Sad Kristen Maloney and Vanessa Atler Montage - What went wrong?

[@MOBROOKS]

I will always have a place in my heart for vanessa atler! I believe her downfall was do to overtraining and bad coaching. so sad.

[@crissy7183]

Me too! Did you see the reality show she did? I can’t think of the name of it but it gives the back story of it all. I adore her.

[@mht4908]

@@crissy7183 It's called starting over

[@johncastro39]

I agree. I think she exploited by her coaches. I'm an ex gymnast (no where near her caliber) and I know your routines are set for.you when the coach recognizes your capabilities. They could have changed her bar routine and she was talented enough to learn a new bar routine even that late in her coureer. But at least she made a name for herself not the coaches. She kicked ass a gymnast. She'll never be forgotten.

[@mht4908]

@@johncastro39 Agreed. She still remains my absolute favourite gymnast

[@missmoxie9188]

USAG Bela and Marta Karolyi That’s what went wrong

[@lorigirl65]

And Larry Nassar.

[@missmoxie9188]

@@lorigirl65 yup

[@brenjohnson87]

I guess the one silver lining in this is that Maloney went on to have an amazing NCAA career. Atler didn't get that chance because she had a few endorsement deals (who can forget the Reese's commercial). I think NCAA gymnastics would have been great for Atler, she would have really flourished.

[@missmoxie9188]

brenjohnson87 I agree

[@A.Girl.Has.No.Name.]

Agreed, much like it was for Katelyn Ohashi at UCLA... but I think that team (for years) also had a fantastic coach in VKF.

[@beambreaker]

She would have been a legend to this very day I'm sure. One of the greatest EVER

[@mommydena]

Vanessa Atler was one of my favorites. I used to be a gymnast and I think we are all pressured too much to be perfect. We're humans and no one will ever be perfect. We have to fight everyday through pain, stress, anxiety, and pressure and it sure isn't easy. It may have just proved too much for these two young amazing gymnasts. I don't think it went to their heads. I just think they had too much going on. I hope they're both doing very well!!

[@Ladyrocksavage]

Gymnastics are some of the most strongest athletes around, not just physically but mentally. Especially the women, these girls are among the top in my opinion.

[@Niki-im5yn]

You have to have guts to do what they do especially when you see the tragic accidents of others that were put under so much pressure to perform. Should be proud of these girls

[@yvonnescholey8972]

I can’t imagine what their lives were like constantly pushed to the limit , but they were brave and strong and I hope they can take comfort from the fact that they put everything into their performances. Thank you ladies for all you did bless you👏🙏👏🙏

[@shanaemerine9074]

And probably a little burned out after years and years of perfection!!! 💖❤💖❤💖❤

[@michaelarnaud4542]

USAG, that’s what went wrong

[@mst3kanita]

Michaël Arnaud and the Karolyi's interfering in 2000.

[@victorbritogoncalves5129]

I’m sorry but why does “USAG” means?

[@xxcourtneyjareauxx]

Kristen's Sydney Olympic vault at the end wasn't a mistake/misjudgement of her own; that vaulting horse was set to the wrong height in the AA Final. She fell because the vault was set incorrectly. If you don't believe me, look it up.

[@sktzn6829]

She never fell in the All-Around. She fell in the Team Preliminaries (Qualification), when the vault was set correctly. The only American who fell in the AA was Elise Ray.

[@KimThomas-hw3xh]

I was going to write the same thing. They set the horse too low.

[@crazy_old_bat]

Yes, it was 5 cm off, which is a lot.

[@PinnedSin]

Classic case of I burnt tf out because I'm under so much pressure and criticism. I can't eat, or think, or do anything that doesnt involve the gym. Most of all, I don't have a regular life and my whole body hurts all the time. Forbid you grow an inch, or sprout a tit and can't compensate for the center of gravity changes. Scared? What's that?... Mental blocks? Train until you get over it... It's a difficult life. If anyone has competed elite gymnastics, you can understand what I'm saying. It's also a turning point for WAG and with the USAG completely changing the game by demanding more. This is when I first started competing and many noticable changes started. It has continued to snowball to this day and burning out many in its path.

[@H1982-i3d]

Are you still an elite gymnast? I used to be from 5 to 13 but I was not made for this sport. Too fat and the others even the coaches used to bully me because of that. I told my mum I wanted to stop. She thought that being in the middle of people putting me down all the time would motivate me to lose weight. Until I was 13 and the director told my mum I'd never be an elite. It's not only in the USA, it's also the same in France. Never mind. I lost my weight now.

