Shannon Says...

Olympic gold medalist Shannon Miller, a columnist for Inside Gymnastics magazine, will be answering your questions online and in each issue of the magazine leading up to the 2008 Olympics.

Question:

The U.S. women’s team is one of the favorites going into the 2008 Olympics. How much of the success of the U.S. program recently do you think is due to Martha Karolyi being the National Team Coordinator?

- Karyn, via e-mail

Shannon Says…

This is a tough question. I certainly couldn’t say for sure – and I’m not sure anyone could. How would you measure? I have to give enormous credit to the individual coaches of each athlete. These are the people that live and breathe the good, the bad, and the ugly every single day. Being a gymnastics coach is not a job, it is your life. However, I feel that Martha has done a tremendous job in centralizing the workouts and work methods. Having a training center gives coaches and gymnasts the opportunity to get to know each other and learn from one another.

Martha has a wealth of knowledge and expertise in this sport and there is one thing I feel confident of - Martha will always strive to put the best team on the floor. Of course, I can’t possibly leave out the gymnasts. These girls, who have trained most of their lives to reach this level, are a force to be reckoned with. They have their own ideas, strengths and focus. This is not an easy road but they have all chosen to go the distance. Regardless of the color of medal or whether there is even a medal at all, these young women should be applauded for there hard work and dedication.

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