Let's be honest. It is not quite like riding a bike. These things take time.
But after a mixed bag of results in her first major competition since returning to gymnastics earlier this year, Chellsie Memmel is showing that although there might be some rust in her chains, the skills that she first showed the world as a teenager are still intact.
The 23-year-old thrilled all weekend at the U.S. gymnastics championships, falling into third place in the all-around with strong preliminaries and hovering between third and fourth for the first three rotations Saturday. Then, with a chance to finish strong on the uneven bars, Memmel fell off twice on the same skill, opting not to finish because of risk of injury. With just a 9.55 score on that event, she dropped to eighth place. But she is merely looking at the slip as a quick tumble off the bike on a long ride.
"I don't know where I would have finished if I would have been able to finish my bar routine today, but I'm still really happy with what I did -- I still had seven solid performances," she said.
Memmel looked good on the vault, beam and floor before slipping on the bar. Afterward, the ice-pack-clad athlete said her right shoulder was injured slightly on the second tumble, but she wasn't concerned.
The Ellis, Wis., native, who finished second in the all-around at the Cover Girl Classic last month, still has a shot to make the world championships team, which will be selected in September. But the comeback kid has a history already -- she was the 2005 champion in the all-around and was on the 2008 Olympic team. But Memmel, who has dealt with injuries her entire career, was injured just before the Games and could compete in only one event.
That experience, along with the desire for a team Olympic gold, has motivated a return, this time with dad Andy as coach. The elder Memmel said his daughter -- who half-heartedly tried to compete again in 2009 -- went back and forth on hopping back on the bike, before deciding she wanted to give it her all.
"Before, she kept saying, 'I think I want to' -- well that wasn't enough," he said. "I think it was just her body feeling the urge to do it again, and all the aches and pains were gone."
However, there is more physical work to be done before a spot at worlds is possible. Memmel still is not at her peak in difficulty, and her current routines likely would not be enough to be competitive internationally. She is putting the finishing touches on a new bar routine but was just short of using it this weekend. If her resolve speaks for anything, she will get where she needs to be. The pedals are turning now.
"I'm in a good place -- not that I wasn't before, but I'm happy when I train," she said. "One of my coaches asked me if I was taking happy pills. I just enjoy being here. I enjoy doing gymnastics."
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