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\"Once I got in better shape I was like, 'I should try flipping and see how that feels,'\" she recalled. \"I started doing that and just having fun and seeing what I could do and that kind of kept happening.\"

Memmel now does gymnastics training three days per week and does conditioning on the other days. It's all part of a training plan that she said is both easier on her body and has made her feel stronger than she was even at the peak of her career.

\"PHOTO:
Fairfax Media via Getty Images, FILE
PHOTO: In this Nov. 25, 2005, file photo, Chellsie Memmel (C) and Anastasia Liukin (L) of the US, and Australia's Monette Russo (R), show their medals in the Women's All-Around Finals at the World Gymnastic Championships in Melbourne, Australia.
>

\"Being in shape and maintaining a good level of physical fitness was the hardest part for me when I was younger, the absolute hardest part,\" she said. \"Now my runs feel stronger, some of my jumping just feels more powerful.\"

\"[My] eating is better,\" she said. \"I've learned a lot more about my body.\"

Valorie Kondos Field, the former UCLA women's gymnastics coach who led her teams to seven NCAA titles, said Memmel has a level of maturity now that is benefiting her emotionally and physically.

\"I think that she has a tremendous chance of making the [Olympic] team, and the reason being is because she's allowed her body to heal so she's actually probably healthier physically than she was when she was at the top of her game during the Olympics,\" said Field. \"What we college coaches have seen is that when gymnasts are mature, they have a second peak in their careers that is actually better then when they're younger.\"

\"It's because of their maturity, of their wisdom, and it's because they're no longer doing a sport just because they're told to,\" she said. \"They're actually doing it because they love it.\"

\"PHOTO:
Andrea Hanks/AP, FILE
PHOTO: In this Sept. 27, 2012, file photo, Chellsie Memmel performs a floor routine during the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions 2012 at the Maverick Center in West Valley City, Utah.
>

Memmel, who started doing gymnastics as soon as she could walk because her parents owned a gym, said this is the first time in her career that gymnastics does not have her complete attention. In fact, she started doing conditioning workouts on her own two years ago in part so she could have some \"me time\" in her day.

\"This time around, gymnastics isn't my main focus,\" said Memmel. \"I'm a mom first. My life doesn't solely revolve around it right now.\"

Memmel's two kids and husband will be by her side in Tokyo if she makes the team. The Olympics were delayed until next summer because of the global coronavirus pandemic.

\"The timing for me obviously worked out for the better because there wouldn't have been enough time to get to where I am now and even be thinking about having a shot,\" said Memmel. \"I'm just one person, one sport, but the entire world is going through the same thing, so it's just kind of rolling with it and seeing what happens.\"

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Chellsie Memmel (@cmemmel23) on Jun 15, 2020 at 2:30pm PDT

Field said she can already see the country rallying behind a 32-year-old mom of two competing for Olympic gymnastics gold.

\"When she thinks about her gymnastics now, it's coming from such a genuine place of her spirit, versus something that she continued doing because she was good at it,\" said Field. \"Imagine having Chellsie to rally behind.\"

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