[@shieldmaidenforchrist1310]

It's really sad that parents let this happen, and coaches, I think coaches especially are short sighted and don't realize what the life long consequences will be for athletes who go through this. The athlete might be more than willing to keep powering though to reach a goal, but that kind of training is can be serious abuse to the body. Kristen especially looks unwell in so many of the later videos, and sadly, pictures of her years later show she did a lot of damage to herself. She looks much older than her years. I hope both these girls are still able to live full lives and their old injuries not prevent them from keeping up with others their age later in life.

[@Karamarika]

@@shieldmaidenforchrist1310 yes, elite sports are difficult. If it were easy, then anyone could do it. Then no one would care because it wouldn't be special. If you're not willing to sacrifice to win, then you won't win. Someone else is always going to be willing to put in the work to get it done.

[@shieldmaidenforchrist1310]

@@Karamarika I understand this, and since I made that comment a few weeks ago, I made the decision to discontinue watching elite sports entirely. I choose not to support something I would not want for a loved one. I can not in good conscience support any activity outside of serving the Kingdom of Heaven that comes with a high risk of serious life long consequences as a result of decisions made while a minor. Others are free to disagree with me, but I so no long term value in sacrificing everything we understand to be important in life, including health and wellbeing, for an athletic accomplishment. So many who have achieved great things in sports go on to be severely depressed and make more terrible decisions that have more negative life long consequences. I love people too much to support this anymore.

[@ashnkksmom2264]

It’s sad that weight is such a problem with gymnastics, ballet and ice skating. We have lost so many good athletes to their perception of weight, if I loose this much I’ll run faster, jump higher and twist faster and the coaches and judges in the sports do nothing to keep these girls healthy. You can’t competent this level if you don’t have the energy to do it. Food is energy take away food you take away the energy needed to keep them running faster, jumping higher and twisting/spinning faster.

[@victoriachubb572]

Beautiful beautiful music. Got me thinking how influential we as coaches are. I coach netball to my 6 year old niece. Such a responsible role when you are dealing with these little souls.

[@bergercookie]

You never told us what went wrong to change them so much . I feel so sad seeing them go from pure joy and pride to falling and making lots of mistakes in their performances . I’m guessing the pressure and extreme training took its toll on them . I can’t imagine how stressful the demands of level of gymnastics are.

[@kejonza]

I think Vanessa wanted to quit so badly her mind wouldn't let her hit anything consistently. Her interview with gymcastic basically says as much. Maloney... i honestly think she didn't have enough nutrition in 1999/2000 to sustain the extreme power she was capable of. She dropped so much weight leading into the 2000 nationals that I was shocked. She probably thought it would help her, or was being pressured to lose weight (more likely, with the ranch's reputation). You simply can't throw those skills if you don't have the muscle to back it up, and it looked like she lost the muscle. Plus, poor nutrition leads to a lot of focus problems. It's so sad. I've been doing a deep dive during quarantine and realized that Vanessa Atler is one of my favorite gymnasts of all time. I wish things were different and that she got the international success she deserved. But both athletes were really special and deserved better than they got. Poor coaching. Poor national team coordination. Just a shame that no one protected these young women.

[@Cmc995]

Wait I guess I didn’t notice a difference in Kristen looks and weight going into 2000. Do you think that’s who was referenced and bleeped out in that gymcastic interview? About the gymnast that lost a lot of weight and ‘did what she had to do’ ? I assumed she was talking about Morgan White..

[@spannamatronic]

Atler reminds me of my daughter. Very naturally talented, cheerful upbeat personality (so many elite gymnasts seem so serious) but had issues with a particular piece (beam in my daughter's case) and a few little personality foibles that weren't well managed. My daughter quit before finishing the compulsory system, and is happier doing a few different sports for now. I think Atler should have left the Rybackis sooner, the damage was really done by the time she moved to Liukin.

