Chellsie Memmel but basically she received a phone call to join what was left of Team USA after a couple of injuries and a serious illness you're ready to go in case something happens to step up for your team and that's what Taryn and I ultimately ended up doing you have to say that's getting the job I just knew that I had trained to be there and I had to do my job and I wanted to go up and help the team win this gold medal and just be a part of it this young lady came into this competition as the top alternate and she delivered I was just a 15 year old girl I wanted us to hit all our routines and win but I didn't realize what we were really doing at that point when I look back wow that was really amazing we were competing with five numbers why every country was competing with six [Music] [Applause] wanting to hit the routine for you for your teammates for the girls that couldn't compete that's mainly what it was the final American we could possibly nailed and most improbable I remember Carly kind of talk can we do it can we go I'm like oh yeah we got it [Music] that's just gonna make delete every night all the things that we had to deal with leading up to that evening was just incredible and for us to still be able to go out there and do great performances and pull it out and pull out the first ever team gold was incredible the the best team in the world I think was like if the newfound confidence for us we felt like we had made a huge statement to everyone but you know we didn't even need a full team to win the u.s. has so much talent it didn't matter that was definitely a confidence booster for us going into the O for Olympic Games the expectation was to win gold but we had just come off of the 2003 worlds where we won the gold medal so the expectation was if you can do it once you can do it again the first time I walked into the arena at the 2004 Olympics it was really cool it was this kind of wave of overwhelming excitement nerves joy I can't believe I'm here seeing the Olympic rings finally was like okay 20 years of hard work here we go let's do it the expectations for Team USA could not be higher it's definitely a lot of pressure to have expectation of gold kind of looming around but we had it for ourselves it wasn't just Marga and the coaches we wanted it to we would be viewed on fall the first of four apparatus no see all three stores town I did a grave alt I was pretty good I guess my bar routine that day was probably one of my best [Music] [Applause] [Music] we just wanted to show the world that we deserved to be gold [Applause] [Music] it's a lot of pressure when you have when it's three people up and all three scores count [Applause] [Music] my book she's a hero [Applause] at the time I was thinking this is our shot to all become Olympic champions like this is our one shot [Music] nine six six two which is the silver for the United States unfortunately we had mistakes that we didn't normally do it to what team is going to perform the best on that day of competition and Romania did great and they were the best that day we won silver as a team and standing up on that podium there's nothing like it we were pushed together as a team maybe two weeks before the Olympics and we're still such great friends if not even better and we have this bond that we shared together at the Olympic stage for our country and it's amazing how that's never going to go away [Music] you getting so close to making the team but just not quite there even traveling to Athens to being the alternative it's a really hard place to be in and then when I did go home that's when I made a new goal of making the world championship team in 2005 and going in with the goal of trying to win all around [Music] after seeing what an Olympics would be like I was like okay I want this I really want to be the next person on that 2008 Olympic team [Music] I knew in 2004 I wasn't old enough to make an Olympic team but I knew 2005 with that first year that I could make a world championship team and that's kind of what I set my mind on and I really took it day by day year by year and although 2008 was in the back of my mind I really tried to focus one year at a time because there was a World Championships every single year and those were just as important for us [Music] sacrimoni I see Li Yuqing will win one more gold medal at these World Championships at least can you believe it Chellsie Memmel heads and all-around gold medal nicely done for American Jana Beger she will get the silver [Music] he shows she's exciting to watch the Americans today doing themself proud mr. cart Germany the place for the 2007 world Gymnastics Championships about a year away from the Olympic Games I couldn't wait to get on the first spin so I compete because I felt like we had the strongest team possible and I remember it just being like a dream come true very nice great power and perfect form in the air we had two great events fallen bars [Music] [Applause] gigantic routine Nastia Liukin and then we went on to beam and Shawn and I actually both had really uncharacteristic mistakes Alysha kind of brought us all into a huddle she told us kind of just to keep our chin up and keep going and that we're a team we're gonna fight to the end for it and it was a lot to handle nothing we could have prepared for Shayla Worley first for USA then it's Shawn Johnson superb performance to go last and I was nervous as anything it's almost like going into autopilot I've done the routine in so many times that it's just alright let's see what happens and you go and you just try to be focused tight and perform and it was probably one of the best floor routines I've ever done in like the moment my music ended and I landed I like threw my arms up being like we won this and I just start crying like that sappy girl that everybody sees because it was a really cool moment is the first time us had won a team gold medal and world game chips on foreign soil so we were pretty jazzed about that for ten minutes is like nothing in the world mattered except that we were world champions going into all around it was kind of like everything that I worked for so I remember putting everything out there and kind of fighting it to the end and when they called my name for the all-around gold it was like I know just the best feeling ever from that moment forward the launching pad to