Thirteen-year-old Sam Peszek (Deveau's School of Gymnastics) seems to have the perfect recipe for success in gymnastics: a confident and determined attitude, athletic genes (her mother was a gymnast at the University of Illinois, where her father was a member of the wrestling team) and pure talent. Her fortunate birthday (Dec. 14, 1991) also puts her at the perfect age to make a run for the 2008 Olympics.

Last weekend, Sam led the U.S. team to a sweep of the gold medals at the 2005 Mexican International Invitational in Cancun, Mexico. Last-minute changes to the traveling plans aside—the U.S. delegation changed its route to avoid Hurricane Rita—the meet was a success. She captured the all-around title and also claimed gold in both the vault and the floor exercise. Monica Shoji of Cincinnati, Ohio (Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy), and Shantessa Pama of Dana Point, Calif. (Gym-Max Gymnastics), took the titles in the balance beam and uneven bars, respectively. Morgan Evans of Norfolk, Va. (Excalibur Gymnastics), contributed to the medal haul with a silver on beam. Overall, the team captured six golds, two silvers and three bronzes over the two days of competition.

As Sam, the one-time TOPS athlete, was commuting from school (she attends classes at St. Simon the Apostle until 1:30 p.m. every day) to gym Wednesday, the chatty youngster spoke with Inside Gymnastics.

Inside Gymnastics:  First, talk a little about how you got started in gymnastics…

Sam: Well, my mom was a gymnast and I started taking gymnastics when I was two. [Eventually], I went from one day a week to two days to [competitive-level training].

Inside: And what are some of your first memories from the sport?

Sam: Actually, I have my first meet ever on tape. I didn’t do very well! I was like six, a Level 4 competition. I remember that meet and it’s fun to watch it on tape!

Inside: When did you first realize that you had the potential to do really well in the sport?

Sam: It was probably when I started winning state titles.* Then, when I made it to the Ranch (the Women’s National Team Training Center) and was invited for the TOPS program, I think that was a big moment. That was really cool.

* Sam medaled at every state meet she participated in from Level 6 – 10. (She bypassed Level 7). She also won the State All-around title at Level 9 and 10.

Inside: Who were some of your idols in gymnastics as you were making it through those Levels?

Sam: I always liked Dominique Moceanu. And the whole Mag 7 from the 1996 Olympics was a big inspiration. I have that on tape and I think it’s worn out from me and my sister watching it so much! I would watch it over and over and try to memorize everyone’s routine and I remember acting like I was doing their floor exercise routines! I knew every single one of them! I think I was like five years old. It was really cool what they did.

Inside Gymnastics: OK, let’s turn to the competition in Mexico. Tell us about the experience…

Sam Peszek: It was really cool. I was a little nervous before the competition, but once I got settled in, everything was great. On the plane ride down there, everyone was talking about what it would be like and what our goals were and what we wanted to accomplish. Morgan was the only one of the four that had competed outside of the U.S. before, so we just talked about that. Once we got down there, I was kind of surprised because it was really hot in the gym. They didn’t have any air conditioning and the hotel wasn’t as nice as I thought it would be, but it wasn’t a problem once I really just adjusted to it. We brought sweat towels into the gym and just learned to work through it. It was also good just to learn how to adjust to the equipment. Once I got through the first day, I felt more comfortable.

Inside: Did Martha [Karolyi] give you any words of wisdom before the trip?

Sam: She always just tells us to focus and concentrate and to always give it our all—just work hard and do our best. On the first day of competition we hit 16 of 16 routines, so we were really pleased and excited.

Inside: Did you get to meet the competitors from different countries? Were you close with anyone in particular?

Sam: Definitely we were most close to the Puerto Ricans. They could all speak some English and they liked a lot of the same music that we did. [Among] the four of us we could all speak some Spanish too, which was neat. They would be like, “Whoa! You can speak Spanish!” I took it for 7 years in school, but for most of the time, it was just for one day a week. But when we went shopping, I could ask how much something was and stuff like that!

Inside: How would you sum up your trip to Mexico?

Sam: Just a great experience for me. It was really cool and I learned a lot like how to get through the things like no air conditioning and different equipment.

Inside: Did you watch the 2004 Olympics? What goes through your mind as you look ahead to 2008?

Sam: Well, I think the U.S. girls did really well in Athens and I think it just shows you that no matter what happens to never give up and keep working hard. I definitely want to keep going and pursue that goal [of working toward 2008]. I want to get more international assignments and keep proving what I can do. … I remember watching the Olympics and trying to think what it would be like to be out there, what it would feel like, how I would do.

Inside: Some people enjoy training but find competition to be intimidating, and others aren’t wild about training but love to compete. Some are in between. Where would you say that you fall along the training-competition spectrum?

Sam: I definitely love to compete and that’s what I love most about gymnastics. I love performing in front of an audience and showing what I can do. I’ve always been able to [hit] in competition. My coaches sometimes get nervous because I might have a hard time in warm-up, but I tell them I’ll be fine in competition and then I can usually go out and hit my routines. I’d much rather be competing than training!

Inside: Now that you have a little bit of down time, what will be your focus in training? Are you learning many new skills?

Sam: Well, it’s kind of like my summer now in terms of the gym, so I just want to spend a lot of time trying a bunch of different new skills and see what I like best. On beam, I’m training a standing Arabian and a double Arabian dismount. I like the double Arabian a lot because I do the same thing on floor; it’s a little different off beam, but you can relate it. I was actually doing it before I had a knee injury, so now I’m just starting to get it back. On floor I want to just do some bigger skills even though I already have a lot in my floor. I’m working on a double-double. And on vault, I want to work toward a Yurchenko 2-1/2.

Inside: Very impressive! One last question: if you had to describe yourself in one word – something that captures who you are as an athlete – what would it be?

Sam: Competitor. I love to go out and compete and I have [that drive and desire to do well]. That’s what I love about gymnastics.