[@mht4908]

I think Vanessa should've stood her ground on removing the Comaneci sooner, and going to Liukin sooner probably wouldn't have been a good move, because WOGA is known for not producing good vaulters, which was Vanessa's speciality as well as floor. Her vaulting abilities probably would've declined had she moved sooner

[@richardross4677]

@@mht4908 I think she should have just dropped bars and become a 3 event super gymnast. If she did that she could have won lots of medals in Sydney. 2000 was already using the 6-5-4 format, they could have easily brought someone who doesn't do bars, but maybe still trains an easy routine occasionaly in case of last minute injury ultimate emergency. Had she hypothetically made the Sydney team she wouldn't have even been used on bars, not even in prelims, which proves the point she didn't even need bars. Of course her dream was probably something like the Olympic AA title but with her shitty bars that was never happening, even if she hit. Sometimes you need to be realistic, like Cheng Fei, Catalina Ponor, and Alicia Sacramone, who probably all had the same dream, all were. And as those 3, Ponor and Fei particularly prove, you don't need to do the AA at the Olympics to be a legend in the sport. And in Ponor's case to win a bucketful of Olympic golds and medals even (and Fei would have won 3 or 4 golds in Beijing too if she didn't headcase).

[@meganlee7445]

Knowing what we know now about Larry Nassar, I wonder if the stress of what was happening to them had alot to do with them being on top and so drastically falling apart. Its so scary having the knowledge we have about what happened and seeing these girls still try to perform their best every time

[@tinageisler4825]

Larry. Nesser

[@meganlee7445]

@@tinageisler4825 ?

[@bernadettepotenti301]

I wondered that too

[@snopesshop1903]

Elite gymnastics is a zero sum game. No one gets out unscathed

[@mht4908]

I think Vanessa switching gyms proved to be a mistake. If the Rybackis had just taken that damn Comaneci out... She said herself in her gymcastic interview that Liukin made her exercise excessively to lose the weight she gained from ankle surgery, which caused her to develop bulimia. She also said she regretted leaving instead of just working things out with her coaches. But in terms of switching gyms, I think she should've went to Mary Lee Tracy, she taught good bar workers like Alyssa Beckerman and she's much better at building up her gymnasts' confidence

[@richardross4677]

Mary Lee Tracy is an insanely overrated coach based on the great job she did with Borden and Phelps. And even there she sucked playing the political game. Phelps should have won Nationals in 96 hands down, but was robbed against Miller who fell. Then at the Games Tracy let Phelps be buried bigtime in the lineups despite her great year. Anyway they were an anamoly. All her future gymnasts were broken physically after a year or two. She did good getting Powell to win Nationals and Thompson the American Cup, but they were soon broken and retired. She never got another gymnast even on the Olympic team again, besides Morgan White, who was broken by Tracey's training and had to WD from the Games before even competing. And I don't know if she is great at training bars. Many of her students like Powell, White, Beckerman, Phelps, were natural bar workers anyway. She certainly did nothing to improve Zmeskal's ghastly bars in her comeback or many of the power gymnasts she had in the 2010s.

[@cat45276]

great video on beautifull music. Hope those two girls live a happy live now, as there is a live after sports, and most gymnasts don't even come close to their level of competing.

[@donnafoster5404]

Great video. Love the music too. Legends of the fall by James Horner. It went beautifully well with your video.

[@pretzal702]

such a sad story, such beautiful gymnasts.

[@khjasonhsiao]

Vanessa's smile kinda reminds me of Aliya Mustafina's smile...so pretty!

[@claudiasmemaw]

These ladies DIDN'T fail! They did & attempted to do what VERY few others can do & what NO ONE'S body is supposed to do! We loved them then & love them still because they're OUR team, they dared to try, they gave it their all. They were SUCCESSFUL-they went from competition to competition, apparatus to apparatus WITHOUT losing ENTHUSIASIM, or QUITTING! That's SUCCESS!

[@MsTkes]

I really hope they weren't victims of Larry

[@tomasduarte6633]

Not victims survivors

[@playdoe3275]

i thot the same.if so, he'd make any1 fall apart.:(

[@Noofsmissus]

Who is Larry?

[@playdoe3275]

@@Noofsmissus ya know that larry nasser who abused a ton of girls over the yrs.that creep.:(

[@MsTkes]

I hope to god Larry didn't get to them...........USAG have so much to answer for.

[@Debster8554]

Oh god no, not him, maybe the whole crushing system got to them but yes, how quickly USAG swept Larry under the floor exercise carpet...

[@mariekedufresne53]

No, Vanessa has stated recently that he never abused her.

[@johncastro39]

I think he did because I know gymnastics takes every single second of your routine requires complete concentration and I mean completely! I bet on moves they had trouble with and afraid of not making that move they were afraid of being injured and going to get molested by that piece of crap of a human being doctor. So when the time came to make the.skill they were having trouble with his stupid face flashed in their brain and that 1000th of a.second it did was enough to miss the bar or just simply lose what concentration to perform the skill. These precious girls could've been world champions but their brains were poisoned by a pervert.

