How has life changed since the Olympics?

 Raj Bhavsar: There definitely are more opportunities. I feel like I have a platform to talk to people, which is something that I’ve always wanted. I didn’t just want the success or the medal or the fame; I wanted it for something deeper. If in some way my story could uplift another human being’s life and inspire them, then I think that brings purpose to all of this. I’m glad it has all worked out this way because it’s given me a solid foundation, a platform and a piece of success to talk about. It’s real life for me and hopefully people can learn from it. For me, that’s my underlying mission. I feel that I have a responsibility to give back. Gymnastics has given me so much, so how can I take this medal and share it with other people? Maybe through my story, people can pick up some information to help themselves dig themselves out of trenches, particularly during the hard times in life.

It’s just amazing that so many people come up to us and notice what we did in Beijing. They’ll see our faces, or Jon’s face, and they’ll say, “Weren’t you in the Olympics?” Then they always follow it up with a thank you. They always thank us. That really hits home that they see what we did for this country. I walked into the bank here in Houston and the guy helping me out recognized me as soon as I walked through the door. It’s great, definitely great, but wild.

Joseph Hagerty: It’s been non-stop. I got back from the Olympics and then three days later, I had to report to Las Vegas for rehearsals for the tour, which lasted three-and-a-half months. Then I went home for Thanksgiving, came back to the (U.S. Olympic) Training Center and trained a little bit, and then went home again for Christmas. Since then I’ve been training and have competed in a few events.

Jonathan Horton: Everybody comes up to me now and is like, “Man, you’re awesome. You’re like a superstar.” But I don’t feel any different. I still feel like the same guy. People recognize me now, and I can’t really go into a restaurant without someone recognizing me. It’s funny because somebody will stare at me and then the light bulb goes off when they realize where they’ve seen me. It’s pretty cool. People ask me, “What now?” since I’ve already gone to the Olympics. But I still have the same goals to go to the Olympic Games and win a team gold medal. I haven’t accomplished everything that I want to do. I’m just as motivated and just as driven to keep going in the sport as I ever was.

Justin Spring: It hasn’t. Around the small town of Champaign, I do a lot of speaking engagements for the university and some photo shoots for magazines. Those are just the extra bonus things that are fun to be part of. Occasionally I get recognized and that’s cool. I’ve gone back to coaching with the team, and that’s my main focus right now. I got engaged and I’m also going back to grad school for sport management. Those were all things I needed to do and waited for the Olympics to be over. Not really changed due to the Olympics, but now that it’s over, it’s time to do some things that I’ve been putting off. (NOTE: Spring was recently named associate head coach for the men’s gymnastics team at the University of Illinois.)

Kevin Tan: Tour was a great time. We were able to celebrate our accomplishments at the Olympics and live in the limelight a little longer. Since then, I've jumped right back into the swing of things. I've been coaching and taking care of my body in preparation to future competitions.

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - University of Illinois Director of Athletics Ron Guenther announced today the promotion of three current staff members to fill the vacancy left by retiring men's gymnastics head coach Yoshi Hayasaki. Women's gymnastics head coach Bob Starkell has been promoted to Director of Gymnastics, men's assistant coach Justin Spring is promoted to Associate Head Coach and visiting assistant coach Ivan Ivankov will now be an assistant coach.

Starkell will remain the women's gymnastics head coach at Illinois and will now oversee the administrative side of the men's program as well. Spring will assume all in the gym coaching duties for the men's program, while Ivankov becomes a full-time assistant coach for the men's team.

"We had a year to think about the reorganization of our gymnastics program after Yoshi decided to retire," Guenther said. "We are very fortunate to have Bob Starkell on our staff, who is very capable of giving oversight to both programs. Also, one of our own, Justin Spring, is recognized in the world of gymnastics as one of the elite competitors and is in position to expand his coaching career. I believe Bob and Justin will be able to continue to elevate our gymnastics program on the national stage."

Starkell, who just finished his 16th season at Illinois and his 10th as the women's head coach, earned National and Big Ten Coach of the Year honors in 2009 after leading the Illini to the best season in school history. During Starkell's tenure as head coach, the Illinois program has gradually risen to new heights, culminating this year as his squad reached the NCAA Championships for the first time in school history, finishing 12th overall, and produced the school's first first-team All-American (Melissa Fernandez on beam). His teams have always performed well in the classroom as well, producing 81 Academic All-Big Ten honorees, including a record 11 in 2009, and 37 Scholastic All-Americans. Hayasaki hired Starkell in 1993 as a women's assistant coach when Hayasaki held the title of Director of Gymnastics.

"Coach Hayasaki's tenure at Illinois has been well decorated with awards and accolades, so it seems fitting that the year he retires his team wins the Big Ten Championship and his athletes win three NCAA event titles," Starkell said. "Sixteen years ago, as the Director of Gymnastics, Hayasaki hired me to the coaching staff here at the University of Illinois. Today, I feel honored to be placed in that same position and to help fill the shoes of one of the all-time greats.

