A/N: FYI, The Gymternet is a real website, run by Lauren Hopkins! Definitely check it out, there are tons of amazing resources for learning about gym on there!
While most of the girls had flown home from Nationals already, Simone, Kyla, Maggie, and Madison were staying in Pittsburgh for another day, along with Aly and Gabby. Seeing the opportunity to have everyone together, JJ's father had organised a summer cookout and invited the girls, their coaches, and their families to join, as well as JJ's friends who'd attended Nationals, Will and his parents, and some of the kids from the gym.
The sun was setting, but the atmosphere in the backyard of the Jareau residence was warm and inviting. The younger kids were running around happily, enjoying the summer evening. The smell of food cooking filled the air, as did the gentle chatter from the various groups.
"Mr Jareau, have you got special gymnast selections?" Simone asked with a giggle as Michael walked past the table where all the girls were sitting.
"Don't you worry Simone, everything was pre-approved by Beam Queen and her coach," Michael replied with a grin, getting a laugh out of everyone as he left to head over to the barbecue, where William was keeping an eye on the food.
"No, no, you're bullshitting me for sure," Will said adamantly at the tail end of a discussion as Aly tried to fight back a grin. Simone and JJ both turned back towards them, Simone starting to laugh as she took in Will's bewildered expression.
"It's four inches. Four. Like this," Aly insisted through laughter, holding her hands roughly four inches apart.
"No it's not, how could anyone possibly do a backflip on that!" Will exclaimed. By now, Simone couldn't even sit up straight with her laughter.
"Ask your girlfriend!" Aly laughed, gesturing wildly towards JJ. "She's the insane beam freak!"
"JJ, the beam is more than four inches wide, isn't it?" Will asked immediately, turning towards his girlfriend.
JJ bit her lip, her body shaking as she tried to contain her laughter. "If you've ever watched an NBC broadcast, I'm sure Tim Daggett would have you well informed that yes, it is four inches wide"
"That's bullshit!" Will exclaimed, totally stunned. "How do you do all that madness on a four inch wide plank of wood?"
JJ caught Aly's eye as they both laughed at Will's disbelief. "Now you're asking the right questions"
Simone finally straightened up, wiping away tears of laughter from beneath her eyes. "Oh Will... you crack me up. I like you"
Sliding along the bench, JJ snuggled up beside Will, still giggling as he and Aly talked animatedly. Even so, he slid his hand into hers, giving it a gentle squeeze, and she couldn't help but smile.
"You guys are so cute," Simone said quietly from across the table, beaming her usual bright smile.
"We try our hardest," JJ chuckled, tipping her head onto Will's shoulder and allowing her mind to wander away from everything that lay ahead. Yes, Worlds camp was looming and things were ramping up. But she was incredibly excited about the opportunities that lay ahead.
Right now however? She was just happy to enjoy a nice summer cookout with her closest friends and family. It was the perfect way to wind down after an intense weekend of competition.
"You wanna see this website I found," Will said as he dropped himself down beside JJ with his laptop in his hands. Opening his browser, he navigated to an open tab, clicking it to reveal a stark white website with paragraphs of text on it.
"It's called The Gymternet. I found it today when I was tryin' to work out all that madness you do on beam," he explained. JJ laughed, leaning in closer to see the screen. "This is like... a feature called 'You Ask, The Gymternet Answers', and basically people send in questions and the website owner answers them. I found a couple about you, and don't worry, I made sure they're nice ones," Will chuckled.
"Well, let me see!" JJ exclaimed. "I've never heard of this website!"
"It's pretty new, only popped up early this year. It's run by a girl named Lauren Hopkins"
JJ frowned. "Lauren Hopkins?"
"Yeah"
"We've met her. Remember? She interviewed me after the first night of Nationals last year"
"Oh yeah! Hey, now she has her own website, that's pretty cool," Will said as he scrolled down to one of the first few questions, stopping so JJ could read it.
At this point, after Nationals, who do you think is absolutely going to Worlds?
