Chalked up : inside elite gymnastics' merciless coaching, overzealous parents, eating disorders, and elusive Olympic dreams

> The true story of the 1986 U.S. National Gymnastics champion whose lifelong dream was to compete in the Olympics, until anorexia, injuries, and coaching abuses nearly destroyed her > > Fanciful dreams of gold medals and Nadia Comaneci led Jennifer Sey to become a gymnast at the age of six. She was a natural at the sport, and her early success propelled her family to sacrifice everything to help her become, by age eleven, one of America’s elite, competing at prestigious events worldwide alongside such future gymnastics’ luminaries as Mary Lou Retton. But as she set her sights higher and higher—the senior national team, the World Championships, the 1988 Olympics—Sey began to change, putting her needs, her health, and her well-being aside in the name of winning. And the adults in her life refused to notice her downward spiral. In __Chalked Up__ Sey reveals the tarnish behind her gold medals. A powerful portrait of intensity and drive, eating disorders and stage parents, abusive coaches and manipulative businessmen, denial and the seduction of success, it is the story of a young girl whose dreams would become eclipsed by the adults around her. As she recounts her experiences, Sey sheds light on the destructiveness of our winning-is-everything culture where underage and underweight girls are celebrated and on the need for balance in children’s lives. Published just as all eyes are on the young female gymnasts competing for a ticket to Beijing on the 2008 Olympic team, "Chalked Up" presents the story of the 1986 US National Gymnastics champion whose life long dream was to compete in the 1988 Olympics - until anorexia, injuries, coaching abuses, and parental hopes and neglect nearly destroyed her. Fanciful dreams of gold medals and Nadia Comaneci led Jennifer Sey to the sport of gymnastics at the age of six. Early success propelled her forward.Her family, seduced by the notion of their young daughter as a champion, complied with her every wish as she strove to become better. By the age of eleven, it all seemed to be coming together for her when she qualified for the nationally competitive elite level, the highest in U.S. gymnastics. "Chalked Up" is Sey's personal story in competitive gymnastics and also the story of the ways her needs were subsumed by the adults around her. It is about the meaninglessness of second place in a culture that places winning above all else. It is about the destruction waged by eating disorders. It is about a specific a culture in which underage and underweight girls are celebrated as cultural icons. "Fanciful dreams of gold-medal glory led Jennifer Sey to the local gymnastics club in 1976. A natural aptitude and a willingness to endure punishing hard work took her to the elite ranks by the time she was eleven years old. Jennifer traveled the country and the world competing for the U.S. National team, but the higher she set her sights--the world championships, the 1988 Olympics--the more she began to ignore her physical and mental well-being. Jennifer suffered from devastating injuries, developed an eating disorder, and lived far from family and friends, all for the sake of winning. When her parents and coaches lost sight of her best interests, Jennifer had no choice but to redefine her path into adulthood. She had to save herself. Chalked up delivers an unforgettable coming-of-age story that will resonate with anyone who has ever felt not good enough and has finally come to accept who they were meant to be"--Page 4 of cover Updated with a New Introduction Fanciful dreams of becoming the next Nadia Comaneci led Jennifer Sey to become a gymnast at the age of six. Her early success propelled her family to sacrifice everything to help her become, by age 11, one of Americas elite. But as she set her sights higher and higher, Jennifer began to change, setting her needs, her health, and her well-being aside in the name of winning. And the adults in her life refused to notice her downward spiral. Now, Sey reveals the tarnish beneath her gold medals. A powerful portrait of intensity and drive, eating disorders and stage parents, abusive coaches and manipulative businessmen, Chalked Up is the story of a young girl whose dreams would become subsumed by the adults around her. Told From The Perspective Of A 1988 World Champion, A Behind-the-scenes Account Of The Personal Toll Of Olympics Competitiveness Reveals How Her Stage Parents, Abusive Coaches, And Manipulative Sponsors Pushed Her To The Limits Of Her Physical And Mental Health. Jennifer Sey. Title from PDF title page (viewed on May 20, 2008).