|
Shannon Miller, an Olympic gold medalist in 1996, is still getting used Olympic gold medalist Shannon Miller answers a young gymnast's questions following a motivational speech she gave yesterday in Spotsylvania County. Miller was in town promoting the Visa American Cup, which will be held March 1 in Fairfax. |
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.
"For parents, it's important to just be there for their child, and understand it's important to be realistic about how many gymnasts actually make it to the Olympics," Miller said. "No matter where it takes you, gymnastics teaches you flexibility and strength and great life lessons."
Miller spoke to gymnasts and their parents at Paragon yesterday. Her response to a question about what motivated her to get back up after she fell was what many of the gymnasts remembered afterwards.
"I used to fall and then start crying," Miller said to nodding faces. "But my coaches asked me why I was crying and told me to get back up. You realize a fall is just really a part of learning. Even in competition, if you fall, you have to put the past behind you and move forward."
Spotsylvania County's Samantha Krueger said Miller inspired her.
"You just have to keep trying for your dreams and always do your hardest," the 12-year-old said.
Fredericksburg's Kyonna Bevels, 9, said she was surprised to hear Miller was just at 25.
"I thought she was 16. She was tiny and dressed like a teenager," Bevels said of the 5-feet-1 Miller, who sported a navy blue warm-up suit.
In her speech, Miller said, "I absolutely love the challenge of staying on a beam in front of an audience."
It was music to the ears of Stafford County's Melanie Bryant. The 12-year-old said she's one of only a few of her fellow gymnasts who favors the beam, and she liked that Miller said she preferred the event.
