The INSIDE Interview: Kayla Williams

It’s been a whirlwind year for Kayla Williams. First came the fairy-tale journey from Level 10 to World Champion, all in a matter of months. That high was followed by a crash—Williams’ sudden break with her longtime coaches in West Virginia early this year, which left her without a place to train and an unexpected three-month hiatus from the sport. A May move to the Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy reenergized Williams’ desire defend her World crown, but a foot injury shortly before last week’s Classic—Williams tore her plantar fascia tendon—forced her to reevaluate those plans.

Now, after just over a year as an Elite, with the USA’s first-ever World vault title to her credit, Williams has decided to step back from the top level of the sport and focus first on healing, then on keeping fit for college competition. (Williams announced in May that she had verbally committed to the University of Alabama for the 2011-12 season.)

With the support of her parents and new coach Mary Lee Tracy, who has become a trusted mentor, Williams plans to remain in Ohio through her senior year and continue training under Tracy’s tutelage.

Inside had the opportunity to talk to this poised and surprisingly confident World Champion just one day after she made the big decision to abstain from further Elite competition.

INSIDE: How are you feeling having made such a big announcement?

WILLIAMS: I feel good, actually. It was the right decision for me and I don’t have any regrets. I’m happy with it.

INSIDE: Was this a hard choice to make?

WILLIAMS: Definitely. When I first got injured, I was training just as hard, trying to heal in time for Championships.

I mean, my goal the entire time I’ve been here [in Cincinnati] was to show everybody that I can make a comeback and do all this, but sometimes stuff prevents you from doing that, and you have to be a mental giant and make good decisions. That’s what Mary Lee has taught me.

INSIDE: You had such a phenomenal rise to success. You accomplished so much, so quickly. Did it seem at all overwhelming?

WILLIAMS: I don’t think so, because I never really had the time to sit down and realize what was going on. I was going from one competition to another the entire season. I was still trying to get used to being a National Team member and all that stuff. I don’t think I had the time to realize what was going on. And, you know, that wasn’t a bad thing.

INSIDE: You talk about wanting to make a comeback. Your time away seemed brief, and your World title so recent, did it really feel like you actually needed to ‘comeback’.

WILLIAMS: Absolutely! My entire gymnastics career I never took more than four days off from the gym, so those three months were a lot for me. During those three months I was contemplating a lot: I was done with gymnastics, I was going back to Bozhi’s [Gym Nest], I was going to Cincinnati. Once I made that decision, it felt like completely starting over for me.

I still consider it my comeback. Short-lived, but it was a comeback [laughs].

INSIDE: The last time we talked, for a profile in the current issue, you were very gung ho about returning to competition and the National Team Camp in June. Does this feel like a letdown after rededicating yourself to gymnastics?

WILLIAMS: Kind of, because it’s not like I saw it coming. I was getting ready for Championships, and then I hurt my foot. As soon I hurt my foot I knew this might make it even harder, or that I might not be able to do this at all.

But I don’t really consider it a huge disappointment because I know, in the gym, that I gave it my all. There’s nothing I would have done differently, up until my injury.

I’m happy with the way things turned out. Even though I’m not going to Championships this year, I know I have a bright future ahead of me.

INSIDE: Why did you decide to make your retirement from Elite competition official so quickly, instead of waiting to see how things went with your foot?

WILLIAMS: [long pause] I think, with the way things were going, it would have been rough. The USA has lots of good juniors coming up.

I’m not trying to say I wouldn’t go for it because there are good girls coming up—the whole point of gymnastics is to have competition—but I just felt like I did my job and I’m proud of my accomplishments, everything I’ve done. Talking it over with Mary Lee we just thought it was in my best interest.

I’m excited for college anyway, so I don’t see this as a downfall, at all.

[As for] camp, you can’t be in shape for camp. You just can’t. Camp is rough! It’s high intensity because that’s how you need it to be for the big competitions, you know?

[In June,] I felt like I was getting there. I was almost to the point where I wanted to be, to show them what I’ve got. Of course I wasn’t 100 percent, but I was happy with how it went. [Laughs] Farewell camp or see-ya-later camp, it doesn’t matter, it’s camp. It’s an experience.

INSIDE: Have you talked to National Team Coordinator Martha Karolyi about your decision to step aside?

WILLIAMS: I haven’t gotten a response from her, but I did let her know [on Monday] night that I didn’t plan on competing at Championships, and basically the gist of my decision.

I mean, Martha’s Martha, but I feel like she’s going to support me.

INSIDE: When you announced your intention to compete at Alabama in May, you talked about your Olympic dream, but said you’d be just as happy being in Tuscaloosa in 2012 as London. Have you talked to Alabama coaches Sarah and David Patterson yet?

WILLIAMS: I did talk to them. I told them [Monday] night that I didn’t plan on competing at Championships and they told me that I needed to make smart decisions that I would be happy with, and that they support me no matter what. That’s what I love about them, that they’re so supportive.

But, you know, ask any gymnast and they’re going to tell you that the Olympics are their dream. I mean, you can go ask somebody off the street and they might tell you they want to go to the Olympics. It’s everybody’s dream, but it only happens for those select, few people. And it’s a long time away.

I had to make decisions that were right for me.

INSIDE: You sound like you’re in a good place, but it must be hard to let go of that Olympic dream. Have you let go of it?

WILLIAMS: I think I’ll be about 80 or 90 years old and I still won’t have let go of it [laughs]. I mean, it’s just one of those things. You start [gymnastics] at five years old and you’re already dreaming about the Olympics. That’s never going to go away.

I’m sure Nastia (Liukin) still dreams about the Olympics, even though it’s already happened. She’s still dreaming about it.

I feel like it was a mature decision for me to make and I don’t feel like I rushed into it. I don’t have any regrets about it. That’s what my parents told me, ‘You need to make sure it’s what you want to do, so in 10, 15 years, when you look back on it, you won’t say what if I’d done this.’

I don’t have any regrets, because I know I gave it my all.

INSIDE: How serious is the tendon tear you’re currently dealing with, and when did it occur?

WILLIAMS: It wasn’t that long ago and I was doing lots of physical therapy trying to get it healed up faster. Then they told me that it just wasn’t going to get any better if I keep pounding on it like I was.

I just realized that I wasn’t going to have a chance to put together three solid routines, like I wanted to, with this injury and that this would be better for my long-term career. To just let it heal.

It really just requires some rest, some time off; a little less pounding and taking my time getting back to it.

INSIDE: Is this ‘retirement’ a preemptive move to save your body?

WILLIAMS: I don’t know about [saving]. I feel like I pushed pretty hard ever since I came to Cincinnati. Of course, they train a lot differently than I used to, and it was difficult to adjust to that. But once I did, I felt like I was just kind of moving in autopilot. I knew what to do, how to get the numbers done, and that kind of thing.

I feel like I pushed my body pretty hard and it didn’t give out on me or anything. It was more about making smart decisions. Let my foot heal up, before I got hurt somewhere else, compensating for it.

That’s something I had to take into consideration with college, which is something I really look forward to; something that I really want to do. I don’t want to put anything in the way of that.

I had to think about that and, short-term, what I really wanted. And I decided it was not worth it to push this injury for Championships.

Speak Out!    Comment on this article