I was a mess my freshman year of college. I still had so much pain in my heart.
— Katelyn Ohashi
You can tell when someone recognizes you and they want to say something, but they don't want to bother you.
I think competing is one of my favorite things ever.
I was in the gym seven hours a day, six times a week, and Sunday was my day of rest. So there wasn't a lot of time that I had to myself, and obviously, that kind of ruined the joy of the sport.
You will never have the perfect body, and to sit there and compare yourself to another person or what someone else likes - we're the only people that have control of our body. We're the only people that live inside of our body 24/7.
I think just being able to experience college gymnastics the way I have has allowed me to really express myself and have so much fun in the sport.
The truth is, gymnastics is a beautiful sport that has allowed me to grow and learn invaluable life lessons: sacrifice, dedication, discipline. Eventually, it led me to my voice.
I was encouraged to use my voice and explore my passions outside of the sport. And when I did that, I was finally able to realize my true self-worth. I was more than that of a gymnast.
As an athlete, you learn to keep pushing through the pain until the pain eventually becomes unbearable. Even then, you are told to continue.
My teammates and my coaches have all allowed me to step into my individuality and not be defined by just being a gymnast.
Watching something on the TV or Internet is not nearly as incredible as it is when you see it in person.
At just 16 years old, I was told that my back would never be the same again. My well-being had been neglected for the opportunity to win a gold medal.
I have said that gymnastics can be abusive and brutal. That was my experience. I felt trapped in a world where authority figures were dictating my future.
By 2012, I probably had, like, three stress reactions in my back. Two stress fractures in my fibula.
I am who I am today because of a lot of the things I've learned in gymnastics.
I can't control what the judges give me.
If my Michael Jackson routine left even one person feeling uncomfortable or less joyful, I felt like it was in everyone's best interest to change the music to my routine.
I've always had an undeniable love for gymnastics.
Using my voice has empowered me to take complete ownership of my life. So, in return for speaking my truth, I listen.
I want to keep upgrading my routines and focus on cleaning them up and being consistent.
I would have never guessed I have, like, senators reposting me.
I used to hate my legs. Now I've learned to embrace them. They've allowed to do everything that I am able to do.
My entire college career has kind of been me stepping into my joy.
I won the 2011 Visa Championships, the 2012 Pacific Rims, and then the 2013 American Cup (the first and only senior elite competition of my elite career).
Too frequently, we hear about coaches and programs willing to win at any cost.
There's days when my body's better than other days. It still gives me problems. But it's very manageable. Rehab is forever my friend.
Performing is my favorite thing.
As athletes, you always know that mistakes happen, and not everyone is perfect, and you can't be perfect.
This may sound shocking, but I never dreamed about going to the Olympics.
I've had two shoulder surgeries.
I feed off the audience a lot, their energy.
All I can do is go out there and do my best.
Gymnastics has taught me so many lessons, and I couldn't be more grateful for everything that I've gone through.
Gymnastics was my worth - it was my life - and I hated myself.
The Olympics were something that was put in my path. I knew I was capable, I worked so hard for it, so I guess it's like, Why wouldn't I want to go to the Olympics? But it was never something that I was really, really dead set on. It was just what my coaches and everyone else forced upon me.
When picking my original music, Tina Turner was someone I wanted in my routine because of the strong impact she has had on my life. I admire her courage and resilience.
My mom was a high school gymnast.
I think what I show is joy when I do stuff, so I think always having a love for what you do every single day is something that I hold extremely close to my heart because I know what it's like to not feel that.
Whenever I had to move away from my dad, it was so hard; like, I would cry myself to sleep.
Both my parents had never been to New York, so when they got to go out with me for 'Good Morning America,' they were so happy.
As a little girl, I could not sit still until my parents told me it was time to go to the gym.
During my freshman year of college, it became undeniably clear that I didn't want to be great again. I correlated greatness with misery.
I'm healthy - for a gymnast.
I want to put out a few books throughout my lifetime.
There are so many things that we have to be grateful for. It gets so easy to get caught up with one thing that, you know, isn't perfect or not going the way you thought it would, but we always need to be grateful for what we have.
I learned at a young age that my voice was not wanted or heard, so I went silent. I did what I was told and set goals based on what everyone else expected of me.
My back is permanently messed up.
In elite gymnastics, I was surrounded by this bubble, that gymnastics was literally all I knew, and I'd like to know about worldly issues.
I can't control what other people think.
I have always wanted my routine to spark joy for all people.
