00:00It's definitely overwhelming because when I do that kind of stuff, I don't expect it to go viral.
00:07And then it does have like LeBron and Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton tweeting me.
00:12And it's like, oh, my gosh, I just I feel so blessed.
00:15And it's it's crazy.
00:21So you're back in competition and, you know, you have the gymnastics championships coming up.
00:26The Olympics are coming up and you have the Athleta Presents Gold Over America Tour on the way.
00:32How does it feel to be back, you know, competing in this way after the pandemic obviously put a halt on everything last year?
00:39It feels absolutely amazing to just be back in my element, my scenery, have that team camaraderie.
00:47I couldn't ask for more. It's it's an exciting time because we've been waiting to compete for so long now.
00:53So I'm just happy.
00:57Nice. I love it. And I did want to ask you, how did you kind of because I'm sure with you training for the Olympics last year and everything and working as hard as you do,
01:06it was probably very devastating to have to just kind of put everything on hold and have to wait, you know, another year to figure things out.
01:14How did you kind of take care of your mental health and your peace, retain your peace during that time to practice self-care?
01:19For me, practice health care. I'm at self-care and mental health.
01:25I kind of just shut the gym out. We still had Zoom workouts with my team and with our coaches to kind of check in, see how everybody was doing, see where our mindset was.
01:36But for me to kind of just completely I wouldn't say forget about gym, but put it on the back burner really helped because my whole entire life kind of focused on gymnastics.
01:47And at that time, it's like there was so much uncertainty when we could get back in the gym, how long the postponement was going to be and all of that stuff.
01:54So for me to just kind of shut that out and shut that down for a little bit, gave me a peace of mind so that I wasn't worrying all the time or so anxious.
02:04And that's what I did.
02:06Nice.
02:07Stay safe, took some baths, walked my dogs.
02:10They started hating walks after a while, but we did.
02:14Nice. I was definitely just about to say, I'm like, you've got the chance to focus on being a dog mom to Lilo and Rambo.
02:19So how was that?
02:21It was good.
02:22But getting into like two months, they kind of looked at me like, aren't you supposed to be somewhere?
02:27Like, can we have the house to ourself again?
02:29And I don't want to go on another walk, mom.
02:32Like, and usually they'd be super excited in the beginning and getting towards the end.
02:37They would like run from the leash.
02:39Like, I'm not going, I'm not going.
02:41And I was like, okay, guys, I'm walking you guys.
02:43You're not walking me in.
02:46But it was so nice to have a little bit of a bond with him.
02:48And I just rest, I just got Rambo.
02:51So to get kind of acquainted with Lilo and the house was really nice to spend time with them.
02:56Nice.
02:57Shout out to Doug, moms.
02:58And speaking of competitions and things, let's talk about that Yurchenko double pike.
03:04Girl, that is scary to me.
03:07I can't do a backflip.
03:08So you're the first woman to do it in competition.
03:12And to be able to do that requires a level of fearlessness that, you know,
03:16obviously you've been, you know, doing this for years.
03:18But can you kind of speak to that?
03:20Because you show it in every competition.
03:22And I just wonder how you kind of get into that mode of like your own little Sasha Fierce
03:26where you're like, I'm doing this.
03:28I don't, it looks complicated, but I bet you it's not.
03:31So can you talk about that?
03:32Well, there's a lot that goes into the training and I've done it.
03:36I've been doing it for months and months and months.
03:39And to just go out there and have that confidence to compete, it really kind of amazes myself
03:44and pushes myself to the next limit.
03:49And no female has ever done it.
03:51So that was also nice to be the first and kind of put it out there and know and tell other girls
03:58like, hey, you guys can do this too one day if you put your mindset to it.
04:02But it wasn't too scary.
04:04I've been working so hard on it and for it to finally pay off.
04:07It was like, yes.
04:09Nice.
04:10I loved it.
04:10It was amazing.
04:11And do you ever, how do you feel when there's such a strong reaction to like these moves
04:15that you've been working on for so long?
04:16Because people, you know, they uplift you.
04:18They love you.
04:19I wonder if that's like overwhelming or if it's like always like just truly embraced by you.
04:24Um, it's definitely overwhelming because when I do that kind of stuff, I don't expect it
04:31to go viral.
04:32And then it does have like LeBron and Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton tweeting me.
04:37And it's like, oh my gosh, I just, I feel so blessed.
04:41And it's, it's crazy.