There's no doubt in my mind that Simone Biles and Jennifer Jareau will be in Nanning for the World Championships. They both showed at Nationals that they are strong and ready to go, especially JJ considering that injury she sustained after Worlds last year – a broken leg is not easy to come back from, yet she made it look like a walk in the park. I'd also say Kyla Ross is a definite, but beyond those three, everyone else will have to prove themselves again at the selection camp.
"What's the next one?" JJ asked. Will scrolled down again.
Do you think there's any contest for the beam title this year? I mean, Jennifer Jareau has the last two World titles and the current Olympic title, and she doesn't look like she's slowing down.
Haha! This is why I love JJ, I don't think I have EVER seen someone who is so consistent on what is arguably the most terrifying apparatus in women's gymnastics. Even in 2011, when she was coming back from that shoulder injury and she wasn't quite at full strength, she got up in the final and just slammed it out of the park. Looking at the numbers of the top gymnasts for this year, the only person who can really challenge JJ at the moment is Simone Biles, but JJ is just so darn good on beam that, barring an absolute catastrophe, I don't really see it going to anyone else this year.
"Told you. Beam queen. It's madness," Will chuckled, getting a laugh and a playful slap from JJ.
Is Aly Raisman back in training? I miss her! I also miss seeing her and JJ together.
Don't you worry! Aly is back in training with the goal of making it to the October training camp, and gradually working her way towards next year's World Championships.
This is a bit of a beefy question. Jennifer Jareau has always been played out by the gymnastics world, and in particular, NBC, to be a bit weak on the uneven bars and vault, and therefore, also weak in the all-around. But she won bronze on bars and in the all-around at the Olympics, bronze on bars last year at Worlds, and looked crazy good on vault at Nationals! So I ask... is everyone going insane?
No, you're actually onto something there, something that has been bugging me for a very long time. By all intents and purposes, JJ is actually fabulous on all four events, I mean, have you seen the girl swing bars? Her form is GORGEOUS. What gets JJ that not so great bars reputation is that, up until about this year, she wasn't terribly consistent on it. Her scores in 2011 and 2012 fluctuated pretty wildly between 14.9 and 15.5, with her bronze at the Olympics being an outlier at 15.7 (don't worry, I think 'what the heck' every time I see it, but hey, if there's a medal on the line, you do you girl)-
JJ laughed, shaking her head as she continued to read.
-so you can see it's just consistency, but she has gotten better in the last year (ignoring that wild bars routine at Classics last year, but we can forgive that because she was coming off the Olympics). Then there's her vault. There has never been anything wrong with her vault. Ever. The reason people THINK she's weaker on vault is because Tim Daggett acts like popping a shoulder mid vault is enough to warrant post traumatic stress disorder. From what I know, JJ has no mental issues with vault at all. Like, she's literally added a second vault this year, and you don't do that unless you're comfortable with the event. So moral is... don't listen to NBC. Look at the information and come to your own conclusion, because NBC's stories of people who are weak on this apparatus, and USA being weak on bars are actually wildly off base.
So many people seem to think Aliya Mustafina should have won all-around bronze in London. What do you think?
No. Sorry, I love Aliya with all my heart, but no. JJ broke 60 and had an absolutely fabulous day. Mustafina hit 59 and fell off the beam. If she had passed JJ with a fall on beam, I would have flown to London and reawarded that medal myself (just kidding. Sort of). They're both incredible gymnasts who have done and are still doing amazing things in the sport of gymnastics, but on that day, JJ was the better gymnast.
Why do you think JJ goes by her initials and not her first name? I noticed in London that even the BBC commentators called her JJ!
Hahaha! I'm not sure to be honest. Maybe if I ever get the chance to interview her again, I'll ask her.
Chuckling as Will closed the laptop, JJ laid her head on his shoulder.
"I like that. It's cool, and sounds like Lauren really knows her stuff about gymnastics," she mused. "Wonder if I will ever get interviewed by her again, she was really nice"
Will laughed. "Then you can share with the whole world why you go by JJ"
Grinning, JJ lifted her head. "Too right"