What If Everything We Know About Gymnastics Is Wrong?
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/04/magazine/gymnastics-abuse.html
Chellsie Memmel, 32, was a member of the 2008 Olympics gymnastics team and hopes to make a comeback for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo this year.Credit.Cait Oppermann for The New York Times
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What If Everything We Know About Gymnastics Is Wrong?
In the wake of a seismic scandal, Chellsie Memmel and other gymnasts are done with inhumane coaching and the idea that they have to peak in their teens.
Chellsie Memmel, 32, was a member of the 2008 Olympics gymnastics team and hopes to make a comeback for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo this year.Credit.Cait Oppermann for The New York Times
32-year-old Chellsie Memmel serious about gymnastics comeback, has sights on Olympics
Trying to make the U.S. national team while competing against some athletes born the year Memmel stood atop the podium in Melbourne, Australia in 2005 as the best female gymnast on the planet isn t a publicity stunt.
By Will GravesThe Associated Press
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Former gymnastics world champion and Olympic silver medalist Chellsie Memmel works out Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, in New Berlin, Wisc. Memmel started doing gymnastics again when the COVID-19 pandemic hit last spring because it felt like one of the few things in her life she could control. The 32-year-old former world champion and Olympic silver medalist discovered more than an outlet for stress. She rediscovered her love for the sport, so much so the married mother of two is making an unlikely comeback.
Chellsie Memmel wants to emphasize something. This is not about ego nor unfinished business nor fending off some sort of early-onset midlife crisis.
The 32-year-old Memmelâs return to competitive gymnastics after spending nearly a decade getting on with the rest of her life is about love. Itâs about discipline. And an inside family joke that turned into something far more serious.
She doesnât need to do this. Sheâs got a world all-around gold medal tucked away somewhere. An Olympic silver medal, too. When she officially retired in 2012, Memmel went out on her own terms. She got married, had two kids, became an integral part of running the gym her family owns in New Berlin, Wisconsin, and earned a reputation as one of the countryâs most respected judges.
Chellsie Memmel wants to emphasize something. This is not about ego nor unfinished business nor fending off some sort of early-onset midlife crisis. The 32-year-old Memmel's return to competitive gymnastics after spending nearly a decade getting on with the rest of her life is about love.