Q: Talk about your first encounter with sports...

A: My career in sports began when I was just six years old. I was taking tumbling classes at the local YMCA and I met another girl who was also taking gymnastics at a local gymnastics academy. I begged my parents to take me even though it was kind of expensive. When I was eight years old I started gymnastics at Platte Valley Gymnastics Club in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. What started as a way to expend energy and have fun turned into a very competitive and intense experience as a young gymnast. I started competing at higher levels and traveling all over the country (San Diego, Dallas, Baton Rouge, Nashville, Denver) to compete in National Competitions. During the time that I was a gymnast I encountered track and field for the first time at my elementary school track meet on the last day of school in third grade. The third graders all gathered in the gym to sign up for the races they wanted to run. For some reason I always signed up for the longest race offered - the 400 - probably because it seemed like the most challenging. I won my first race in the 400 as a third grader and also won the long jump. However, gymnastics was still my first love and I wouldn't quit gymnastics until I was in eighth grade, nearly six years later.

Q: What led or motivated you to play?

A: At a very young age I knew I was competitive. Whatever it was, I wanted to win and be the best. It seemed like sports were a perfect fit for me. My father was an athlete (high school and college, he was quarterback for Texas A&M Football team) and it seemed like I had the genes for athletics. When I was maybe seven or eight my dad introduced my sister and I (Ali, 15 months older) to push-ups and sit-ups. We did 50 of each everyday for the next five or so years, albeit not by our own choice. Combined with gymnastics and my push ups and sit ups, I ended up being very strong and it definitely showed in anything I did. My parents pushed us to play sports and be involved so I was. And when I found that I was good at most things it made me more competitive.

Q: In your hometown, what was the sports culture like for girls?

A: I am from a very small town in Western Nebraska. I can't really say what it was like before I began participating in junior and high school sports, but when I began "the guys teams" definitely got more attention from the community. It was easy to see at basketball games. The girls would play first and then the boys and the stands wouldn't fill up until the boy's team started warming up. I guess that never bothered me because I soon made a name for myself in track. By the time I was a sophomore in high school, people would come to meets just to see me run, and they'd travel to meets far away just to see me. So luckily I never really had to experience an anti-women's sports attitude from anyone. I would characterize the sports culture for girls in Mitchell, Nebraska as participative and competitive. We weren't treated worse than the boys teams, but then again the girls sports were sometimes more talented than the boy's teams. It really just depended on the sport. Besides in small town with few resources to begin with there isn't much of a difference in how it gets allocated.

Q: How did you get to where you are today and what would you attribute that to?

A: Hard work, determination, overcoming adversity, support from parents, family and friends. Those are just a few of the things that helped me get to this point in my sports career and in life. Playing a sport from a very young age I was equipped with the skills to excel in many different kinds of athletics. My parents' genes helped I think! Also I've always been a hard worker, however a lot came naturally so I haven't had to work as hard to get where I am as some people might have. My parents were a big influence in my life. My father really pushed me to be competitive and do everything I could to reach my potential. My mom always got me where I needed to be to compete. Sometimes my dad tells me maybe he pushed too hard but I don't think I'd be writing this right now if he hadn't pushed the way he did. I've had so many coaches through out my career and they have all added to my abilities in certain ways. I've always dealt with adversity along the way whether it be an injury or my asthma. But I've learned that if you really, really want something, those little things can't stop you.

Q: What has playing sports done for you?

A: I can honestly without a doubt say that sports has made me into the person I am today, with a little help from other things of course. I am competitive, determined, persistent, and I know how good it feels to win, but I have also had the opportunity to fail and come back again. I want nothing more than to win every race I run, however, I do believe all these years of sports has taught me to be a gracious loser. I've dealt with pressure and competition since a very young age and I think you run into those things everyday in life in general.

Q: At what point did you realize you wanted to go to an Ivy League school?

A: I wanted to go to an Ivy League school since I was pretty young, probably since seventh grade. Then my sophomore year in high school as my track career got better and better I thought maybe I should pursue that and go to a Big 10 school, but I managed to get my head on straight again and reverted to my earlier decision to go to an Ivy School.

Q: Is there a certain athlete you admire and why?

A: Since I was little and in gymnastics the one athlete that I have always admired is Kim Zmeskal, the gymnast. The reason for this is that at the '92 Olympics, she was 16 I think, and was at the top of her sport. The best by anyone's standard. But the media was absurd. There was sooo much pressure on her to win and the media made it worse by creating rivalries and putting so much pressure on someone in a sport where anything can happen. I just admire her for going through that at such a young age and coming out of it like she did, even though her Olympic performances weren't what everyone expected.

Q: What is the significance of Title IX to you?

A: Personally I believe Title IX has allowed women athletes to go even farther in their respective sports. It's hard to do something with no support and no resources, and even though Title IX is still violated sometimes I believe it has given women a chance to exceed far beyond what anyone thought was possible.

Q: In your opinion, what has been a shining moment in women's sports?

A: The creation of the WNBA, once again its another chance for women to go farther in sport.

Q: Finally, what would you tell young girls who are interested in getting to where you are now?

A: Figure out what you really want and don't stop until you get there. Sounds easy enough, but one thing that is important is making up your mind that you are going to do something. You can't be uncertain, you have to know you can do it and you have to do the things it takes every single day to get there. My Dad used to tell me in high school when I was out practicing in September and the State Track Meet wasn't until next May,"You are winning State today, not in May."