U.S. & Canada Gymnasts Share Olympic Memories

The Gold Over America Tour has a goat. This is a first.

Yeah, no, it definitely adds an element of real to it, right? It's a goat.

It is a goat and you have the actual real goat on tour with you. Simone Biles is headlining this amazing tour. What's it like, you know, going around the country with this superstar?

When we first did the run through of the show and you hear 41 world and Olympic medals, it puts it all into perspective. You realize really quickly you go, you know, we all thought that she was the greatest of all time but 41. That's a number unknown to us and unknown to really anybody. So, she's truly the goat. And it helps when she's a really good person too.

Hot off of Paris, now you're in LA. What's the what's the feeling like now that it's done? Second guest: I think we're just like happy to be like done. Actually able to be here on the Gold Over America Tour and enjoy and really just like celebrate gymnastics. I think Paris was just just incredible for all the athletes because coming back after Tokyo where there was no crowd, the Covid Olympics, you couldn't enjoy. We didn't have friends and family. It was really stressful. So Paris I think was just like a celebration like, you know, obviously performances were great, but it was just incredible to be able to like have your friends and family there and really just like soak up the moment and soak up everything the Olympics had to offer. So like the competition but also the Olympic Village, you know, going out and seeing Paris. The city was so incredible. So I think just the whole experience in itself was just unforgettable.

All the things that you did every day, like the habits, they just get reflected on a bigger scale after Paris. It's like, you're not really a different person. Just more people know exactly who you are. And so you watch people blow up. And you're like, wow. Like that's crazy, but they didn't do anything differently to blow up. They just did what they've always did whether it's how they do their sport or what personality they had. And Paris just shined a light on it, which we're all thankful for. But we're all the same people and it's just nice that more people know us now. Second guest: Yeah, I think for me the coolest thing is that has been the impact it's had on the younger generation. I've had multiple coaches from around where I grew up call me and tell me that they have such an influx of boys coming to try gymnastics now like so many that they just can't take them all. So to have the attention that we have now and to be able to, you know, encourage the young kids to want to try out gymnastics. I think is is really incredible.

It's life altering, you know, I think um the biggest difference I think is the amount of people that now uh know you or know your name or or or have a question about your story. I think that's the greatest part is that you have the ability to now share your story on such a bigger platform and you can stand for the right things and you can you can create uh a really good role model and you can become a really good role model for so many little kids. And um just having that ability. People want to hear you. Now you've we've always been great people even before the medal, but now we've got the credibility and and now we can kind of get our foot in the door, but it's important for us to now like keep it in there and and keep the attention on our sport.

I'm not a gymnast. Whatsoever, but kind of show me what you know. But like nothing that's like metal worthy at all. Second guest: Okay, no, we'll keep it easy. We'll keep it simple, okay? We we can do like a handstand perhaps?

Yeah, it's got to bounce to it. Second guest: Yeah. So the floor actually has springs in it. It's not like a trampoline but it's got some springs.

Okay. So, can you do a handstand? Probably. Maybe. Second guest: So, we're gonna start. Yep.

Yes. Yes! Very good. It's awesome. Wait. Okay. Second guest: See if you can get your toes together nice and pointed at the top.

Okay. Any tricks to the trade? Second guest: You just wanna like get your feet all the way to the top. Squeeze your toes together and then think about like pushing long and pressing up like a long line.

Okay. And squeeze your core. Second guest: Okay, that's good. Always squeeze your core. That's good. And gymnastics. Squeeze your core.

Yeah. Okay, ready? So strong shoulders, toes. Yes! What's the greatest memory you have? I probably know the answer, but.

I, okay, there's two. Either one was the night before the team final when we're like sitting on the balcony and all of us are sitting on the standing on the balcony knowing that we're going to compete tomorrow. And I don't know whether it's the temperature, the the room lighting, whatever, but it felt like kind of like a dream and I already felt like something amazing was going to happen 24 hours later. I think that was cooler than the actual getting the metal part, which is wild to say, but yeah. Definitely that moment on the podium when you bow your head and the metal gets placed on you, you see you're in it and then, you know, you've got the people though. Even even like 10 seconds before that when the volunteers come up and the medals are on the platters and you're like, well, that's gonna go on my neck right now. That's like, they're he's about to put that on and then leaving the arena with the metal and you're like, that's mine. You know, like like can't take that. Um, it it was really awesome and then seeing your country's flag. I mean, it's always super emotional for me. I'm I'm a I'm a huge patriot. I love this country with my entire heart and to see uh our flag get raised up. I know it wasn't that third place position, but man, it felt like gold that.

What do you mean I know it wasn't? Like it's huge. It's huge. It's huge. It's huge. Second guest: Mine was kind of the same, but I think just like the whole competition as a whole was that was the most fun competition that I've ever been in. Uh, hands down. During every rotation when we were going from event to event, it was like the whole crowd was standing up and cheering USA! USA! And it was just a it was just an incredible feeling. Like I can't even describe how amazing it was to have that kind of support, especially in a foreign country. Um, it was it was just something that I'll never forget.

Just make sure your back isn't arched at the top.

Oh, don't arch it. No, no, no. No arch. I was like, you see that? Did you see that?

I'm like, yeah. We don't want a question mark here.

Okay. Okay, ready? Set, go. Wow! Look at that. I have an idea. Wait. Let's go walk on the balance beam. Second guest: Okay. But it has to be your idea.

Oh. Okay. Wait. I have an idea. Second guest: What's your idea?

We should go walk on the balance beam. Wow! How do you do things on this? Second guest: Just you just you just go. You got it.

Okay, okay. How do you flip and dip and Whoa! And then just like you're walking down the street. There's no way. Second guest: Yeah, you got it. Just like like you're taking a nice little strut.

You guys are seriously all goats. You know why? Because even walking on this is hard. How do you okay, how do you not think of what you're doing while you're doing it because this is insane. Second guest: You just like so much practice. But like also like not worried about falling off, you know. And we do a lot of like foot stability little exercises to be able to like I feel just like comfortable on the beam.

Wow. Um, how do you get off the beam? Second guest: Okay, so if we wanna get down,

Yeah. Second guest: We we're not gonna jump off, so we're just gonna like, you know, come down.

Uh-huh. Second guest: Squat down. You can like grab the beam.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Uh-huh. And then we can just come off the side. Perfect. Nailed it. You're amazing. Oh, goodness. Yes!