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I am finally back in Colorado Springs after a long day of traveling. Thankfully, it was a relatively painless flight with no major delays or lost baggage (which seems to happen to me quite often!). My last few days in Beijing were fantastic. I went to another USA Men's Basketball game against Germany (I also went to USA-China, which was the most watched sporting event in history), had a traditional Peking Duck dinner with the entire USA Gymnastics delegation, continued to enjoy the Beijing night life, and watched USA Gymnastics rack up some more medals during finals. On the men's side, we were able to get one more medal, a silver on high bar, with one of the most incredible performances I have ever seen. It easily could have been a gold medal and I think that a majority of the crowd, including some Chinese fans, thought so too. With that last medal USAG ended up tallying a total of ten medals, which is one more than Athens. I think it is the most medals for USAG in a non-boycotted Olympic Games. I guess you could say we had a successful Olympics!
Overall I'll probably look back at my Olympic experience as a defining moment in my life. Learning how to deal with an tough and unexpected situation can teach you a lot about the person you are, and the person you are to become. It is more apparent to me than ever that it is so important to make the best of the situation you are given, and to make sure you are constantly learning even in a less than ideal situation. I did learn a lot about myself in Beijing, and I am going to take those experiences and apply what I learned to other aspects of my life.
So now I am back in Colorado and I am waiting to decide my next move. As of right now I don't know whether or not I will be doing to the Post Olympic Tour. I would love to be a part of it, but I have not been asked so we will see what happens. If I don't do the tour then I will probably take a vacation back home and try to enjoy the rest of the summer in Jersey. I need to spend some down time with my friends and family back home and I am very much looking forward to seeing everyone.

The Past Few Days

It's been an exciting past few days. I've gotten to watch all of the gymnastics events as well as some other sports. Women's AA was incredible! Finally hearing the National Anthem gave me the chills. Our girls did a great job and it was a well deserved one-two finish.
Having gone to Stanford, I have quite a few friends and old classmates who are competing here. I have wanted to get to some other events to watch and support them. I was able to watch men's volleyball the other day and I went to men's waterpolo yesterday. They both won their matches and the waterpolo team beat the #1 team in the world, Croatia, which was a great win for them. I lived in the same fraternity with some of the guys on both teams, and to be here all together at the Olympics is kind of cool. Hopefully, I'll get to see some more over the next few days.
Other than that, I been trying to enjoy myself as much as possible. I've been to a bunch of cool parties and met athletes from all over the world. I plan on watching all of event finals over the next few days and hopefully watching an event in the Birds Nest. I want to watch something in that stadium before I leave.
Ok, one last thing. Last night I went with my parents to dinner...this was no ordinary dinner. We ate at this outdoor market where they have some CRAZY stuff. Everything comes on skewers, so it's easy to pick and choose different things and sample a bunch of stuff. As you come up to this market, it's mobbed with people and has a very interesting variety of smells. Every breathe you take seems to be something different with the smells ranging from mouthwatering, to new and interesting, to down right nasty. I am pretty adventurous when it comes to trying new things so I wanted to see how far I could go. I started with some easy stuff (dumplings, lamb, shrimp) and worked my way up. Next, chicken hearts...they were actually really good. Then baby octopus...I love sushi and so this one wasn't that much of a stretch. A little chewy, but still good. Next up, snake...a lot more chewy than I was expecting, but ok. Definitely a new texture for me. Lastly, silk worm...I figured I probably won't have a chance to try one of these again so why not. They are BIG and instead of thinking about what I was eating I just threw it in my mouth and tried to finish quickly. The hard shell was getting stuck in my teeth and the insides tasted like dirt. Not the most pleasant thing to eat and I probably won't eat another one in my life, but I can say that I at least tried a silk worm. That was as far as I could take it. There were some other things out that were way beyond me, and I don't even think the locals were willing to eat that stuff. It was an amazing experience and I was glad to have some Chinese street food!
I also wanted to say thank you to all the people who have posted comments and sent me messages over the past week. Your words have meant a lot to me and I have read all of them many times. If you guys have any questions for me, just post them and I'll answer as many as I can. Thanks again.

What a Day!!