[@johncastro39]

@Mellissa Boomer of the Night I think he the fall of vanessa atler. She suddenly crumbled at the end. I'm an ex gymnast myself and I know takes everything but of concentration to perform. And the fact that knowing if you make a mistake and get hurt you'd have to go get molested would be enough to break me also. Thank you for your response.

[@JohnPhilipSousa519]

I love both of these athletes and their power.

[@bencostantino1079]

Wrong coaches, thats what went wrong. sure they're super talented and can be trained to do any skill but it seems like they were always trying to do too much. For Kristen it was ... add a flip or add a twist rather than focus on good technique to what she could already do. With Vanessa it was a head case ... any good coach would have pulled that stupid Comaneci flip from her routine much sooner.

[@johncastro39]

I agree completely! The Comaneci salto was just impossible for her taking it out didn't make any less of a gymnast.

[@JoaoZamae]

Sometimes we face our true limits on life and just cannot go beyond them. And it is ok. They may not have acomplished what we expected, but they did their best. That is what I tell myself everyday.

[@MsTkes]

Very sad....really hope it didn't have anything to with Larry Nassar.

[@Pastyovercoat]

Kerrin Laws my mind went there too. In Atlers case it was such a steep decline

[@mariekedufresne53]

Alter has said recently that he never touched her.

[@angelinagermenis4013]

My thoughts exactly..

[@missmoxie9188]

Marieke Dufresne that’s a relief

[@Mjjo15]

Probably was that😪

[@sktzn6829]

Vanessa Atler could not compete under pressure, and also hadn't like elite gymnastics for quite a while. She was happy she wasn't picked for the Olympic team and Uneven Bars was a nightmare for her. 2:00 That's one of the only times I've seen a Comaneci in modern times

[@apsutter]

The girls in London did look incredibly stressed. I noticed it at qualifications and even the spectators/commentators were talking about it. I even watched it on BBC and they even stated that the atmosphere in the arena was incredibly tense the entire week. These girls have so much pressure on their shoulders. I for one had a great time watching the Canadian girls b/c they were just sooo thrilled to have made team finals. They knew it was something special and enjoyed it.

[@nimetirmak6954]

April draft df

[@stpark22]

I agree. Wish she had better coaches during her rise. They didn't handle her weaknesses well. Plus, it was too late when she went to WOGA

[@johncastro39]

I wonder if that pervert doctor that got convicted had something to do with their downfall. I bet he did.

[@heatherstephenson1497]

I was wondering that.

[@Noofsmissus]

Can someone fill me in, please. Whats the deal with the Doctor?

[@tekkenfan01]

Good vid but why put two gymnasts in one? At least Maloney went to the Olympics and won team bronze. It was awarded to her and her team 10 years after because the Chinese had the age issue again.

[@iAngelaKara]

there are just so many ways you can look at it personaly i believe all this was due to pressure had Donna not pressured Kristen to push through her leg injury she would have been happier had had Vanessa not gone to WOGA she wouldnt have felt so much pressure which caused her bulimia.

[@pretzal702]

This music makes me cry, but seeing this montage done about these two girls who inspired me so much growing up as a gymnast, makes me want to bawl...

[@lswalling]

great video

[@letsdothis3332]

well puberty comes to mind but if you youtube search vanessa atler SO show that will tell you what went wrng with vanessa

[@brockmccormick3945]

The level these girls are at is beyond what most of us can imagine. The pressure must be overwhelming at times. By the end they look broken in spirit.

[@aphcdn1478]

I’m only kept watching this video cause I love Legends of the Fall & I love this song. It’s my favourite movie

[@fionamayock6344]

There is alway's, Every day more and more pressure on gymnasts to be the beest and to do better than yesterday.

[@bethanief6701]

That’s the saddest thing on the internet.

[@rissadp-m2679]

Larry Nassar , that could of been a reason . They went from being so happy , to lifeless .