the Olympics and just being able to end that World Championships with a gold medal kind of set that bar pretty high going into now what would be an Olympic year gearing up to the 2008 Olympics the momentum changed we had a lot of pressure on us we were expected to go in and give China run for their money and we wanted and expected to win gold there was a lot of adversity even before the national championships and the Olympic Trials that year I tore my left meniscus in just a little Italy I was kind of coming back from my little injury being out with my shoulder that was I was incredibly difficult that was one of the most trying times of my career by far trying to stay focused during all that rehab but always trying to keep my mind on an goal of making the Olympic team it was an emotional roller coaster it was just kind of like aha dang it another obstacle in our road the year in the Olympics was probably the biggest whirlwind I think I've ever experienced and gone through all of 2008 Shaun and I kind of battled back and forth back and forth and every single day we pushed each other knowing that we were trying to be better than each other every single day I remember endorsements started coming hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of interviews and also trying to train on top of that and stay focused and it was overwhelming it's a crazy year we had what our classics or Championships trials and then not only that then we had selection camp at the ranch at Olympic Trials they only named two of athletes for our six athlete team Shaun and Ike we were both named to the Olympic team at the Olympic Trials which was a huge relief it was like a million pounds had been lifted off my shoulders I remember the confetti was coming down me and not seeing her hugging each other we knew that we had almost done this together because I truly believe that we brought out the best in each other just so ecstatic because the process is so long to make the team it's almost never-ending than another training camp they sat us down all on one couch we were shoulder-to-shoulder we could not move and they base they were like alright we're going to announce the Olympic team finally getting my name called was probably one of the best days of my life being named to an Olympic team is something that I have always envisioned in my head and so when it actually became a reality it was it was a awesome moment all the ups and downs in my career especially the shoulder you don't even know what to feel because if you've waited so long for that and you're so excited there's so many emotions you're just but just so thrilled but then also you get like nervous right away because it was like oh my gosh I'm going to the Olympics I am representing my country and my team [Music] we got picked the next night we were training full-blown for the Olympics as we were leaving from the camp but we were up to the challenge and so we were going there with the mindset of we will be number one [Music] [Music] I remember the moment we landed in Beijing it all started to feel real it's everything and anything you could possibly dream it I mean it's surreal it's a pinch me moment driving through the city and then finally going into the Olympic Village that was kind of a moment where we realized we just made an Olympic team and we're at the Olympic Games [Music] I was just amazed by how you know humans could create such a beautiful place for us to live it's really overwhelming as somebody who had been at a competition at that magnitude I was just trying to take it all in and remember every aspect of what happened and details and just experiencing it but at the same time you also have to be focused in training and be ready for the competition going in it was it was like all right we're gonna do exactly what we did at Worlds we're gonna be bonded we're gonna train hard and that's exactly what we set out to do we definitely talked about the gold medal and what we needed to do to win it and how we were capable of doing it day one of being in Beijing we're in the training facility and it's mostly just a day to kind of get your body going get used to the time change the new equipment it's just a day for accommodating having Chelsea go down at the very beginning of our Olympic experience was definitely really difficult you know she was really one of the frontrunners of our Olympic team so I was doing a two and a half on floor when I felt my ankle I just like remember like the white-hot flash of pain but for me personally I had to know what it was and know what we were dealing with and like oh my gosh not again like you've got to be kidding me [Music] and then we move on to prelims and my teammate Samantha Patrick she rolls her ankle on the punch front full and is like drops immediately and it's just this moment of what do we do and Alisha was our anchor she kind of brought us in a huddle she's like we can fight through this we're strong enough we have you know the strongest girls in the world we can get through it but it was definitely a moment of you know we need to pick ourselves back up because we've lost two of our strongest girls this is the women's team final highly-anticipated is not enough of a phrase to describe it was a packed house you know you looked up in a stand and you couldn't even see the faces of anyone they just look like little dots there were so many people there the United States will start off with Bridget Sloan Shawn Johnson and Alicia Sacramone 3-up 3-down all scores counts I was the very first one up to compete vault and we really started off so strong it was like hit after hit after head USA couldn't have done better couldn't have asked for more than that boom did my job great go to bars bars went really well John Johnson for a fifteen point three five that one was perfect that was right here textbook textbook uneven bars work and then we get to balance beam I was first up for Team USA and I was the one you know setting the tone for what was gonna happen on beam after that right off the top she'll melt the beam was a very difficult mount I'm waiting waiting waiting finally it's my turn green light salute turn go front Pike boom side of the floor and I was like dang it I hadn't fallen in a competition in years and so I was just like in shock so I kind of did a quick of like alright get it together you're not