Actually, that very thing happened to Morgan White in 2000. She made the Olympic Team and traveled to Sydney as I recall and then had to pull out of the games (before they started) with an ankle injury. I cannot imagine the devastation of having made the team only to be injured at the last minute and having to give up an Olympic berth.

That said, I’ve always believed that everything happens for a reason in life and that God knows what he’s doing. Hard to hold on to that during the rough times, but it’s those times when we need to do so the most.

I’m really excited for Beijing. I’ve been following gymnastics since 1988 and the U.S. team has come so far since then. We were thrilled when Phoebe Mills took home a bronze on the beam - the only US medal from Seoul. Brandy Johnson took 10th in the all-around and was the talk of the gymnastics world for having the best finish of an American woman at those games.

NOW…well, we’re contenders. If a U.S. woman isn’t on the podium at least once (be it team, AA, or an EF), then it’s a shock. We’ve definitely come along way with U.S. gymnastics.