ST. LOUIS — The U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team is slated to bring home some serious hardware from Tokyo. Today in St. Louis' Rene Knott sat down with one Missouri native who has been in their shoes.
Shannon Miller was born in Rolla and was part of the Olympic gymnastics team that won the gold medal in 1996. She also won medals in the 1992 games in Barcelona.
Here's part of their conversation:
Shannon Miller: "I will be shocked if they don't walk home with a gold medal. I think the world would be shocked as well. Simone Biles is just so far ahead with her difficulty level that she just sets herself apart from anyone else in the world."
Rene Knott: "What separates Simone from the rest?"
SM: "Just the idea that 'I'm not going to settle.' You kind of get that feeling that she could have performed her same routines from 2016 and walked away with a bunch of gold this summer, but she's not doing that. She's going above and beyond. She is really competing against herself to see how great she can be."
RK: "I'm looking at the way gymnastics are performed now and things seem to be different than what they were not all that long ago."
SM: "I think there's been a focus on power which gives us these incredible skill and athletes with the height and so many twists and turns and flips that you never even imagined that was possible and they're doing it. I mean its a different sport than even 25 years ago when I competed."
RK: "What is your advice to the competitors as far as being in the moment?"
SM: "I would say go out, enjoy the journey. We often look just at the medal count but its the journey that really matters. These are moments that will last a lifetime. It is this amazing thing to be able to wear your red, white and blue uniform, 'USA' across your back and do something that's larger than anything you ever imagined."