WOW!! That was definitely one of the most memorable days of my life. I really can't put into words what Team Finals was like yesterday...but I'll try. I knew this team was capable of a great performance, and what ended up happening was something very special. As I watched the competition from the stands, I was in awe of the display USA Team put on. They competed inspired and it seemed like they were in a collective zone. I remember thinking, around the end of the third event, that this was our day and that we were going to do something great. As we finished the competition on pommel horse and secured the bronze medal, it became a very emotional moment for me. At the time I didn't realize that NBC had a camera on me, but I found out later on that I was crying on TV. I honestly couldn't hold back the tears at that moment. It was the culmination of what I had trained for my entire life, and I wanted to be on that floor sharing in that moment with those guys. I got down on the floor and I told each guy how impressed and proud I was of what they accomplished. Those bronze medals are beautiful, and in a lot of ways that medal is as good as gold for us. As an alternate I didn't get a medal, but I did share in their celebration and I felt as much a part of that team as they did.
Afterwards, it became a crazy day of media events. We went from a press conference, to a show on Oxygen about the Olympics, to Access Hollywood, to being live on the Today Show. I also did a video interview for Today.com which was fun. After we finished we headed to the USA House where the USOC had a party for us. Many members of the USOC and IOC Board of Directors were there. It was an real honor to meet them. All of our families came too, so it was great to have everyone together after such a big night.
I can't say enough about how grateful I am to be part of this incredible team. They have allowed me to share in there success and really feel like am part of this medal performance. In my heart I feel very much a part of this team, but to know that they feel the same way makes it even better. We are all very close and for the rest of our lives we will have a bond that most people will never understand. Many people doubted that we could do anything significant at these Games, and last night we showed what can happen when you believe in yourself and your teammates, and not what negative people have to say. I have no doubt that this will lead to many future medals for the US over the years as we continue do what others might not be able to...and that's make an individual sport like gymnastics, a sport that is team oriented. The team is what matters first...always.

Team Prelims

I just got back from the third session of Team Prelims. Watching from the stands was tough today. I wanted to be on that floor so bad. I found myself smirking a bit, because I kept picturing myself competing. I might not have competed today, but I was out there with those guys in spirit for sure.
It was a long day of watching gymnastics, but it was exciting. Not only the gymnastics, but the energy around the Olympic Green really pumped me up. We competed in the first session, and we rocked. We hit 93% of our routines tonight which is fantastic! I was so proud of how they stepped up tonight and showed that this team is capable of putting on a great performance. The other sessions had some incredible gymnastics (especially China), but overall I think we looked like one of the best teams out there. We are sitting in sixth right now going into finals, but we performed much better then some of the teams ahead of us. I really believe that competing in the first session hurt our scores a bit, and on Tuesday we will move ahead of some of those teams. We also qualified two guys into all around finals and another two in event finals. Overall it was a successful day for Team USA and we are going to build on what we did tonight. Watch out for us on Tuesday because we are going to surprise a lot of people...again.

Other Notes on Beijing:
1). The Olympic Green and the complexes are AMAZING! They are some of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen and they seem to be endless. Every time I go around a corner there is another breathtaking venue.
2). It is so hot outside! We have to walk quite a bit to get around the Olympic Green, and I was drenched in sweat walking from the train stop to the National Indoor Stadium. I was not expecting it to be this hot...or have to walk this much.
3). COOLEST PART OF MY TRIP SO FAR!!!!-Yesteday I was working out at the 24Hour facility here where I am staying. About 20 other teams work out here as well, one of them being the USA Men's Basketball Team. While I was riding the bike, some of the trainers told me the basketball team was about to come in so I thought I would have to leave while they worked out. I could not believe it but they let me stay and five minutes later walks in the men's basketball team. WOW...IT WAS AWESOME! They were all really cool guys and they were impressed with some of my gymnastics exercises. A couple of them tried some of my core workout, and couldn't do any of it. It was funny watching these 6'10 guys trying to do leg lifts! Hopefully, I'll get to see them again over the next few weeks, but I will never forget yesterday's workout.

8/8/08

This date has been etched in my mind for a very long time. It is the start of the Olympic Games, but at the same time it is an end for me. It is the end of the preparation part of what will probably be the biggest goal I will ever attempt to achieve in my life. As an alternate, I have come up just a bit short of accomplishing this goal, but it has still been an incredible journey. Over past few weeks, we have endured a few injuries to the team that were very unfortunate. In the wake of those injuries I have continued to prepare in case my name was called to replace someone. Both times I was passed over, the most recent one coming last night. To be very honest, it has been a very emotional few weeks and I never thought my Olympic story would be written in this way. I understand that on paper this is how the process is supposed to work, but I never thought we would have to go thorough so much before the competition ever started. Fortunately, we are a deep team and can make up for guys who are lost. I have complete confidence in the team who will be competing tomorrow and I will be in the stands cheering them all the way. We all talk about how we are more than just a team, but a family. We always fight for each other and are willing to do anything to make sure we succeed. I believe in this team with all my heart, and even with all we've been through I still believe we have a good shot at a medal. Over the next few days watch Team USA compete against the best teams in the world and cheer us on. I know you'll be supporting us, and we'll be doing everything we can to bring back a medal for the USA.

