Al Bello/Getty ImagesCynthia Valdez dreams of performing her routines at the 2012 Olympics in London.The gymnast said her two biggest dreams are to participate in the 2012 Olympic Games and then retire -- although for the first one, she would need a letter and an invitation since she was not able to secure a spot through pre-Olympic qualifying.
"It's something I want," Valdez said. "It's the self-satisfaction of being able to say that all the effort, everything you do, is worthwhile. And even if it does not come true, you have to be satisfied with what you accomplish. The results are important in order to push for the [Olympic] invitation."
Another big dream for the 23-year-old is to open her own gymnasium after retirement so she can train gymnasts. She is confident she has gained sufficient knowledge and experience to help girls.
"What I would definitely like to do is open a gym," Valdez said. "Another one of my big dreams is to be able to teach girls everything I have learned at the different schools around the world including in Russia and the Ukraine. I think I would be a good trainer."
Valdez said it was not easy to win multiple medals at these games. She won gold in the individual event finals for hoops and clubs, and silver in the individual all-around and the individual finals for balls and ribbons. Reaching this point has required seven years of training and sacrifice after leaving school and not seeing much of her family and loved ones.
"Many things have occurred during my sports career," Valdez said. "I stopped studying, because school can wait and the sport of gymnastics is right now. Also being far away from my family has been most difficult for me. I can say that over the last year, I was at home one or two months at the most. When I am in Guadalajara, I spend almost all day at the gym.
"You sacrifice smaller things such as friends, parties and food. But more than sacrifices, it's things you come to accept because you really like gymnastics."
Over the course of this year, Valdez went on tour twice and spent time studying the gymnasts she would compete against at Guadalajara 2011. She knew she must perform almost perfect routines, because the American gymnasts were coming in well prepared. For the U.S., Julie Ashley Zetlin won gold in the individual all-around as well as the balls and ribbon individual finals. She won silver in the hoops individual final.
"Thank God I was able to win five medals," Valdez said. "There are other sports in which, wish as you might, it's impossible. Now in rhythmic gymnastics, I was the only one who won five. The American lost one on one event, and that motivates me because I was consistent with golds and silvers.
"These medals are special to me since I won them at home," she continued. "I had been competing all year, focused on observing the level of the rest of the competitors. I knew the Americans would be the rivals to beat, and so it was."
Valdez believes that in order to win, one must persevere since a lot must be overcome -- daily training sessions, injuries, traveling. But in the end when the objectives were met, everything has been worth it.
"Ever since the world championships in France, we had been almost even," Valdez said. "Although in the end, the American ended a bit higher. So we knew what we were coming up against. However, I knew I had everything to gain. I was at home with my fans behind me, and I knew that would be important.
"One young girl told me that 'medals are won during training and they are picked up at the competition.' And I think that is very true. I invested many years of training, maturity and experience, and now, to tell the truth, I enjoyed it very much."
