The support down here in Rio has been amazing – between my family, Team U.S.A. and Team Kellogg’s, I’ve felt so much love. This whole experience has been a dream come true.
I always say my biggest competitor is myself because, whenever I step out there on the mat, I’m competing against myself to prove that I can do this and that I am very well trained, prepared for it.
Mentally, I have to get my body and mind in the right place before I start the routine, but once into the zone, it’s like I turn on a switch. I envision myself doing the same thing for the Olympic Games.
Sometimes I hear the crowd cheering, and most of the time your body’s on auto pilot, so sometimes even after I do a floor routine, I’m like, ‘Did I really just do that?’
I would be like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I wish I could go to prom.’ But then I think, ‘You know what? A lot of people can’t say they’ve ever done what I do – they’ll never have this opportunity.’
I started gymnastics when I was six years old. I was at day care, and they took us on a field trip to a gym club, Bannon’s Gymnastix in Houston, and that’s how I got started.
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.
