Inside Interview, Terin Humphrey (Part 1)

Terin Humphrey has been a gymnast as a long as she can remember. She’s earned World and Olympic medals, NCAA titles and more than fulfilled every dream she’s ever had in a sport she’s devoted her life to. But all that is now a part of Humphrey’s past.

Toddling onto the floor for the first time at age two, Humphrey’s life has been spent in one gym or another. Suddenly, at age 21, she finds herself finished; forced into early retirement due to a back injury. With her gymnastics career behind her, Humphrey is focused on getting healthy, being happy and starting her “real life.”

Chatting from Tuscaloosa, in between classes on her cell phone, like the very normal college student she now is, Inside Gymnastics gets the scoop from the double Olympic silver medalist on her past, present and future  …

INSIDE: You announced your retirement on March 19. What has life been like for you in the last three weeks?

HUMPHREY: Honestly? It’s been great. It’s going really good. I can’t wait to graduate, which hopefully I’ll do next December. All in all, I kind of take my time now. It’s actually really nice. I’m having so much fun.

On the other side, I miss it. I miss being in the gym, with the team, but, you know … (trails off)

INSIDE: So, you are completely out of the gym now?

HUMPHREY: Well, all I do is conditioning. I don’t go to workouts. I don’t go to practices. Basically, I’m just [working] to stay in shape and get my back better. It’s not [gymnastics].

INSIDE: You injured your back in the summer, but it didn’t seem too serious. What exactly happened that brought it to the point where you had to stop?

HUMPHREY: I started really feeling it during Christmas [break]. It hurt before then, but not all the time. For a long time we couldn’t figure out what was wrong. We did X-ray after X-ray, MRIs, on and on. Then I got a nerve block and, I think, I came back a little too early after that. Finally, I had two blood patches and it was like, ‘Wow, I don’t know if I can do this anymore.’ It just got to be too much, you know?

INSIDE: How did you come to the decision to retire just six weeks before the end of your senior year?

HUMPHREY: It was really hard. It was very, VERY hard. You know, I’ve done the all-around ever since I came in [to Alabama]. I never wanted to let anyone down. But, at the same time, I didn’t [really] compete all season and, so, everyone was kind of expecting it. They didn’t really lose much.

I just got to a point where me, my parents and my coaches [all thought] it was just time. My parents were like, ‘You had an awesome career and it’s time to stop before you hurt yourself even worse.’ You know, you don’t want to be injured for life.

INSIDE: Was there a chance that, had you continued, your back injury could get worse?

HUMPHREY: Not necessarily that I could get more injured. It’s just—I’ve had four elbow surgeries, problems with my hips…. You want to be able to walk away. I mean, I’m 21 years old.

INSIDE: Did you consider staying with the team, even if you couldn’t compete, just to complete your senior season?

HUMPHREY: It got to a point. I’ve done gymnastics for so long—since I was two years old. It was really hard to watch all the girls work out. I felt like I needed to be out there too, but I couldn’t do it. I weighed the pros and cons and decided [to retire].

INSIDE: Will you go to NCAAs, or is that too painful now?

HUMPHREY: I will probably go. I’ll go and watch. I’ll drive up separate to go and watch them.

INSIDE: How do you feel about this team and their NCAA chances?

HUMPHREY: (excitedly) They are doing so great! Did you see them at SECs? I am so glad that they are able to do that without me.

I’m sorry I couldn’t finish. I felt really bad about retiring [early]. They’re doing so great, and to be able to do that without me, I feel good.

They have absolutely blown me away [with their performances]. I think they’re on the right track.

INSIDE: Looking back at your career, what are you the most proud of?

HUMPHREY: I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. There is so much that I’m so proud of. But I think the biggest thing is that I stuck around for almost 20 years to begin with. I was gonna’ be done after the Olympics. I WANTED to be done, actually.

I just didn’t necessarily want to do gymnastics anymore, but coming here [to Alabama], it wasn’t just a hobby anymore. [NCAA competition] gave me a whole new perspective on the sport.

INSIDE: So, you considered forgoing your NCAA eligibility after Athens?

HUMPHREY: Oh, yeah (laughs). I actually didn’t know I was going to come until a week before I got her. Basically we—me and my parents—decided that we couldn’t pay for five years of school, especially in a university like this.

INSIDE: You went to Alabama for the scholarship, but did you get more out of it than that?

HUMPHREY: It was definitely for the scholarship. I felt like I had experienced my dream. I’d gone to the Olympics. I had accomplished all my goals [in gymnastics] and there wasn’t anything left. At that point, it was all about my education.

Did I get more out of it? I definitely did. I got the experience of—obviously I’d been in team situations with the USA, but this was more like, the athletes really care about you as a person. [In the NCAA,] we all REALLY want each other to do good [sic]. It’s not all about competition, all the time.

INSIDE: You talked about accomplishing your goals by making to the Olympics. So few gymnasts actually make it to that level, would all your time in the sport have been worth it if you hadn’t made it to Athens?

HUMPHREY: You know, I’ve debated that in my head a couple of times. I think that, just to have the scholarship, it would have been worth it. I think that now.

There are six girls every four years [that make it to the Olympics]. It is basically impossible to get where I was. [Since I did make it,] it’s hard for me to say if it would have been worth it. At this point, I think so. [Four years ago?] Who knows?

INSIDE: What’s next for Terin Humphrey?

HUMPHREY: Oh my, gosh! Right now, I’m just ready to have fun and get into my real life.

INSIDE: Now that we’re in another Olympic year, have you been thinking more about 2004?

HUMPHREY: It’s hard to believe it’s been four years. But I’m reminded every day that, wow, I DID go the Olympics. I’ve got my [Olympic rings] tattoo, so I see that every day. And people almost every day say to me, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re the Olympian.’ I don’t really forget.

INSIDE: What’s your best memory from those Games?

HUMPHREY: It was all really hard. Really tiring. But seeing my flag being raised—second place or not—was so cool. To see it being raised, at the Olympics; that was a dream come true.