Routine Day

Today was full-on routine day. I had to do one on six with uniforms in front of our Men's Senior National Team Coordinator. He wanted to see where I was in case I need to step in for someone. I wasn't feeling that great this morning. My stomach hurt, I felt tired and weak, but I knew it didn't matter. I had to get my stuff done no matter what. I was able to suck it up and I actually ended up doing pretty well. I started on rings, and I did a good strength sequence, but I put my hands down on the dismount. It definitely took me a while to get things going at 10:00am, but I ended up hitting everything else. I was pretty relieved with my day, my coach way happy, and most importantly, my Senior Team coordinator was impressed with my day. After practice I had to go back to the silk market because I had to get re-fit for a suit I had made. If you've never been to Beijing, the silk market is a huge store of mostly knock-off stuff. You haggle for a cheap price with these ladies who are sometimes a little overly aggressive. One lady punched me in the arm, because she thought the price I offered for something was too low! It was pretty interesting. I think the best part of the market are the custom made suits and shirts. When I came out in December I had a suit made, and I had another one done by the same guy. Being a gymnast, it's not the easiest thing in the world to find a suit that fits off the rack. I paid $100, for a custom made suit. The fabric is great and I picked out the exact style and color I wanted...It's awesome! I also played some Rock Band with some fencers, boxers, and volleyball players today. It's a lot of fun meeting athletes for different sports and this place really gives us a chance to get to know each other. Some reporters from the New York Times watched us play and ended up taking pictures and interviewing us about it. Today was the first day that was hazy out. The weekend was beautiful...really hot!!, but beautiful.
Other notes about China:
1)I am really surprised I haven't seen more car accidents. They are crazy drivers and the pedestrians don't seem to even care if a car is coming when they cross.
2)There is security everywhere. There are guys on just about every corner making sure things stay safe.
3)Cool buildings. I'm sure most of you have seen some of the interesting new venues like the "Bird's Nest," but there are so many new buildings around here that is really remarkable. I had dinner last night across the street from the new CCTV Tower and that building is one the the most innovative architectural structures I have ever seen. Look it up online if you get a chance. It really is amazing. I'll try and put some pics of it on this blog.

Finally Here!

I finally got to Beijing after a long day of traveling yesterday. My flight into San Francisco was delayed, so I almost missed the flight to Beijing. I had to sprint to the plane, and I was the last person on. I was sweating like crazy and about to pass out, but it was worth it. I met up with the rest of the team and we headed out together. The flight wasn't too bad. It was about 12 hours, but I brought enough things to occupy the time (movies, magazines, journal, books, etc.). There were a ton of athletes from other sports on the flight too, so it was cool to meet some of those guys. When I finally got to Beijing Normal University, where I am staying, I saw that it's basically the OTC in China. So many people I see everyday in Colorado are here making sure that things are running smoothly. It feels like home, and I wasn't expecting that at all. I have my own room, which is also great. The USOC has done an awesome job of setting this place up for us. We have ping pong, foosball, Nintendo Wii (with Rockband!), a 65" plasma TV with a ton of movies, plus a bunch of other stuff. AND, the food has been amazing. The dining services from the OTC have helped set up an awesome spread with everything we could ask for. I have been so impressed with everything so far. I don't think I am going to want to go home! I had my first day of practice today and I trained at the Chinese Olympic Training Center. This is the first time I have ever been there, and the place is incredible. It is the most amazing gym I have ever seen. They have all brand new JF equipment, but what makes it even better is that they have everything on the floor and another set of equipment on a podium. I've never seen a gym that has a podium set up all the time. Plus, they have separate equipment over pits. I worked out today with the entire Chinese men's and women's Olympic Teams. The French men's team was also in the gym today. It was really cool to be in there today and hopefully I'll be able to take some pictures tomorrow and put them up on this site. I was a little jet lagged after traveling yesterday, but I got done what I needed to. I touched all the events and did almost all my skills. I am feeling good and I can't wait to see what happens over the next few weeks.