Olympian Aly Raisman Used Early Setbacks To Fuel Legendary Career


Once held back from her gymnastics team, Olmpyian Aly Raisman used hard work and determination to become a legend in the sport.


When watching the Olympics fans are witnessing the world’s elite athletes on the world’s biggest stage. Listening to announcers pick apart performances, it’s easy to get lost in the fact that each Olympian is judged on a tougher curve than any other individual at their given sport at that given moment.

In terms of gymnastics, routines are forged over years of practice. Thousands of hours impress themselves on the gymnasts, turning awkward flips and twists into muscle memory, and ultimately transforming into a perfectly polished routine.

American Olympian Aly Raisman recently sat down with the Seth Davis Show to discuss how much persistence it took for her to become one of the world’s best.

“When I was six years old I was in pre-team, and I was the only one who had to stay back because I didn’t have my roundoff back handspring,” Raisman said. “It wasn’t good enough. Then years later I won floor at the Olympics.”

Raisman didn’t simply win floor at the Olympics; she was the first American gymnast to ever pull off that feat – at the London Olympics in 2012. Think about that for a second: Not Shannon Miller, Dominique Dawes nor the great Mary Lou Retton ever won gold on the floor exercise at the Olympics. It’s an amazing accomplishment that Raisman contributes to an end-game mentality, one nurtured by a competitive drive to succeed.

“That just goes to show that it doesn’t matter where you start, but it’s really all about your hard work and dedication.”