[@slsl5243]

I haven't seen any other comments which address the obvious- one can't remain peak forever. These girls were at the top of their game for a certain timeframe, but eventually everyone declines, such is to be human. And in a sport like elite gymnastics ..How many sports are so demanding of an athlete's body and psyche at such a young age? The life cycle for this path is very short: there's burn out, age out, physical depletion... Vanessa and Kristen were (are) very gifted, but their stories are near identical to thousands of other starry-eyed hopefuls who went before them. You'll see a very, very tiny number of women continuing to compete at this level for more than a decade. The girls whose peak years (hell, even months..) coincide with the Olympics are the luckiest, but all told it's quite a rare thing to be a household superstar in the sport- the average person can probably name only a handful of "famous" gymnasts. It's wonderful that the awe-inspiring moments of all the dedicated, hard working ladies that made and make up this demanding sport are documented for future fans to enjoy, though :)

[@Lovedance5678]

You get older, and your body and your priorities change. Being a competitive gymnast isn't exactly a lifetime career. You can only go so far with it. Some continue with it by opening their own gyms and becoming a coach, but obviously they aren't going to be competing in gymnastics forever. They most likely hit their peak, were awesome, and then life and growing up into adulthood came along.

[@iCantPickaNamej]

So wtf happened?

[@bethanymclean2136]

Vanessa never really had the mental aspect down, there's a podcast where she talks for a bit and she always was super negative right before she performed, but she was so physically talented that she was okay, but once she injured her ankle and changed gyms the physical wasn't great anymore (also by that point she had told her parents that she wanted to quit and everyone basically pushed her to keep at it until the Olympics)

[@carolinegunn3810]

Vanessa Atler was an amazing talent who probably was over trained. It's like the powers that be will not allow a gymnast to take a break or say no. Vanessa was probably so burnt out. I believe that things would have been different with other coaches, but those types of coaches are almost nonexistent in gymnastics.

[@beambreaker]

USAG IS WHAT WENT WRONG. NEED I SAY MORE? These poor girls deserve every gold in the book

[@xxcourtneyjareauxx]

If you watch her hands, her left hand slides down the horse; like it's too low. Plus, I'm positive that's the leo she wore in the all-around. Not arguing. Just stating what I've noticed and been told.

[@sktzn6829]

She wore silver in the All-Around Final, you're thinking of Elise Ray.

[@OhkayKada]

pushed too far bythe coaches if you ask me...

[@GAGALOVER347]

Nope. You're wrong. Yes the vault was set wrong in the AA, but that wash't the all around. That is the prelims/qualifications. "If you don't believe me, look it up." :D

[@MzKaylcC]

I think the vault was the wrong height there too

[@ephraimapostol2605]

Hello everyone! Well, without further ado guys, I am so excited to have Vanessa as my very first guest in my youtube channel which will soon be filled with purely personal interviews of past and current gymnasts. I say it's about time that our artistic gymnastics legends be given the honor, recognition of their huge contribution to the sport, and most importantly be able to inspire not just our gymnastics community - but pretty much the universal sports community in general. So, I will have a one-on-one interview with Vanessa this coming Saturday at 10:00 AM PST. I assure you guys that the set of questions I prepared are all very exciting and I look forward to the specific answers coming from Vanessa 😍. To all her fans, I am super sure you are all excited just like I am!!! (I remember giggling with so much happiness when she said YES to my interview request) So don't hesitate to send me your questions for Vanessa either via FB messenger or my email @ [e-mail] and of course do not miss to subscribe to my youtube channel so you'll be notified first hand once the video content is made available kzbin.info/door/R2R7HI_Xas81LeFUbRg7Xg

[@yooneeque1]

Wasn't 6:46 the result of the vault being set too low? I wouldn't consider that an example of performance deterioration.

[@mht4908]

That footage was from team qualifications, the vault incident happened during the all-around finals, Kristen was wearing a silver leo that day, not red

[@yooneeque1]

@@mht4908 Don't know if it's still available, but there was a yt video of a succession of girls falling during the preliminaries in Sydney, suggesting that the vault was set too low on that day as well. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oqm0YYqPa7CnbbM

[@heyyyitshurls]

aww really sad but really good music and video! but really what happend ot them? i tihnk everything went to their heads they like finally saw how good they were and then they actully thought about what they were doing nad just wern't as perfect as they were in previous years

[@OpTicSlav]

I wish My coach, Jack Carter, would tell me what happened to her.. I hope i dosent happen to me. Although i am barely level and compete in boys, I still Think this an amzing sport and Jack is a really good coach. =D

[@brockmccormick3945]

That's what I thought did the doc get to them.

