12,000 gasps: the Women’s Olympic Trials

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend, friends!

Friday night’s US Women’s Gymnastics Trials was insane. IN-sane.

HP Pavilion was rocking. And I was ready to cheer loudly for our girls. 

Every challenging twist and flip was met with thunderous applause.

{Jordyn Wieber on the uneven bars Friday night}

The heartbreaking mis-steps~ falling off the beam, rough landings, stepping out of bounds~ were amplified to the nth degree.

After all, imagine 12,000 people gasping at once.

Or imagine 12,000 people jumping to their feet in jubilation as our women gymnasts stuck their landings, flipped across the mats with boundless energy, and finished with a flourish.

It’s hard to say what my favorite part of the night was, since it was all so incredible.

Jordyn Wieber was amazing to watch. She came out focused & determined to give her very best performance to date, and I think it’s safe to say she delivered. Her routines were crisp & solid~ and so enjoyable to watch.

{Jordyn Wieber on the beam Friday night}

Her focus was intense at practice on Wednesday, so I knew she would bring her A game on Friday night. 

{Jordyn Wieber at practice on Wednesday}

But Gabby Douglas won my heart over on Friday night. After meeting her on Wednesday at the media round-robin and having a chance to watch her practice, I knew she was something special.

{Gabby Douglas at practice on Wednesday}

And her floor routine Friday night just confirmed that a million times over. She was having fun out there~ a rare occurrence at this pressure-packed level of competition.

{Gabby Douglas during her floor competition Friday night}

She finished her routine with an ear-to-ear smile. She was met with more thunderous applause and 12,000 fans proudly grinning back at her.

She’s that infectious.

The crowd helped cheer on those athletes who needed extra encouragement, like the heartbreaking moment when gymnastics veteran Nastia Luikin’s wheels started to fall off on her speciality, the uneven bars. 

{Nastia Luikin on uneven bars Friday night}

Or when McKayla Maroney, back on the floor for this first time since her concussion at the Visa Championships, lost her grip on the uneven bars and also fell off the beam. Her floor routine, however, was great, and she also posted the highest score of the night in vault, her specialty. 

{McKayla Maroney on floor Friday night}

We lifted the athletes up when they needed it. Cheered them on regardless if they were neck-and-neck for first place or completely out of Olympic contention.

Because they are our team. Reprensentatives of our country.

We stand by them, and we stand for them.

{Aly Raisman at practice Wednesday}

I can’t wait to see how the finals shake out, and which gymnasts are chosen to represent the United States at the 2012 London Olympics!

Will you be watching tonight? Who are you rooting for to win?

Counting My Kisses: I will be glued to the TV tonight, cheering on all of our girls in the final round of the US Gymnastics Trials. I feel so blessed that I was able to experience so much of the gymnastics action up close this week in San Jose, thanks to the SITS Girls and P&G Thank You Mom campaign. Stay tuned to the blog this week~ I still have lots more to share about my one-on-one interview with Shawn Johnson!

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