Jordyn Wieber talks about the Olympic experience, her busy schedule, and what the Fierce Five will do next
Now that the Games are over, it's just fun for Jordyn Wieber.
The gold medal-winning Olympic gymnast has been relaxing and enjoying time with friends in her hometown of DeWitt, Mich., since returning from London last week.
"Now that the pressure is off, we just hang out," Wieber said Wednesday during an event at the AT&T store in Novi, Mich., which is about an hour away from her home.
The sprite and smiling 17-year-old said she now sleeps in a bit longer, spends much needed time with family, but still has commitments for interviews and events.
On this particular day for example, she'll spend the morning signing autographs and meeting the hundreds of fans that lined up around the phone center store. Then she and her mother, sister and best friend will go shopping at a nearby mall for a dress for Wieber to wear at the upcoming MTV Video Music Awards, where she and her U.S. teammates will present an award.
Then she and her group will head to the Detroit Tigers game, where Wieber will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
"Yeah, I'm really excited about that," she said.
Overall, Wieber described her Olympic experience as "awesome," but couldn't understand the fuss that buzzed about teammate Gabby Douglas' hair.
"We didn't pay much attention to it," she said. "We sort of channeled it out. I mean we were sitting here getting gold medals and folks were worried about Gabby's hair?"
Eleven-year-old Maddy Martin of Novi, Mich., waited nearly three hours to see her idol Wieber.
Maddy obviously knew that Wieber had won the team gold with the "Fierce Five," but it was the way her idol handled the adversity of not making the all-around finals that impressed her the most.
"At the Olympics when she didn't get to go to the all-around, you could tell in her face she wasn't going to give up," Maddy said. "So it kind of tells me to never give up on your dreams."
Maddy's dream — she's been doing gymnastics for eight years — is to follow Wieber and to become a champion. A gold medal would be nice, too, she said.
Wieber said she's flattered by all the attention, especially from young gymnasts.
"I love it and love being a role model for them," she said.
Next up for Wieber and the other gymnasts is a three-month, 40-city nationwide tour. Rehearsals begin Tuesday she said.