"I look forward to the opportunity to work with both Justin Spring and Ivan Ivankov," Starkell continued. "Between the two of them, they have both the knowledge and experience to carry on the great Illini tradition of men's gymnastics."

April 15, 2009

Minneapolis, Minn. - At the annual NCAA Awards Banquet held this evening at the Radisson hotel in Minneapolis, Illinois head coach Yoshi Hayasaki was named the Central Region Head Coach of the Year, while assistant coaches Justin Spring and Ivan Ivankov garnered Central Region Assistant Coaches of the Year honors. This marks the first time Illinois has swept the prestigious Central Regional Awards.

"This is a tribute to the hard work our entire team has put forth this season," head coach Yoshi Hayasaki said of the honor. "Everyone has come together and worked hard to achieve our team goals. I'd like to give credit to not only the team, but the entire coaching staff. Justin returned from the Olympics and jumped right back into coaching like he'd never left, and Ivan joined us in January and it's as if we've had him around for several years."

There was no one more surprised than Justin Spring when his Olympic dream came true.

Just two weeks before he was named to the team at last year’s Olympic Trials in Philadelphia, Spring, who has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, found himself in the emergency room with painful back spasms. At that moment he feared he’d never do gymnastics again. “This is the last straw, I can’t keep doing this,” an emotional Spring said at the time.

“I came and I wasn’t in the mix,” Spring admitted at Trials, “[but] my gymnastics stands out. I’m not gonna deny I’m a high-risk, high-reward gymnast. But this is the Olympics: Take some risks and put me on the team.”

The Selection Committee agreed with Spring’s assessment and were proved right in Beijing, where Spring turned into one of Team USA’s top performers, helping guide the guys to an improbable bronze and sealing his place in gymnastics history.

And, as he found out last fall, he did it all—including a clutch floor performance in team finals—with a torn ligament in his left ankle.

Since the Games, Spring has sprung to new heights, both personally and professionally.

An assistant coach at his alma mater, the University of Illinois, Spring spent the fall touring with his Olympic teammates, appeared in two television specials, launched a motivational speaking career, and got engaged to longtime girlfriend Tori Tanney, a Chicago native who is currently an Illinois grad student. (Tanney, working towards her masters in higher education, hopes to one day be an academic advisor at the collegiate level. She currently works in Illinois’ academic center, where she sometimes helps out with the gymnastics team.)

Not even December ankle surgery to repair the torn ligament and remove bone spurs, his fourth time going under the knife in the past two years, could slow Spring down. Despite the pain, Spring is still focused on chasing his dreams—both in and out of the gym.

We go Inside with this energetic dynamo, who is currently combining coaching duties—Big 10 Champ Illinois heads into next week’s NCAAs ranked third—with personal rehab, a dash of wedding planning, and his hope to have the best yard on the block …

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2009 NCAA Championships // Sports Pavilion // Minneapolis, Minn.
Session II Qualifying // Thurs., April 16 // 7 p.m. CT
Team Finals // Friday, April 17 // 7 p.m. CT
Individual Finals // Sat., April 18 // 7 p.m. CT

FOR OPENERS
The No. 3 Fighting Illini men's gymnastics team travels to the 2009 NCAA Championships hosted by the University of Minnesota, April 16-18. The Championships will take place at the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis, Minn. The team finals on April 17, will air tape-delayed on ESPN2 on April 23 at 2 p.m. CT. Bart Connor and Mike Gleason will call the action.

Competition at the 2009 NCAA Championships begins on Thursday, April 16 with two qualifying sessions, scheduled for 1 and 7 p.m. CT. The third-ranked Illini, fresh off their share of the Big Ten team title, will compete in Thursday's evening session along with defending champion No. 2 Oklahoma, host No. 7 Minnesota, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 10 Illinois-Chicago and No. 11 Iowa. Top-ranked Stanford headlines the afternoon session that also includes No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 California, No. 8 Penn State, No. 9 Nebraska and No. 12 Navy.

The top three teams from each session will advance to the six-team finals on Friday, April 17, at 7 p.m.

After finishing third last year, Illinois is gunning for it's first National title since 1989.

ILLINOIS AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Illinois has won nine national titles and a total of 48 individual champions in its storied history. Illinois' last title came in 1989 under head coach Yoshi Hayasaki, while its total almost became an even 10 in 2006 when the Fighting Illini finished just behind Oklahoma for the team crown. Illinois has finished in the top-three in five out of the past six seasons

ILLINI BIG TEN CHAMPIONS
The fourth-ranked Illinois men's gymnastics team came from behind to win its first Big Ten team championship since 2004 in thrilling fashion on April 3 at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich., behind a team score of 357.100. The Illini made a dramatic comeback in the final rotation to share the title with the fifth-ranked Michigan. The Orange and Blue trailed the Wolverines by 2.35 points heading into the last event and strung together their highest total on still rings this season, 59.100, to catch the hosts and claim the Big Ten Championship trophy.

The Conference Championship is the 24th in Illinois history, the most among any Big Ten school.

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