Gymnastics is one of the world's oldest sports... It's also what many consider one of the toughest. Timothy Case knows this first hand. "I broke my arm, I've sprained my ankle more times than I could want, it's pretty rough."
From flipping, to swinging, and tumbling, gymnasts have a challenging goal, execute their performance with perfection and grace. And of course, end with a perfect landing.
"You have to basically stick and it can be the difference between winning and losing an event."
For the students here at United Gymnastics Academy, it's more than just a performance.
Timothy Case: "The best thing about gymnastics is I just think it's fun. Tumbling and stuff, it's a lot of fun."
Morgan Sutter: "It's so much fun. The adrenaline just gets to you. It's awesome."
Morgan Sutter's goal -- become the best of the best -- an Olympic gymnast.
Morgan Sutter: "You have to work hard to get where you want to be, it's not easy but it's definitely rewarding."
Rewarding especially when you finally make it to the big leagues -- the Summer Olympics. Fanatics believe the real battle during the games in London this year is between China and USA's women's teams. But the challenge won't be easy for team USA.
Lee Pinkstaff: "We'll see, I know they've been trying the last few years and just quite haven't got there."
Something new this year in the Olympic games -- the trampoline. Gymnasts are required to bounce ten times in their routine, in which they'll flip, twist and pike in the air. Lee Pinkstaff owns United Gymnastics Academy in Hanford. Pinkstaff says winning the gold is always hard work.
Lee Pinkstaff: "They train 25-30 hours a week and 6-7 days a week."
He says the only thing that will hold them back from winning is execution.
Lee Pinkstaff: "Which means, are their legs straight when they are supposed to be, or are they bent and that's when they take points off."
But of course, anything can happen in gymnastics. Even the best fall off the pommel horse once in awhile. Sutter says whatever may happen at the Olympics this year, watching the best in battle gives her hope.
Morgan Sutter: "I like to look up to the other gymnastics and see how well they can do it and it motivates me more."
The Gymnastics competition gets underway on July 28th and runs through August 7th. Both the men and women's USA teams are expected to compete for medals. You can catch all the Olympic action on NBC's Olympic website by clicking here.
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