U.S. gymnast David Sender whose injury one day before the start of the 2008 Olympic Trials ended his dream of becoming an Olympian, returns to the Visa Championships this week to defend his U.S. men’s all-around title.
It may be his last competition.
Still reeling emotionally due to his omission from the Beijing Olympic team, Sender is considering leaving the sport and entering veterinary school in September.
It’s going to be veterinary school or gymnastics for the next few years,” he said during a recent phone interview. “I talked to people and learned it’s very difficult to do both.
School would start for Sender in September and he will decide on his future later this month.
Before spraining an ankle in training the day before the start of the Olympic Trials last year, Sender had formulated a solid plan for his future. After competing in Beijing, the then-22 year old wanted to move beyond gymnastics and learn how to be an animal doctor.
But the injury forced Sender to withdraw on the second day of the trials, altering his plan and starting a series or events that eventually prompted a change in his approach to gymnastics.
“I can’t completely explain how it felt,” he said. “It wasn’t just like four years of hard work. It was a lifelong thing. After Visas went well, I felt confident going into the trials. It seemed I was about to realize my dream.”
Despite the injury, Sender still hoped he would be named to the U.S. Olympic team as an alternate. But U.S. coaches decided not to select him, instead choosing 2004 Olympic all-around gold medalist Paul Hamm, who also missed the trails due to injury. Hamm later withdrew from the team due to the injury and was replaced with Raj Bhavsar.
"When they selected the team and I wasn't even announced to the training camp, it was a harsh blow," he said. "I thought i was still in shape and that I should have been given a chance to show I was ready."
Sender still feels some disappointment.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever completely get over it,” he said. “Even if I were to make the 2012 Olympics, while that would be fantastic, my goal was the 2008 Olympics and be done and move on to school. My first reaction was I felt cheated, not only by the selection committee but by bad luck and bad timing because of the injury.”
Sender reflects uncomfortably on the Olympic selection process. He claims he was never told why he was not selected. “I don’t know if the injury was not considered," he said. "I understand they were in a tough position to possibly select two guys who were injured and might not be 100 percent. But they said in the meeting when they announced the team that they considered everybody to be healthy. I didn’t have a chance to compete at the trials and get the scores like everybody else did. I’m trying not to be bitter, trying to move on from it and look at it as objectively as possible.”
Sender admits he considered leaving gymnastics during a three-week break following the trials last year. He returned to the sport with a different attitude.
“I don’t like doing my gymnastics for anyone else,” he said. “The selection committee is always kind of watching you. I never enjoyed the part of having to prove myself to people, to do what they wanted to see rather than what I wanted to do. What I do now is for my own enjoyment.”
Sender displayed his new attitude at the Maccabiah Games in July in Israel when he won three gold medals. He used the meet at a tuneup for the Visa Championships.
“I wanted to go out and make a good showing more for me than anything else considering how everything went last year,” he said. “I’m doing gymnastics this year for my health and enjoying it.”
Sender has not ruled out training with the goal of making the U.S. team for the 2012 London Olympics while he attends veterinary school. For now, including at the U.S. championships this week, Sender hopes to maintain the joy for gymnastics that he felt in Israel.
“The only thing I have on my back is that I’m the defending national champion,” he said. “I’m not worried about that. I just want to make a good showing for myself and have fun.”
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