7/19/2004 » Olympics, Profiles

Ah, the never-ending work-life balance issue. Gymnastics training had taken over teen Mohini Bhardwaj’s life, and she hated it. So she opted out, joining the less-stringent collegiate circuit. And kicked ass.

Because NCAA rules limit the amount of training - about four hours a day instead of the eight or nine most world-class gymnasts put in - Bhardwaj realized she could still be a good gymnast without having to sacrifice her entire life to get there. She wound up an 11-time All-American at UCLA and won national titles in floor exercise and uneven bars. She set the UCLA record with eight perfect 10s, and led the Bruins to two national titles.

Meanwhile, she got an update from the field, from teammates who had followed the very path she’d abandoned:

In 2000, when former Olympians Kristen Maloney and Jamie Dantzscher enrolled at UCLA, they were stunned by Bhardwaj''''''''s ability and told her so. "They asked me why I didn''''''''t train because they thought I would have made it," she said.

Imagine how that little tidbit sat with her. First a hollow, sick feeling, like falling. Then self-directed anger, then an incessant gnawing. ‘Success is counted sweetest / By those who ne’er succeed. / To comprehend a nectar / Requires sorest need.’ Not a fun thing to live with.

So she didn’t. She re-entered the monastery of dawn-to-dusk training, selling raffle tickets to raise money.

"I don''''''''t want to look back and say I didn''''''''t train. If I try, then no matter what happens, I know I can look back with a clear conscience."

And at 7:45pm last night, she qualified for the Olympics. She’s the first desi I can recall on the U.S. Olympics team, a 25-year-old elder on a comeback.