04:43I never think of it like that because whenever I do, it's like something I've been training
04:46all, all the time.
04:48And I don't expect to get that crowd, um, kind of from it.
04:55Yeah.
04:56It's amazing to know that they're supporting me.
04:59They're watching, um, and we're, we're kind of not on the back burner in silence, you know?
05:08Yeah.
05:09Nice.
05:09Nice.
05:09And, you know, you're set to, you know, with this, your chinko double pike and everything,
05:14when people look at you, they believe in there's, you're set to go down in history as the best
05:18to do it, you know, in gymnastics.
05:20What would you say you would like your own legacy to be?
05:23Like, you know, that you are going to be the best.
05:26So what would you like to look back on your career and know that you accomplished or like
05:31have people take from it?
05:32Um, to know that I pushed boundaries past what people thought, um, for a female gymnast
05:40and at this age as well, um, that I had fun doing it, that there was a lot of excitement.
05:48What else?
05:49I think that's really it.
05:51The female empowerment, just knowing you can do it if you put your mind to it.
05:55Nice.
05:56I love that.
05:57And I'm a lifestyle editor.
05:58And so part of my job, we talk about love and relationships.
06:01So if you don't mind me asking, how is it to have the love and support of a fellow
06:06athlete in your boyfriend, Jonathan Owens?
06:08I know you've talked about how you, he's a real man.
06:10He's a great man to you.
06:12Can you kind of talk about the bond that you guys have been able to have?
06:14And if it's strengthened during pandemic?
06:17Yes, definitely.
06:18We were a quarantine couple.
06:20So we got to know each other on a deeper level.
06:23And it was like, okay, if we can last through quarantine and seeing each other every day and
06:27kind of be stuck with each other in the house, then we can last through anything.
06:31And I think that's why our bond is so strong.
06:33Cause we got to know each other on a deep, on a deeper level, but we kind of shared the
06:38same humor.
06:40He loves to watch movies.
06:42I kind of get distracted by that, but I like to watch shows to kind of keep up.
06:48Um, what else?
06:50We have a shared bond of bulldogs.
06:52He has Zeus over here right now with mine.
06:56Um, I don't know.
06:58We're both athletic.
07:00We both like the same things.
07:01He eats a little bit healthier than me.
07:03So he kind of keeps me on top of my game, but he's always been so supportive and I support
07:08him.
07:08So we have such a great relationship and I love him.
07:12Oh, I love it.
07:12I love to see it too.
07:13Tell me about how excited you are for the Athleta Gold over America tour and the women
07:17that you'll be touring with.
07:19Yes, I'm super excited.
07:20So it's an all-star team of gymnasts featuring Lori Hernandez, Caitlin Ahashi, Pang Pang Lee,
07:26Danisha Francis, Morgan Hurd, Jordan Chowes, and hopefully a little bit more once the Olympic
07:31team is announced in a couple of weeks.
07:33We're almost there, but we'll be covering 35 cities this fall after the 2020 Olympics.
07:39General tickets go on sale.
07:42Um, June 11th, you can find tickets at goldoveramericatour.com.
07:47The show will feature dancers, video screens, song from music's biggest stars, all done in
07:54its first gymnastics live spectacular show.
07:57It's going to be something that nobody's ever seen before.
08:01So this tour is going to be a celebration of empowerment, togetherness, and letting the
08:06gold inside each of us shine.
08:08Um, so hopefully it will showcase each athlete's journey and inspire the next generation of athletes
08:15and gymnasts.
08:17Nice.
08:17And lastly, I was just going to say, what is it like to go on these kinds of tours?
08:21I'm wondering if it's similar to the Olympics.
08:22Is it, is it like you're focused on the training and on doing the, the actual, like, you know,
08:29performances or are you guys having fun?
08:31Are you, is it like camp?
08:33What is it like for you?
08:35Having fun, touring, going to see the cities, obviously with COVID, every city and the protocols
08:41are different.
08:41So we'll keep that in mind to keep our athletes and, um, the cities and the people there safe,
08:48but it's definitely fun.
08:49We're showcasing our gymnastics, um, our Olympic abilities, and just having fun and bringing
08:55you guys into that show and making you feel a part of it.
08:59But then when you leave, you take a piece of that gold inside of you and go.
09:04Nice.
09:04I love it.
09:04Well, thank you so much for sharing with me.
09:07It's, it's an honor.
09:08Like you're amazing.
09:08So thank you for your time.
09:11Thank you so much.
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