[@Cmc995]

I think this ‘97-2000 era of gymnasts was different and USAG was different, after 1996 and women’s team winning gold, before that they just hoped for a medal. That 96 team were extremely hungry for gold and crazy hard working like laser focused, this era seemed to want to enjoy life, have fun with friends and also do gymnastics, but they were compared to ‘96 team and expected to recreate that. They were over trained physically, injured and burned out by their Worlds and Olympic years

[@TRUNGNGUYEN-bz9th]

Oh dear!

[@Mariemariamimi]

I think it's normal and happened to most of gymnastics when they become older their bodies change they gain weight and the body become less flexible

[@unevercalled]

what happened to Kristen Maloney?

[@lanpingpug]

Wow, she looks bony at the end of this montage.

[@TinyHouseHomestead]

The grind to rise or maintain got them, .... like it does everyone! 😱🤪🤣👍🇺🇸

[@lindathrall5133]

The only way to glory is THE ROAD TO GLORY

[@JaneDoe-ii1fm]

They grow up!!! Most of those athletes perform very good while they are young, two, three years later they change so much, we can believe is the same person!! Look Yulia lipnitskaya the Russia sweetheart, couple years after the Olympics she couldn't even stand up in the ice.

[@kitisabuebos]

😢😥😖😥😢😔😕😟...

[@iAngelaKara]

yeah thats true but had so stayed she would have been on the right path probably

[@BigThunderFan]

i think they just let the stress and pressure get the best of them caz being in the olympics when every landing can make you or break you and can decide between gold medal or silver medal or bronze medal thats a lot of stress when everybody is fighting to get that gold medal

[@jja8750]

Well, THAT was morbid, lol. If Atler performed just a little bit better at Trials, I think she would've been the Vault/Floor specialist for the team. Maloney just wasn't 100% on her game through 2000. But she fared much better than Atler. Maloney went on to post some pretty impressive scores in Sydney, actually. She just couldn't put it all together in 4 consecutive routines there.

[@boopsscoopz2206]

What went wrong? Two words: Larry Nassar

[@boopsscoopz2206]

D Leo Thank you for the information. I’ll update my comment. *EDIT* Allow me to clarify my original post. When I said that Larry Nassar was what went wrong with Kristen Maloney and Vanessa Atler, I was referring to inadequate medical care these girls received. I should have just simply said AGA

[@trickortripslao8607]

@D Leo I was wondering, if during their carriera,they had Nassar als doctor. Thank God,they didn't.

[@sbright1656]

There's actually a lot of footage with Vanessa and Larry in the same room in hotels/at the ranch. You can find it in documentaries on this site. He was with Kristen in Sydney (I was at the gymnastics that year).

[@Saltos91]

woo hoo kristen has a medal :D

[@tomasduarte6633]

Larry martha and bella

[@Sobolady89]

Being molested by the team doctor probably had a lot to do with it.

[@dmbfan1216]

Karolyi and Nassar

[@Daffyduck1988]

I just think they had way too much success . A little too early thats a downfall

[@strykertool]

They were weak. Some of you need to stop defending them. You seen them as victims and a popularity contest. Boo hoo If they failed.

[@Samantha-bh7rb]

R they dead now?

[@skitzo429]

+Samantha Wakefield No, they retired 15 years ago.

[@KimThomas-hw3xh]

No.

[@JennaLeigh]

What? No? They retired.

[@cehaddunebuggy3899]

Lol. Neither of them were ever really that good. The first clips you picked showed lots of missed landings and hops. Kristen pretty much stayed the same. She made the 2000 Olympics and made the All Around. Atler was pretty much a flop from the beginning. I don't think she ever did that well at the international level.

[@stpark22]

I disagree.. Vanessa was among the best in the world on vault, floor, and beam

[@RobertSmith-qu3vi]

Vanessa was one of the most talented gymnasts the US ever had before Simone....her coaches were fools for not just changing her bar routine after the fall in 1997 and then 98 and 99 would have gone better and she probably would have been on the 2000 team....she also admitted a few years after retiring that by 2000 she had absolutely no joy in gymnastics anymore....and that is why she tanked so badly....when ur heart isn't in it elite sports isn't going to be nice to u....hopefully she can look back and watch how she rocked vault and floor for so many years....and her beam could be spectacular as well...

[@warrencray]

I think what happened is that both of these girls started getting layed,, going to parties, and started to really enjoying life. They lost their focus, They realized, "what the fuck and i doing to myself for??" They kept up appearances for a while but they eventioally moved on like any reasonable adult should do.

[@Faeley]

Or perhaps they were some of the first exposed to Larry Nassar in a long line to come.