Gymnast gearing up for Beijing

Alyssa Brown finds herself in a tough spot as she prepares for the Olympic Games.
Brown, 19, a member of Gymnastics Mississauga for the past six years, will be going to Beijing, her first shot at the Olympics, not knowing whether she'll actually get to compete. The Games begin Aug. 8.
She's going to Beijing as the first alternate on the Canadian squad, and said it's a difficult situation to be in because a couple of people would have to be unable to compete in order for her to see action.
"You never wish any bad luck on anyone," added Brown. "But you still train hard and you have to be mentally prepared as though you will be competing. It's a bit upsetting, but I'm focusing on training. And it's exciting, too."
Brown, who has competed all over the world at international events, will head to Calgary next week with other members of Team Canada for a one-week final training camp July 17-25.
While the team members will then fly to Beijing from Calgary, Brown will return home for a week and then fly to China Aug. 3.
"I won't be staying in the Olympic Village with the other athletes, I know that," said Brown, constantly retaining her smile. "I'll be staying at Canada House with all the other alternates."
Brown, who has a scholarship to Stanford University starting in the fall, admits it's been a tough year.
"An Olympic year is always stressful," she said. "It didn't come out the way I wanted it to, but I have no regrets."
Like many other Olympians, Brown has had her share of ups and downs on the long road to the Games. She has grown up without much in the way of a social life with school friends, replacing that with five and six hours of daily training.
"On the other hand, there aren't many 19-year-olds who can say they've travelled around the world like I have," she said. "And I've been able to have a social life with the people I've met here. That kind of puts things in perspective."
In the last three years, Brown has competed in two world championships, the Commonwealth Games, the senior Pan-Am Championships as well as Pacific Alliance Championships.
Among her accomplishments are a first-place finish on the balance beam at the 2003 Elite Canada meet and a third-place showing on the vault at the 2004 Junior Pan-Am Games.
onlinenews@mississauga.net