Spring from Beijing

During the Olympics, former UI gymnast Justin Spring will write an occasional diary. For more, check out Spring's Web site.

First day is done.

USA had the preliminary competition (Saturday), and we did great! I am finally an official Olympian and I have never felt so ... SORE! I never thought I could be so sore! It's unbelievable how much your body puts into a competition over just a regular practice. We generally do the same amount of work but your body is on edge with adrenaline pumping for six straight hours. Your body reacts the next day by being overly sore ... thank god I have two days in between competitions.

Competing with my team (Saturday) was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I am so proud of how well we did. We were in the first morning session, so our scores don't really reflect our potential. I had a good meet, and I feel happy with my performance. I was not at my best and unfortunately in a sport based on perfection I wasn't able to make any finals on individual events. But the biggest competition is still to come ... team finals. I can't even begin to describe the pressure that builds in this kind of meet. The format is three up, three count. USA will put its best three guys up on each event and all three scores count! No room for error. I will be competing on floor, vault, parallel bars and high bar. We are in sixth place now, but with this kind of format anything can happen. Wish me luck and I'll be in touch after the finals.

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