Shannon Miller, an Olympic gold medalist in 1996, is still getting used to life after competitive gymnastics. mwm View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

Miller's plan included life after winning Olympic gold

By LISA RIDDLE

Date published: 2/11/2003

Olympic gold medalist Shannon Miller is finishing up her first year away from competitive gymnastics since she was 4.

Now the 25-year-old gymnast works with the balance beam on weekends only, while helping conduct camps. The gold medal she received on beam in the 1996 Summer Olympics is in a safebox, along with the team gold medal she also received in '96.

Gone are the six-hour practices six days a week. Now, walks with her dogs, Sam and Gracie, occupy her day-to-day physical routine.

The three stroll through Miller's neighborhood in Houston, where she lives with her physician husband of four years. Miller and her husband plan to move to Boston this summer; and Miller, who received her undergraduate degree from the University of Houston last spring, hopes to begin law school in the fall.

Her plan to have a life after gymnastics is well under way.

Miller said her parents always encouraged her to make plans for her future. At the same time, they believed in their daughter's gymnastics talents and dissuaded her from setting any limits on herself.

Once she started competing internationally and people started wanting her autograph, her parents often hit her with a dose of reality.

"There were times I'd be thinking, 'Yeah, I'm hot stuff,' and they'd try to keep me grounded by reminding me it's my turn to clean the toilets," said Miller, who stopped by Paragon Gymnastics in Spotsylvania County yesterday to promote the Visa American Cup, which will be held March 1 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax.

Miller's family was able to keep her involved in a rigorous gymnastics program while keeping her in public school. She graduated high school on time, despite her weekends and summers filled with competitions.

She also ate the same meals her brother and sister did, despite their not participating in a sport dominated by thin bodies.

"My diet was healthy and balanced, and I ate chocolate cake just like my brother and sister," Miller said. "It wasn't a problem. I was in the gym seven hours a week, and none of it stuck to me."

Gymnastics requires more time of its participants than most other sports. Miller said she hopes current gymnasts balance their sport with other aspects of their life--just like her parents tried to do with her.

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Date published: 2/11/2003