giving these judges one more tense and from that moment on my Bimmer team was pretty flawless for us it was a no-brainer it didn't hurt us we weren't mad we weren't anything it wasn't her fault but it was just kind of like oh it's our turn now you know it's our turn to pick her up and say that's what the team is for that's why we bring all of us to kind of fight together through this and we'll get through it that was the moment where I was like you know what this is for you now everyone is going to go out here and perform for you not just for our country but for you simply because you have done so much was team that was definitely very important I think for everybody to kind of unite as a team and you know not just all help each other but specifically help Alicia kind of really get back from this [Music] even though we didn't win that gold medal that we were all kind of hoping to win we still were able to win a silver medal at the Olympic Games and for me I've always had you know that perception of you know he didn't lose the gold medal you still won the silver after falling and kind of finishing the competition my teammates were amazing they surrounded me with love and hugs and I appreciate their love and support so I can't thank them enough for that [Music] it's incredible to be able to count to Falls and to still get a silver medal we had fought so hard and worked so hard that there was no way we couldn't be proud we had done everything we could and I remember personally I couldn't have been prouder what the girls didn't have are they work Oh [Music] you my first word that I think of after the Olympic Games the year after the Olympic Games is uncertainty what can we expect tonight think about all the other athletes on the floor the names that we don't know about it's exciting to find out who in this arena will want to share and dream of that same gold that NASA had just a year ago but you know it's interesting we have seniors that are competing tonight when we get to 2012 there'll be a bunch of kids that actually aren't old enough to compete in this competition that will be eligible and they'll make that team it's a totally new Olympic cycle [Music] it's going to be the United States gold and silver gold - Bridget Sloan and silver - Rebecca Bross American Kayla Williams is going to win the gold medal have become the world champion on vault and upon aha is going USA Gymnastics is on a roll [Music] the team final at the world championships United States for silver and Alicia Sacramone has done what she's wrong to do and that's a gold medal on what a comeback by effective winner of the bronze medal it was kind of one of my first times really seeing them seeing the best of the best and it was it was definitely scary but I'm glad they that I was able to have that experience under my belt before going into 2011 in 2012 [Music] going into worlds in 2011 I didn't really have too many expectations for myself it was my first World Championships and I just wanted to do my job [Music] we were definitely known as the youngest team so Alicia and Ally were definitely our mentors we had Alisha go down with her Achilles um that was pretty hard in our team we didn't know exactly what was gonna happen was she gonna be able to compete with us I was an alternate for that team I was a traveling alternate and then finally got her and then Alisha got hurt so they put me in you know I was the only one that I'd been there so I definitely did you know try to take their responsibility at the same time it is scary and overwhelming it's it's um even though I had already been there it still doesn't feel like you know it's a new arena it's a new atmosphere everything's really different this is the day for a World Championship gold medal I think that a lot of people doubted our team and didn't even think that we would medal or anything or we would get the bronze medal so I think that it was one of those things where you know the team kind of just came together as a team we were pretty young but we were definitely very confident Team USA they have just clinched another world championship gold all of us just came together like a group hug and we're so excited we couldn't even believe it oh my goodness it was just an amazing feeling just winning that gold medal in 2011 coming away with the all-around gold medal I was I was really surprised actually because I made a mistake on bars but I came back even stronger I'm beaming floor and to come out with the margins so small it was it was a pretty amazing feeling and it's definitely pretty proud of myself [Music] that experience definitely helped me it definitely helped boost my self-confidence up I started to believe my abilities a little bit after that 2011 World Championships going into 2012 I definitely felt a little bit of added pressure there was a lot of expectations coming from the media and from the fans it was definitely hard to kind of ignore those expectations and that pressure but I just tried my best the year of the Olympics always is different you can just feel the tension it's you know the training camps are more intense the coaches are a little bit more on edge everyone's just working so hard and doing everything they possibly can but you know you can definitely feel it in the atmosphere just going into that year you just never know what will happen so I think everyday I went into the gym I just took it day by day it is stressful and it's intimidating but it does prepare you for the competition [Music] competing in the Olympic Trials was actually more nerve-wracking than the Olympics itself I think because it's just so much pressure in one moment after trials was over everybody went back into this little room in the arena and we kind of sat in a circle we had to wait for the selection committee to come in and read off the names of who was the Olympic team it was probably the longest moments of my life they came in and they announced the names we just kind of burst into tears after that and we walked out into the floor and we got to celebrate with a crowd and wave to them and we were all just crying so hard I remember like walking out and I'm like turning around I'm like where's everyone like guys guys come on and then Ali starts crying makes me cry Georgia so it's crying just like rippled effect it was definitely a crazy moment to be in front of all those