Team USA: Olympic Champions!

I can't believe it really happened! The girls of Team USA are now Olympic Champions!! I am SO happy for these girls. What I really love about this team is that they acted as one cohesive unit. They were totally together and supporting each other every minute.  Rather than giving you a play-by-play of the competition, I'd like to highlight what I'm proud of in each girl.


Jordyn Wieber. This girl is fantastic. I love her tenacity and refusal to quit. Her vault, bars, and floor performances were amazing, but what I loved most about her performance in team finals was her attitude. She faced huge disappointment after not qualifying to the all around finals, but nevertheless came out SO strong to clinch the team gold medal. She looked happier than I've seen her in a while: more relaxed and smiley. It was an interesting decision to take her out of the beam lineup (though I think it was the right one) and I was a little bit worried about how she would handle it. Of course, she couldn't have been a better team player. She deserves every bit of that gold medal.




Gabby Douglas. Gabby really pulled through. I was worried that doing the all around again would be too tiring and mentally tough, but she really proved me wrong. She came out even stronger than in qualifying and rocked every routine. Gabby has stepped into her position on the team so well. Even though she was the only all arounder in team finals, she didn't act cocky or over-confident at all; she just quietly came through on each and every performance. I love that we've been able to rely on her so heavily during the games.

Aly Raisman. Aly was fierce yesterday! I absolutely love her team leadership. She didn't compete the most events or bring in the highest score, but that girl really knows how to hit. I love that she steps up as the leader of the team without being loud or obnoxious about it. I also LOVE her emotion. She burst into tears right when she landed her last tumbling pass. She really throws herself into her gymnastics and appreciates competing at this level. She loves every minute of it, and I love watching her enjoy it.

McKayla Maroney. I was SO proud of McKayla last night. Of course, we all saw her hit the most beautiful Amanar ever competed, but that's honestly not why I'm so proud. She certainly did what we needed her to do, but beyond that she was a fantastic cheerleader for these girls. You could hear her screaming for every girl during every single routine. She also got the girls water, asked if they needed anything, and of course, hugged every one of them. She also chimed in on Aly's pep talk before floor. I love that she performed on vault, but I loved even more that she was active the rest of the night. I'm sure she was upset that she couldn't compete on floor as expected, but she never stopped cheering everyone on. She was a huge part of each girl's success.



Kyla Ross. For some reason, I just can't get over how proud I am of Kyla. She's had lots of international experience, but has never been to a big competition like Worlds before. I love seeing her take joy in competing in such a huge event. She handles herself so well and has remained steady though every minute of it. I LOVED when she hugged Jenny after her beam routine and started tearing up. She really is a great team player, and I think she's somewhat overlooked since she doesn't really stand out on any events. I'm upset that she didn't make any event finals, but I'm so glad that she got a gold medal.


I can't even explain my joy in the performances we saw yesterday in team finals. I'm so happy that we were able to come out on top; each and every one of these girls has worked so incredibly hard to get to this point. I hope that they enjoy every minute.


Photo Credit: Getty Images, Reuters, Boston Globe