A/N: Getting into some good old world gymnastics!
Four days.
That was all it took for JJ's body to be reminded of the physical beating she used to inflict on it month by month, year by year, perfection drilled into every core of her being by the regime of Marta Karolyi.
But this time, it wasn't quite the same. It was still tough, there was absolutely no question about it; to be in contention for a United States world team in gymnastics, you had to work hard. But Valeri had a different approach. They didn't leave the gym at the end of every day feeling like they couldn't hold themselves up anymore. Their skills were still incredibly difficult, and precise as they could be, but they weren't being drilled into the ground until they could no longer tell the difference between the floor and their feet. Valeri was tough, but he was also kind. Having coached his own daughter to the top of the Olympic podium, he had a deeper understanding to the more human side of the sport that so often demanded so much of girls who were barely old enough to be considered adults. He encouraged them to speak up if they were hurting, struggling, or just in need of some guidance even when things were going well. On the second day of Worlds camp, JJ's ankle and Achilles had been giving her grief. Upon raising the concern with Valeri, he had held her back from hard landings and tumbling, sending her over to work with the physio until she was feeling a little less tender. Morgan had also taken half a day off of uneven bars after complaining of pain in her elbow.
They were being taken care of. And it surprised JJ to realise how big the difference was. She supposed she had never noticed it when she was in amongst the Karolyi regime, but now that Valeri was at the helm, she felt supported and cared for by the entire national team staff. They wanted all of the girls to be at their healthiest and their best.
"Ok," Valeri said on the last day, his heavy Russian accent lilting through the quiet gym as the girls stood in height order before him. "You have all worked very hard. It has been very difficult decision to decide who will go to Montreal. I would have loved to take all. Sadly, we can only take four"
He paused, taking a deep breath and smiling ever so slightly as he cast his eyes up and down the line.
"Our first gymnast to go to Montreal is Jennifer Jareau. She is reigning Olympic and national all-around champion, and we are very excited to see what she can do at the world championships for her final season"
JJ couldn't help but beam from ear to ear, an excited rush racing through her stomach. She caught Nick's eye, only for him to grin back at her and lift up six fingers. Six world championships. She would now be the most appeared American gymnast at the world championship level, surpassing Dominique Dawes, Kerri Strug, Shannon Miller, Kathy Johnson and Alicia Sacramone, who all had five world championship appearances apiece.
"Next up, we have Ragan Smith. Olympic alternate for last year, and very strong both in all-around, and on beam. We hope she will enjoy her first world championships and perform to her very best"
Ragan, standing to JJ's left as the shortest in the room, did a happy little jump in her spot, clapping her hands together as JJ giggled beside her.
"Our last two athletes were very hard decision. We were considering taking third all-arounder, but in the end, we decided to have two athletes compete as specialists, as we feel this will widen the medal opportunities across this small team. So our first choice as specialist is Ashton Locklear, who will compete bars and beam"
Further down the line from where JJ was standing, Ashton broke into a wide smile; she had had a rough year coming back from injury, as well as losing motivation when she had just missed out on an Olympic place the previous year. JJ knew the younger girl was thrilled to have a chance to compete on the world stage again.
"Lastly, competing on vault and floor, we have Jade Carey"
Jade's face was nothing short of excitement, her eyes flitting over to where her dad and coach, Brian, was standing beside Nick.
"Jade has made incredible progress from being Level 10 at the beginning of this year, and we are all very proud of how far she has come"
Smiling at the girls, Valeri clasped his hands in front of him. "Lastly, we have selected two alternate athletes. Morgan Hurd will be travelling with the team to Montreal to step in if anyone is unable to compete. She is very well balanced across all events and we know we can depend on her to rise to occasion if the need arises. We will also have Jordan Chiles designated as our non-travelling alternate. Should something happen to more than one athlete, Jordan will be training at her home in Washington, and will be able to get to Canada in a pinch"
A round of applause broke out for the six girls named to the world team. A few moments later, Valeri had finished up, and the girls were free to go, most of them making a beeline for their coaches.
Positively beaming, JJ lifted a hand as she reached Nick, high fiving him with gusto before allowing him to wrap her in a tight hug.
"Never doubted you kiddo. Let's go finish this thing out with a bang, hey?"
"Absolutely," JJ gushed. "Best one yet"
What are your thoughts on the Worlds team announcement for the USA?
I'm really excited to see what these four girls can do! I mean, JJ's a bit of a given, homegirl has an amazing hit record at world championships, and even though she's had a bit of a rough year on the personal front, I think it's clearly given her a new determination because she was SO solid at nationals. I'm just excited to see how high she can place on each event, because she's come in at Olympic level difficulty while everyone else has downgraded, so it'll be really interesting to see if she can stack herself at the top on almost everything before riding off into the sunset of retirement haha. As for the other three girls; Ragan is a fresh face on the world scene, and she is a real contender behind JJ in both the all-around and on beam. She COULD sneak into the floor final if JJ or Jade have a dodgy qualification run, but from what I've seen of those two all year, it's fairly unlikely. Jade is of course only competing vault and floor and she's absolutely the top contender behind JJ on both - in fact, at the moment, she may be the only one with a chance of pipping JJ on both events. JJ's difficult is still higher, and honestly on floor, her artistry and performance value is much much better, but Jade also has great difficulty coupled with awesome execution, so it will be great to see the two of them go up against each other. And lastly, Ashton is gorgeous on uneven bars. She has dropped her difficulty since last year as she's been dealing with some injuries, but her execution is almost unparalleled, so it will be great to see her get into the event final. She has potential to make the podium, but she will have to be near perfect to do it - I just hope she has a great championships, I think she feels she has a lot of unfinished business after being so close to making the Olympic squad last year.
Is JJ injured? She was all taped up at championships.
Not that I'm aware of! Honestly, she's been competing as a senior for eight years now, her joints are probably getting tired and just in need of a little extra support. Aly was the same, she was taped up on both sides for Rio, she wasn't injured, she just needed a little more support to be able to continue at her level of difficulty.
The four days following the world selection camp were dedicated purely to training for the squad that had been chosen. The rest of the girls had gone home, and the remaining six had continued working their routines in the ever familiar surrounds of the ranch. But before long, camp was over, and with worlds kits in hand, the team had boarded a flight to Montreal and made their way to Canada for the start of the world championships.
For JJ, it was with an odd sense of melancholy. For this here was the last time she would board a flight as part of the United States national team, and travel to some point on the globe with the knowledge that at the other end, she was going to compete for her country at the highest level of her sport. While this had been the plan all along, it was still bittersweet - gymnastics had been her life for all of her adult life. She couldn't help but feel a little sad to know that in just two short weeks, it was all going to be over.
With that knowledge, she knew that all she could do was march into that competition hall and make every single moment count.