254: Vanessa Atler

GymCastic: The Gymnastics Podcast

Sports News, News, Sports

4.6 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 7 June 2017

⏱️ 134 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

THIS WEEK'S INTERVIEW

Vanessa Atler is an American treasure and fans have loved her from the moment they first saw her elegant power. She's a multi-time national champion, multi-World Cup champion, Goodwill Games event champion. She would probably have made the 1996 Olympic team had she been age eligible. She was one of those gymnasts for whom nothing ever worked out the way it should have and fans hearts broke along with her through the 1996-2000 quad. We discuss:

Why she requested the interview with us
Her thoughts on age limits and specialists (13:10)
Elements she worked on but never competed (19:25)
Dealing with emotions and tears of frustration
The Comaneci-Salto & The Rybackis - (22:34)
- Why didn't she just take the Comaneci out of her routine and win all the things?
- Beth and Steve's differing opinions on bars
- What worked and didn't work with the Rybackis
- How being at Charter Oak effected her own coaching
- Did she seek counseling or therapy? (31:01)
Her early online presence… and her mom's (32:50)
- Epic fluff from 1997 on Vanessa's online diary
1999 Goodwill Games and Sang Lan's vault accident (34:43)
Why she left the Rybackis (39:00)
The real story behind the ankle injury (47:57)
Why she did not train with Bela Karolyi (50:47)
The letter Larry Nassar said USAG received about him that caused him to be banned from the Ranch (52:16)
Pre-2000 Olympics, moving to WOGA (1:00:01)
- What did and didn't work for her with Valeri
- How Valeri helped make her more confident on bars
- Weigh-ins (1:04:29)
2000 Olympic Trials
- When an agent gets into the mix: where the "you didn't make the team because you were fat" rumor came from (1:08:35)
- Bela told her he'd put her on the team
Did she try and compete after 2000?
What are her feelings toward gymnastics now?
Being on the realty show "Starting Over"
Outside influences: family members and agents
The decision to turn professional
Fibromyalgia after her motorcycle accident
Dealing with anxiety and food
Talking about her support for the defendants in the Larry Nassar case (1:36:00)
Worlds in China: Nassar asking who wanted a cortisone shot without parental consent and alone in room (1:39:36)
What she overheard during a coaches meeting through the walls of a hotel (1:44:11)
Would she want her son to participate in elite gymnastics?
What she does to keep gymnastics fun for her gymnasts
What are her upcoming plans… is another book in the works?
What are her thoughts on the Nassar situation and USAG today?
- How terrible the food was when she was at the Ranch for national team camp (2:00:11)
- The text message exchange asking for support for Nassar (2:02:04)
- Asking for help for her bulimia and being told to do what it takes (2:03:55)

GUEST LINKS

Witness her amazing beam skills.
Her floor at the height of her awesomeness.
Vanessa Atler blog and diary
Vanessa Atler Children's Book: Let the River Flow

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Join Club Gym Nerd here.
Buy one of our awesome goodies here.

GYMCASTIC LEOTARD CONTEST

WHAT: A GymCastic crystal logo leotard, custom made to fit by Rebecca's Moms Leotards HOW TO ENTER: Tell us who would you want to compete against in your custom-made GymCastic leo. Tag @GymCasitc and @RebeccasMomLeo on Twitter or Instagram DEADLINE: Sunday, June 25th. Random Winner announced last podcast in June on the 28th

RELATED EPISODES

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Bella was there watching me and he pulled me aside like under the tunnel basically and he said don't he goes don't worry everything's going to be okay because that's why I am
0:11.9	selecting like I'm on the selection to me so in case something happens I can put you on. Today the one and only mega talent Vanessa Attler is here to talk about the good
0:30.8	the bad and the rumors you've always heard about and now she's going to confirm them in this interview.
0:38.0	This is episode 254 for June 7, 2017, and a welcome to the number one gymnastics podcast in the Galaxy.
0:46.6	I'm Jessica and I'm here with Spencer from the Balance Theme situation.
0:50.9	And first we have to tell you about a very exciting contest that we are doing.
0:56.0	Yes, we have a gymnastic leotard contest Jessica tell them what they could win.
1:04.0	So we have partnered with Rebecca's mom's leotards, and they are going to make you whatever size
1:11.1	leotard you want, so if you want to win this for your, you know, a baby cousin
1:15.7	that was just born, that's fine.
1:17.3	Or if you're an adult gymnast and you need a custom size, they'll make that.
1:21.5	And it's going to have like the sparkle
1:23.2	bedazzled crystal gymcastic logo on it and say gymcastic going.
1:28.3	It's going to be so awesome.
1:30.3	That's missing. So how do you enter?
1:34.0	Okay, so you just have to tell us on social media on Twitter or
1:37.6	Instagram tag us and tag Rebecca's mom mom's Leo so it's Rebecca's mom Leo Leo, and tag us Jim Kastic, and just tell us who you'd want to
1:47.4	compete against in your custom Jim Kastic Leo.
1:51.3	So it can be anyone from any time or even the future. Like be as
1:56.8	creative as you want.
1:58.0	When you, Spencer, who would you want to compete against?
2:01.0	Oh my God, okay, so you, well, you, I would want to compete against. Oh my God. Okay, so you, well, I would want to compete against Adela Sign and her crazy Leotards.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from GymCastic: The Gymnastics Podcast, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of GymCastic: The Gymnastics Podcast and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.