The Gymnast We Want to See In the 2016 Olympics

Many gymnasts started training as soon as they could walk, rolling around and stretching in Mommy & Me classes. Compared with them, I was a late bloomer—a coach spotted me when I was 6. Now I'm about to find out whether I'll be on Team USA at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. I guess anyone could have seen it coming: As a kid, I was so hyperactive, I'd climb up the mailboxes in our cul-de-sac and jump off them. These days I train 32 hours a week. I'm careful about my diet, which means no midnight fast food runs. We have to be pretty strict with ourselves, and that can be intense. Plus, most gymnasts peak at 16 to 18 years old, and I turned 19 in March. But I love that it's such a unique sport—if you add your own flair, there's almost no right or wrong way to do a skill. What's my ultimate calling in life? I'm not sure I've figured that out yet. But I was blessed with this talent, so I'm certainly going to use it.

To learn more about all Olympic hopefuls, visit teamusa.org>. The Rio Olympics begin Aug 5.