Olympic star Aly Raisman, Fierce Five teammates in town for gymnastics tour

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012 | 2:05 a.m.

Aly Raisman, the 18-year-old captain of the United States’ gold medal-winning gymnastics team, or the Fierce Five, as the group of teens is affectionately known, could speak for hours about the joys of Olympic glory.

After all, she’s been asked to do so numerous times since leaving London last month with three medals. In addition to the team gold, she also won an individual gold on the floor exercise and bronze on the balance beam.

The success instantly turned members of the Fierce Five into stars. Now, they are capitalizing on the success with appearances and endorsement deals.

On Thursday, the Fierce Five and other Olympic gymnasts from previous games will perform at the Thomas & Mack Center for the Kellogg’s Tour of Gymnastics Champions.

On Monday, Raisman talked briefly with the Sun’s Ray Brewer about winning gold and her post-Olympic experiences. Here are some highlights from their talk.

I must be interview No. 1,000 for you. Plus, all the travel. It seems like you guys are in a different city every night. Has the attention and demands become overwhelming?

Right when we got home, it was really, really hectic. It was traveling to Los Angeles, then New York. But it has definitely calmed down a little bit.

I’m sure by now you’ve had a chance to watch the tape of you guys competing at the Olympics. What stands out?

It was just exciting and surreal to watch knowing we competed at the Olympics. The first time I got home, we watched the team finals, the floor and beam finals. You get to see it from a different view. It was just so amazing.

You guys have made several appearances since returning home. What stands out?

We all went to the VMAs (Video Music Awards), which was pretty amazing. Also, we went to the Patriots game and Red Sox game. It was pretty amazing being recognized in front of all those players.

Who is your favorite Red Sox? Patriot?

Definitely, Will Middlebrooks. For the Patriots, either Rob Gronkowski or Tom Brady. And Tyler Seguin of the Bruins.

Can you give us a preview of what to expect from Thursday’s show?

It’s really been an amazing experience. It’s been so much fun for us to perform. We all love it. It is really different from what people expect. There are some high-energy routines and things the crowd can get involved in.

Tasha Schwikert, who was on the 2000 Olympic team, is from Las Vegas. You’ve spent a good portion of your life competing in high-level gymnastics. How is the Las Vegas gymnastics scene viewed nationally?

There is definitely a lot of talent in Las Vegas. Tasha was here and went to the Olympics. She was definitely one of my role models growing up. She is amazing.