Our favorite posts from 2014!

Listed below are some of our favorite blog posts from this year. You can click each title for a link to the article! Thanks for all the support this year, we hope you will continue to follow us as we have lots of exciting stuff planned for the future. Have a happy new year!

Carly Patterson Interview
This was our first interview of the new year and we couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out! Carly was very candid with us about her experience at the Olympics and her rivalry with Russian favorite Svetlana Khorkina. Carly has always had a bubbly personality and a great sense of humor, which I think is evident, even in writing! Our favorite part of the interview was when she talked about her first experience at the ranch and being "initiated" by the other national team members. I was glad she shared that little tidbit with us, because I had never heard of anything like that until then!

Emily Wong - Leader and Champion
This feature was really special to us because we wanted to show our readers how strong of a person Emily truly is. Just a few months before the interview took place, Emily's father passed away. Despite mourning his loss (and competing every weekend during her senior year at Nebraska) Emily took the time out of her busy schedule to talk with us. I thought that was very nice of her! Emily Wong's leadership and maturity left us inspired. Emily was an exceptional gymnast with a big heart and even bigger smile! We hope this article left you loving her even more!

Nastia Liukin Interview
We were very excited when Nastia agreed to do this interview with us! As we all know, she's a very busy women, so for her to take time out of her day to answer our questions meant a lot! The main focus of this interview was her experience at the Olympics and life after. I'm glad we we're able to go into depth about the highs and lows of her entire Olympic experience,

Simone Biles Skype Interview
This was by far the most fun interview we have ever done! Despite having technical difficulties (our power kept going out and ending the Skype call!) we still managed to piece together a pretty decent interview with the reigning World Champ! (And for our first audio interview too!) Simone was super cool about having to repeat a few answers for us! We were a little stressed out because we weren't sure how much audio we were losing, but some how it all worked out just fine! It was so incredibly cool/crazy to interview her face to face. I kept thinking to myself "I can't believe this is really happening!" Simone was super bubbly and friendly and we we're so thankful for the time she spent with us.



Betty Okino Interivew
This has to be one of the most in-depth interviews we have ever done! Without having to be prompted (or pushed to give more details), Betty opened up to us about her coaches, rivalries, and the high and lows of her career. I almost felt like I was reading her autobiography, just because she gave so many little details and quotes to support her answers. Betty was so open and willing to share everything with us; this is every interviewer's dream and truly makes for an amazing article! We really couldn't have asked for a more perfect interview, thanks Betty!

You Know You're A Gymnast When
This feature was really fun for us! We got to ask some of the best level 10/elite gymnasts from around the world for a funny, but also very true, scenario for "you know you're a gymnast when..". I'm sure this is something that every gymnast can relate to, as they've probably done many of these things on the daily!


Vanessa Atler Interview
This was with out question the most popular interview we did all year. I'm so thankful that Vanessa was able to open up to us about the struggles she faced throughout her elite career. After reading her responses I felt inspired. I think it's amazing that she was able to admit to the mistakes she made and learn from it. Vanessa came out a stronger person and I feel like it sends a great message to anyone who's struggling, even if you're not a gymnast! I think it will be hard for any interview to top this one as my favorite!

Elena Arenas' Monthly Journals
Junior elite, Elena Arenas, has been kind enough to write a journal entry for us every month; documenting everything that happened in competition, training, and of course in her everyday life! This feature has been a favorite amongst our followers because it provides gym fans with an inside look at the life of an up and coming elite gymnast. Through her journal entries, we get to follow Elena though every step of her elite career (in her own words!) and hear all of her cool experiences. We hope this is a feature that we can continue as Elena trains for the 2020 Olympics!

Buckeye's Dynamic Duo Aim Towards Rio
This was probably one of our favorite story-type articles that we did this year. Usually we keep interviews in the "Q&A" format, but this time we decided to use the quotes from Kittia Carpenter and write an article about what it's like coaching two of the nation's top gymnasts. Kittia gave us an update on Gabby Douglas' training, as well as goals for both Gabby and Nia in the future.

Let us know what your favorite post was this year! Thanks again for all the support and we hope you will continue to read our site in the future.