Rita Wieber is the mother of World and US Champion Jordyn Wieber of Gedderts' Twistars USA in Michigan. Rita will be blogging about her experience throughout the Olympic Games. She most recently wrote a book, Gym Mom, giving you the ins and outs of the sport of womens gymnastics from the mom's persepective.  Below is her latest blog post. For more from Rita, visit 

Dreams can come true...08/07/2012
by: Rita Wieber
Going to the Olympics is the dream of many gymnasts.  And of the over 68,000 competitive gymnasts in the US today, the reality is that only 5 of them will earn one of the coveted spots.   

The hard-core statistics (from 2009) show how difficult it is to make the climb to the top in this sport.

Total number of competitive gymnasts in the USA:  68,797
Level 1-4 gymnasts:                                                  23,201
Level 5 gymnasts :                                                    16,856
Level 6 gymnasts:                                                       8 542
Prep-op gymnasts:                                                      2,295
Level 7 gymnasts:                                                       7,623
Level 8 gymnasts:                                                       5,269
Level 9 gymnasts:                                                       3,248
Level 10 gymnasts:                                                     1,684
Elite gymnasts:                                                                79
USA National Team:                                                        14
Olympic Team:                                                                   5

As Jordyn progressed through the Junior Olympic levels and then into the elite ranks, her dream became more and more realistic--- and yet, I knew that things could change at any moment.  One wrong twist, one bad landing, a virus, a break under pressure...anything could happen at any minute to wisk that dream away.

I always joked that along with being an amazing gymnast, 20 planets needed to align in the right configuration at the right moment to get one of the spots on the team....  And then, once you get to the Olympics, you are expected to hit your best, most perfect routines at the exact right moment live in front of 20,000 people with a camera in your face showing your performance to millions.... I can't even imagine that pressure.  These girls are truly AMAZING.  They not only did that-- but did it better than any other team in the world!!

So now, as we begin the last day of gymnastics competition at the 2012 London Olympics, I am feeling more grateful than ever that Jordyn had this experience.  It has been a blessing and I am so proud of Jordyn for all she has been through since her start at age 4.   She's had her ups and down, her untimely injuries, her moments of disappointment, and moments of elation.  She may not have had the chance to compete in the all-around finals, and she may not win a medal on floor today- but in my book--- she is a true winner.  

Thanks again for all of your support-- see you back in the states where I will give you a snapshot of the post-Olympic life for Jordyn.