Amy's Gymnastics Blog

Many of the top US gymnasts traveled to the USOC Media Summit May 12-15 in Dallas, to talk to the press and give interviews.

Michelle Obama even talked about John Orozco during her speech (Watch Obama's speech here. Orozco is standing to her right, and she tells a story about him at 3:54)

There were many interesting points made by the athletes during press conferences. Some highlights:

Nastia Liukin, on her comeback:

"I'm finally feeling a lot stronger. My endurance is up, I'm finally back in gymnastics shape. And I think that was step one of this whole process. Even proving to my dad that I could do it. You know, he was very confused on why I wanted to do it at first..."

Sabrina Vega, on her first Olympic aspirations:

"When I was 5 years old, I was invited to a friend's birthday at a gym. I remember enjoying it so much. That night when I went to sleep, I had a dream that I went to the Olympics. I had never seen the Olympics, but I described the whole dream to my mom. When she heard that, she knew there was something to it because I had never seen the Olympics."

Shawn Johnson, on her comeback:

"Many people have told me that it's not going to happen, and my coach has even told me that. I've accepted any outcome, but I've put too much time and too much effort in the past two years to stop now, and it's just kind of a personal challenge to reach the finish line..."

Read all of the quotes from the USOC press conference.

(Disclaimer: As I've noted before, I'm also an editor at espnW)

Shawn Johnson authored an honest, thought-provoking blog for espnW about her struggles with her own body image. In it she says, "Four years ago, I was standing on an Olympic podium, wearing a gold medal, and still thinking to myself how I could have been better. It had nothing to do with my performance -- it was all how I looked. Back then, I always felt like I could have been a few pounds lighter. But the irony is, when I look back at the pictures I look unhealthy and too thin."

It's worth reading -- she talks about the need for better education on the right nutrition, and says she always wanted to be "thin and flexible." I respect her immensely for talking about this so openly.

Read Shawn Johnson's blog here.

Pictured: Johnson at the 2008 Olympics; © Cameron Spencer / Getty Images

USA Gymnastics has put up tons of awesome training videos from the recent national team camp. They're here: US national team training videos.

If you're counting down the days until US Classic on May 26th (the final qualifier until nationals), check these out to tide you over. There's some great clips of Sarah Finnegan, a new senior with gorgeous presentation and a very high difficulty score on beam especially, and Alicia Sacramone on vault, back from the Achilles injury suffered at last year's worlds. Both gymnasts look amazing, and there's lots more to watch as well.

Oregon State gymnast Melanie Jones performed one of the most expressive and interesting floor routines of the NCAA Championships this year. The Australian team alternate at the 2008 Olympics, Jones mixed amazing leaps with creative tumbling and choreography. Many thought she should have won floor in event finals, but she ended up fourth.

Watch Melanie Jones

According to Deadline.com and backed up by a Tweet from show creator Holly Sorensen, ABC Family has canceled the gymnastics show MIOBI. The series finale will air May 14.

This isn't surprising, though. When the ratings slipped after the first season, it seemed like it was only a matter of time.

Photo © Craig Jodin / ABC Family

Alabama won its second straight title on Saturday at the NCAA championships, and as usual, the meet featured some of the best-performed gymnastics there is right now.

One of my favorite routines? UCLA superstar Vanessa Zamarripa on bars. Back this year from an Achilles' tear that forced her to red-shirt last season, Zamarripa hits handstands and floats on bars like no one else.

Watch Vanessa Zamarripa on bars.

In 2010 she also competed a reverse hecht release, and of course, did it superbly as well. (Watch it here.)

Former bars world champ Beth Tweddle is as candid and interesting as always in this great piece, run by The Telegraph.

Tweddle talks about how she loves "dancing and letting [her] hair down," her new bar dismount, and her 10 surgeries(!). Her "ultimate dream"? To finish her career with an Olympic medal. She's got a great chance at medaling on bars at the Olympics -- I hope she does it.

Read the Beth Tweddle piece

Pictured above: Beth Tweddle; © Clive Brunskill / Getty Images

The 2012 Olympic Games start July 27, which is exactly 100 days from today. It's coming up fast!

In artistic gymnastics, the teams won't be named until Olympic Trials, June 28-July 1 in San Jose, California. Though there are still some big meets between now and then (Classics, nationals, and Trials, for the women), here are the top Olympic contenders on the women's side right now.

Who are your picks for the five-member team? Share them now.

Pictured: Jordyn Wieber, 2011 US national champ; © Ronald Martinez / Getty Images

Beijing Olympic all-around champ Nastia Liukin was on The Price is Right today, announcing a trip to the Olympic Trials in San Jose this June.

Watch Nastia Liukin on The Price is Right

Related: 2012 Olympic Team Contenders

Slate posted an interesting interview with MIOBI creator Holly Sorensen. In it, she talks about the challenge of actors like Chelsea Hobbs (who played Emily) leaving the show, and some of the controversial issues she plans (and planned) to address. If you're a fan of MIOBI, it's worth a read.

Have you been watching the show this season? What do you think? (Watch episodes here)

Related: Interview with actress Josie Loren