Best of GymCastic: Vanessa Atler Interview

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4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 2 September 2020

⏱️ 132 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Originally aired in June 2017

BEST OF GYMCASTIC

Originally released in June 2017. 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 group 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

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Remember the show is PG-13, so you might hear a naughty word or two.
0:04.4	Hey everybody, welcome to the best of Gymcastic.
0:08.2	We are on vacation the first two weeks in September,
0:11.3	so we will see you back on September, probably 11th for behind the scenes
0:16.0	and then we'll be back on September 16th.
0:19.4	Whenever we take vacation, I always go back and look at our best of episodes and this week we
0:26.0	have our interview with Vanessa Atler from June 2017 next to Maroni's interview, this is the most popular episode of All Time.
0:38.0	And then next week we have in the Best of Dreamcaste, the Fluffcaste, commissioned all about Fluff Pieces.
0:47.9	So that will be up next week.
0:49.6	So until then, enjoy and thanks so much to Vanessa.
0:54.0	Bala was there watching me and he pulled me aside like under the tunnel basically and he said,
0:59.6	don't, he goes, don't worry, everything's going to be okay.
1:02.5	He goes, that's why I am selecting,
1:06.6	like I'm on the selection committee.
1:08.2	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 the bad and the
1:26.4	rumors you've always heard about and now she's going to confirm them in this
1:30.8	interview this is episode 254 for June 7th, 2017 and a welcome to the
1:37.7	number one gymnastics podcast in the galaxy. I'm Jessica and I'm here with
1:41.8	Spencer from the Balance Theme situation. Okay, let's get to the amazing. Oh my God, I love Vanessa Attler so much you guys. I can't even, I love her so much. I want to give a warning before we start this we
1:55.8	actually me and Uncle Tim talked to Vanessa back in December and honestly I
2:01.0	couldn't even bring myself to edit this episode because it's like even triggering me at this point.
2:08.2	And you know, Vanessa is not talking about being a victim of Nassar or anything like that, but the, but she talks about him and she talks about just, it's a subject that comes up and it's just a lot. So she, I just can't say enough, she is amazing and
	...

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