Double-duty gymnast sets bar high

0 Comments | USA TODAY, August, 2007 | by Marlen Garcia

Last winter Alicia Sacramone sometimes got stuck in traffic for two hours shuttling from Brown University in Providence to her club gymnastics practices in Burlington, Mass.

The drive could make some batty, but not Sacramone. Depending on her mood, the aspiring Olympic gymnast settled in by listening to music. Country, pop, hip-hop, Latin and rap tunes were favorites.

"I do a lot of my thinking in the car," Sacramone says, "thinking and relaxing."

The rest of the day typically was a blur for the 19-year-old, the only U.S. female gymnast in recent times to train simultaneously at a world-class level and with a college team.

Sacramone, popular for being upbeat and outgoing, laughs as she recounts the madness of her schedule. She wouldn't...