people and just know that I had achieved like one of my biggest goals to be on that Olympic team [Music] you wish that everyone would be able to have a chance to make it you know I wish they could bring more more girls we could have more teams go to the Olympics [Music] after trials we go to the ranch and then from the ranch we you know fly over to London no it was really like a WoW moment like well guys like we're here when we got to one and it was definitely a new experience to be with all the other athletes some who'd already been to multiple Olympics before and won gold medals so yeah it was definitely really exciting to see all those athletes in one spot and just to know that everyone their husbands are Daz you and just wants the same goal in the Innis just to be successful in the Olympics I think as the Team USA it's just expected of us to go out there and win win the gold medal and we have that expectation for ourselves as a team and we have that expectation from Marta and from our coaches and so I think that's when we did our best we thrived on that pressure in that expectation then you're just kind of anxious but by the time you compete I was just like I've worked so hard I'm not gonna waste it by being nervous you know I'm here I'm just gonna just go and do it it's obviously scary but I think that we're so prepared that you just kind of you're just ready to go the stage is led from the best female genetics in the world we walked into the arena for the team finals we just walked in that arena with a confidence that we had you know you're prepared but at the same time you know you have one shot so it's just it's just scary I think we all knew that we had a good chance of you know being on top but we don't want to think about that we just kind of had this calm confidence about us we weren't panicked we weren't too excited we were just calm and we knew we had this will be the first gymnast to go I was first on vault and I remember feeling like I wanted to cry and only because of happiness I was so ready and so pumped up to to go out there and perform that I kind of told myself Kay you can't cry right now you need to be focused cuz you're first I knew this is my chance to prove that we were ready to do this [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] I couldn't have a better way to start the competition me first then Gabby and then Michaela we all stuck our two and a half Michaela I mean gee that vault was literally perfect the best ball in the entire world I think ever [Music] [Applause] when Mikayla stuck her vault we just kind of like knew we had a good feeling it was going to be our day pretty much I think the start of an amazing night Team USA on the uneven bars [Music] hello lost the youngest member of Team USA it should be 15 o'clock [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] that one to apparatus left to go a good start he is something else [Applause] [Music] it is all attack the USA having three getting cold it's huge [Music] it all comes down to floor exercise and three more routines floor was our last event and I looked up at the scoreboard and I knew that if we hit went out there and hit our routines then we would win this it's all right there I was just so pumped up and I was like really - I was just like I'm just gonna leave it all out here on Cup - floor I'm a stick each pass and I'm just gonna you know make sure the judges don't take anything [Music] I did the best routine of my entire life [Music] [Applause] oh it's my turn and at that moment like the less you think the better [Music] everything kind of from that moment is almost just like a blur [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] it wasn't just one or two of us that earned that gold medal it was the combination of all five of us and all of our hard work and dedication that we put into that so that was pretty special to experience as a team and I know that that bond that we felt when we were holding hands watching the scores that's something that will live on forever and we will carry that with us forever even though you know we're all going to retire eventually and we're gonna move on and do all these different things in our lives just to be able to say that we are Olympic champions and to remember that experience and to have that bond is pretty special looking back now being part of that 2004 silver medal Olympic team it's just an accomplishment that I can't even believe I did it's really weird to think that I did that representing Team USA has meant more to me than anything in the world it's a very special moment walking out into an arena with red white and blue on your chest and it's even more special to stand on a podium and have the national anthem being played not just for your country but for you we kind of changed the dynamics we've changed the mindset of wanting to be a winning team every time anywhere no matter what instead of just kind of accepting 3rd 2nd 4th place we always want to be number one and I think that fight for being on top of the podium is gonna be something that continues for a generation to generation I think the whole world knows now that the u.s. is unstoppable and it's just pretty cool feeling to be part of that there's other you know people than Olympia Genest that paved the way and knowing that we can you know follow in their footsteps is just amazing to be a part of that getting to train together as this team as this one unit and really pushing each other to become the best in the world I don't know a life without gymnastics but the great things that I learned and did and got to experience from the sport I don't think there's something else out there that could have done the same thing for me gymnastics is something I loved and worked out with all my heart and now coaching is the same and being a mom is the same using every every place that you're at every environment every person you get to work with using that as an opportunity to be great at whatever that is is what your message is popping at the end when you're standing there on the podium with a gold medal around your neck you look back at all those times and think it was so worth it [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

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Length: 40min 58sec (2458 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 09 2019