Gymnastics is one of those sports I was never very interested to participate in as a child. It probably had something to do with my intense fear of falling. I didn't play on the monkey bars. I was always quite content to stay put on the ground, thank you very much. But that didn't stop me from watching and admiring the amazing gymnasts of my era. When I was growing up, the best of the best were all from Soviet Bloc countries, which made it all the more special with American Mary Lou Retton won her gold in 1984. But even the coldest of Cold Wars could stop us from admitting the sheer power and beauty of Nadia Comăneci's "perfect 10" in 1976.
But you know, as much as I admired the gymnasts of my youth, I'm even more impressed with the young athletes of today. They keep pushing the boundaries, reaching out to bring more people of different backgrounds and different abilities into the sport.
One young woman to watch is Toni-Ann Williams, who will be competing for Jamaica -- the first ever female gymnast to represent that country in international gymnastics events, and now at the Olympics. Toni-Ann, who attends the University of California at Berkeley, is also the first gymnastics student-athlete to win a spot at an Olympic even in the school's history.
