Wieber with Twistars coach John Geddert
IG caught up with Wieber
at the 2011 WOGA Classic
in Frisco, Texas, where she
made her senior debut…
Wieber
How did injuring both ankles at the 2010 U.S. championships
affect you psychologically? Yeah, it was pretty hard, it was kind of
a disappointment. You train for so long for such a big competition,
and to not be able to compete was a little bit disappointing, but I’m
finally healed so I’m just starting to come back and pretend that it
never happened and just have a good year.
It looks like you’ve grown. Has that affected the timing in your
skills? Yeah, I have grown a little bit. Gotten taller, and it changes
things a little bit at first, but you learn to adjust to it and everything
feels norman after a while.
Both Viktoria Komova of Russia and you are first-year seniors.
Have you seen her routines, and have you thought about how you
compare with her? I haven’t seen her routines, but I’ve heard her
name and I know that she’s a strong gymnast. But I’m excited to
have new competition and see what other countries have to offer.
What realistically do you want to accomplish this year?I definitely want to get out there and compete a lot more, try to stay healthy
as long as I can so I can a lot more experience as a senior.
Have you made up your mind about competing NCAA? You know,
I have not. It’s still a couple years away, and I’m trying to just focus
on the elite thing for now and then just see where it takes me from
there.
There are a few big meets each year in the U.S., such
as the Classic and U.S. championships, but does the
real competition take place at the national team training
camps at Karolyi’s? Yeah, definitely we come together for
those … camps, and we work as a team, we get feedback
from the national team coaches and from Marta. And it’s a
really good thing for us because we can all see how we’re
doing and kind of form our team that way.
Seems like a lot of gymnasts are having serious
injuries, such as Achilles’ tendon tears. How do you and
your coaches plan to keep you healthy for the next couple of years? Yeah, [John Geddert is] always thinking
about that, like how can I help my body when it’s feeling
sore, soft landings and everything like that.
Some people see you as the savior that can take the
U.S. senior team to the next level. Are you ready to take
on that role? Yeah, I feel like I could definitely take on that
role. I’ve been a junior for so long, I’ve had a lot of experience competing and stuff, so I’m excited to become a senior no w. —Dwight Normile
