For some reason this bothers me that Simone is being held out there as one who is having a different experience. She very well could be, but I have been following this sport for a very long time, and there have been very many girls who have given the impression of happy and healthy in a nuturing environment, and it eventually comes out that the opposite was true for these kids. When the heck are we going to get the Karolyis out of our National program? The2012 girls appeared to be a very happy well adjusted group with supportive coaches. They appeared to be friends, good teammates, and more mature and together than the "robots" of the early 90s. To hear what is still going on is so sad to me. I naively thought it was better. We still send our best gymnasts down to that stupid ranch in order to be starved and have all sort of mind games placed on them. No athlete should ever train 30 days in a row without a rest. It is absolute craziness and everyone stands by and let's it go on. An exhausted and under fed athlete is way more likely to get injured. When will the madness stop?
