Sender's Send Off

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As the U.S. Championships kicked of in Dallas yesterday, Inside Gymnastics sat down with 2008 Olympic alternate David Durante and defending National Champ David Sender for a lighthearted chat that turned suddenly serious when Sender, whom coaches have said looks like a favorite to repeat, revealed his intentions to stop competing, effective Friday, no matter what happens at USAs.

That’s right. Sender has already packed up his apartment and loaded up his car—“the trunk is stuffed,” he laughs—and, almost as soon as he flies home to California, will head out to Illinois, and his new life as a vet student at the University of Illinois.

“Packing up the dog, the fish and possibly the hamster and I’m on my way,” Sender said. “No regrets. None.”

Durante too is moving on. Coaching this year at Stanford—he also acted as Sender’s personal coach—while living in an apartment the size of a closet (“It was in a great location though,” Sender defends), Durante is moving on to his family’s apartment in Rome, where he plans to travel Europe—“maybe visit Fabian (Hambuechen), improve my Italian,” he says of his nebulous plans—for at least a year, before returning to the States.

“It will be either Northern California or New Jersey,” Durante says of his proposed home base once he gets backs. “I have to be near the beach.”

This gymnastics odd couple, the stylish, laidback Durante, who oozes elegance, and the powerful, shy and sometimes stubborn—“very stubborn,” Durante counters quickly—Sender, sat down with Inside for an exclusive chat about what will be, for both of them, their last USAs, at least for a while.

INSIDE: What’s it been like working together this season? Gymnastics-wise, you two couldn’t be much more different.

DURANTE: Not just gymnastics (laughs).

SENDER: (Also laughing) Definitely not. With any coach and gymnast interaction you’re going to have areas in which you’re the same, and areas—many, many areas—in which you’re different. That can either make you get along really well, or make you butt heads all the time.

Dave and I have different styles of doing things some times, but it works. Thom (Glielmi) and I had differences that made us, occasionally, butt heads.

DURANTE: Occasionally?

SENDER: (Laughing) Every once in a while. It doesn’t happen that much with Dave. Mostly because he just tells me what to do and I have to do it.

DURANTE: It’s easier on the days that he listens.

INSIDE: And how many days would that be?

SENDER: (Falls backward laughing)

DURANTE: (Also laughing) Rarely! Very rarely.

SENDER: Like one a year …

DURANTE: … And on that day it’s awesome! Those are the days—day, excuse me—you remember.

SENDER: No, it’s been great working with Dave, honestly. I think it’s been a very great learning experience for both of us. We’ve both probably got as much out of the other one.

DURANTE: Thom hired me on with the idea that I would be coaching David. I jumped at the opportunity because it gave me the chance to stay involved with USA Gymnastics a little bit more and kind of gave me the opportunity to transition from being an athlete a little bit more, moving on to the next chapter of my life.