The U.N. bureaucracy has grown to elephantine proportions. Now that the Cold War is over we are asking that elephant to do gymnastics.

It's all too easy when talking about female gymnasts to fall into the trap of infantilizing them spending more time worrying more about female vulnerability than we do celebrating female strength.

I got a gymnastics scholarship to college fell in love with my true love of my whole life - who I'm married to now - and he was a virgin too. It was very romantic.

Gymnastics taught me everything - life lessons responsibility and discipline and respect.

I had ridiculous amounts of energy. Mom's like you're driving me crazy - do you want to try gymnastics? From the moment I started it I loved it and it kind of was like storybook from there.

It sounds funny but the 2008 Olympics were something that just kind of happened and I was lucky they came at a point when I was uninjured and well prepared. As a gymnast you can't ask for much more.

I'm doing four hours of gymnastics training a day six days a week and then an extra two to three hours in a fitness center as well.

I pay attention to my diet to be a healthier gymnast but I'm not obsessive over it.

I can put my legs behind my head and sing 'Happy Birthday.' Because that's something that me and my friends used to do when we were in gymnastics class as kids and I can still do it. I was doing it since I was 8 and 9. They used to call me Gumby. Very bendy.

Growing up I looked up to major league baseball players and now these young women have amazing incredible women all across the board from swimming to gymnastics to softball to basketball.

I worked hard in gymnastics since the time I was six years old until I retired at 23 years of age.