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SIMONE BILESAT JUST 19, SIMONE BILES IS ALREADY THE MOST DECORATED GYMNAST IN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY, HAVING WON THREE SUCCESSIVE ALL-AROUND TITLES AND 10 GOLD MEDALS IN TOTAL. NOW, THE AMERICAN TEENAGER IS TARGETING THE OLYMPIC GAMES IN RIOThereÕs a lot that goes into our mental preparation. WeÕre mainly working on consistency, precision and confidence. I think whenever youÕre confident in all of your skills and routines, thatÕs when you do your best. ThereÕs no right or wrong way to prepare mentally, but we do a lot of work on pressure so we know how to handle it whenever we go out and compete.ÓItÕs very exciting that I could possibly be representing the United States at the Olympic Games Rio 2016. What the USA girls achieved in London [winning the team gold medal] has been very inspiring, because IÕm going down the same path that they travelled. IÕm just really excited for the journey ahead.ÓYour team-mates are one of the strongest support systems you can have whenever you go out to compete, because they help fill you with so much confidence. Weall have this one goal, and we all put 100 per cent effort into the same thing. I think thatÕs really amazing.ÓYou need to have confidence and discipline to be a successful gymnast, and a lot of determination. But gymnastics is a very unique sport. You can have different body types and people who are better suited to certain disciplines than others Ð itÕs different for each individual person. Me, IÕm better at floor, vault and beam, so I have to work harder on swinging on bars.ÓBefore a big event, I usually go to church and light a candle for St Sebastian, who is the patron saint of athletes. I also have a collection of turtle figurines that I take with me to events. Whenever I travel, I try to get a new one. I donÕt know where it came from, although my mum used to call me her Ôlittle turtleÕ. One of them has a ladybird on the back for good luck.ÓI started gymnastics when I was six years old. I was at day care and they took us on a field trip to a gym club, BannonÕs Gymnastix in Houston, and thatÕs how I got started. I progressed pretty quickly because I had a natural talent and I just needed to control it. But it actually didnÕt hit me until about three years ago that I could succeed at the highest level, because before that I was always the shortest. Everyone used to come up to me and tell me that I could reach the top, but I never really believed them.Ó58 OLYMPIC REVIEW ROAD TO RIO