The McKayla Maroney/Kyla Ross friendship has been well publicized. A decade after first meeting, training together, and ultimately building a strong bond, Maroney and Ross each earned their place on the five person 2012 Olympic Team. And if that weren't enough, they went on to win a historic gold medal for Team USA. Together. It is truly a fairy tale story, but that story is not complete.
What many may not know is that there was a third teammate - a third friend. Her name isCharlotte Drury. And just like Maroney and Ross, Drury is a world class athlete with Olympic potential. Drury just chose a slightly different path.
The trio met at NGTC Gymnastics in Aliso Viejo, California when they were all about five years old and competing level 6. They competed together, rode carpool together, and spent nights over at each others homes. Eventually, they all made their way to Gym-Max Gymnastics to train with esteemed coaches Jenny Zhang and Howie Liang.
Together, they progressed up the competitive levels all the way to level ten. Feeling a lack of passion to pursue elite artistic gymnastics, Drury made the difficult decision to walk away. With a gentle push from her mom, Ann Drury, she quickly made her way into competitive trampoline, a lesser-known form of gymnastics. Thanks to her strong foundation of artistic gymnastics, Drury won a National Title in her first year of competition. From there, she advanced to Junior Elite, accomplished her goal of making the Junior National Team, and even won a World Cup event in Portugal. At the 2013 USA Championships, Drury won silver on individual trampoline and won the Senior National Title for synchronized trampoline. She is officially a 2016 USA Olympic hopeful.
This month, the three best friends were selected to represent USA Gymnastics at the upcoming World Championships. Ross and Maroney will compete at the individual World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Belgium, while Drury will take part in her first Worlds in Bulgaria. Their story in indescribably unique.
We had the pleasure of speaking with Charlotte about her recent success in trampoline, and what was like growing up alongside Olympic stars Kyla Ross and McKayla Maroney. Below is our interview.I

Gymnastike: Let's start with the difficult decision to walk away fromartistic gymnastics. For those who don't know how hard the decision is to quitgymnastics, can you expand on the emotions of it - of giving up something youworked for and spent the majority of your time doing?
CharlotteDrury: Yeah. I remember before I quit, my coach and I talked, and shesaid, 'I can see it. I can see it in you that you're not done yet. I can seeyou still have a passion for this sport.' And she was completely right, I justknew at the time I couldn't keep pushing myself to do this [artisticgymnastics] because I didn't love it anymore. I didn't want to go. Once I gotthere [to the gym], normally I was pretty good. But then it just got so toughand things started to hurt, and mentally it's just like downward spiral fromthere. It's so hard to get out of it. Really, it's a huge decision to put on a13 year old. It's like a life decision. It's so hard to convey that feeling topeople who really don't know it. But, it's like the equivalent of giving upyour whole life.
G: Andthen, how did you eventually find your way to trampoline?
CD: I knew abouttrampoline when I was in artistic. I had always been bouncing around. Iremember when we were little at NGTC, my coach would sometimes schedule us fortrampoline, and that was like the highlight of my life! [laughs] I rememberevery day you'd run up to look at the schedule to see, 'Is it trampoline? Do weget to do trampoline today?', and you'd either be super, super happy or you'dbe kind of sad. I mean, I'd still be excited if we didn't get to do it, but itwas the best thing when we did! So seriously, I quit one day. I met with mycoaches, said, 'I'm done. This is over.' And that very same day I was sittingon the couch, and my mom was like, 'you've got to do something!' So, she signedme up for trampoline that very day and I went to practice that night! [laughs]
G: Wow!So you didn't even get a day off?
CD: Yeah, so therewas really wasn't much down time. I've never really been out of the sport!Because I was already bouncing off the walls even having just one day off andmy sister and I were causing a giant mess, and my mom was like, 'this is notgoing to fly!'I

G: That'sincredible. And were you still in artistic gymnastics then?
CD: Yeah, we wereall still together at Gym-Max.
G: Andwere you picturing yourselves there [at the Olympics] at that time?
CD: Oh,definitely. It's been a dream. Or, it's not even been a dream. It's just one ofthose things you never questioned that we were all going to try to go to theOlympics. And of course they can say they've been now, and of course I'm stilltrying [laughs]. But it's never really been a thought in our heads that it'snot going to happen. That we're going to give up. It's always been a dream forall three of us to go. And we never really had to say it. We just knewit.
G: Isthere a certain moment that you knew it would happen?
CD: No. It justalways kind of was. It was just there. I guess I thought it up when I was toolittle to remember.
G: Wasit hard at all for you to grow up with them, have the dream of going to theOlympics together like you said, and then watch is all play out for them?
CD: You know, alot of people ask me that, and it really wasn't! Because, like I said, therehas never really been any doubt in my mind that this wasn't going to happen.That wasn't my time. 2012 wasn't my time. And artistic, I mean I was good atit, but I wasn't that good [laughs]. Trampoline has really opened upthe door for me. I can't even - I was just so proud for them I never eventhought about myself in that whole situation. It was just crazy, and Iwas so happy for them.
G: Sothen what's your outlook on Rio 2016?
CD: It's my wholelife, basically. I was sitting in class today and a kid was like, 'so you dotrampoline, is that in the Olympics?' And I was like, 'yeah, it is'. So heasked, 'are you going to try and go?' And I said, 'yes I am!'. It's always justbeen one of those things - I'm going to go into the gym every day, not thinkabout it every day - I'm going to have my short term goals. The goal I have nowis World Championships. I'm going to focus on that and I'm going to get as goodas I can as fast as I can for that. And take it from there. If it happens, ithappens. You can't rush it to make 2016 come faster. Just take it day by day.
G: And whatdo you think of the possibility of - if Kyla and McKayla should make the teamagain - the three of you going to Rio 2016 together?
CD: Oh gosh, you saythat and my heart starts beating faster already! If that happened, I wouldprobably have a heart attack [laughs]. If I think about it, I'm going to cry.It would be amazing!
G: Thismonth, all 3 of you reached a milestone of all making the World Championshipsteam. Can you tell us about that, and how it feels?
CD: It feels amazing!The fact that we're all going to be going to World Championships in the sameyear, even though it's for different sports, but all for gymnastics, I can'teven describe to you. It's like a dream come true. Well, half of the dream hascome true, but we're getting there!
G: AfterKyla and McKayla were named to the World team, you tweeted anadorable picture. Can you tell us what was going on in that shot?
CD: We were literally like chalk monsters! We would get chalk and we didn'teven know what chalk did. We were at that stage where it was…'chalk, chalk, chalk, chalk! You need chalk to do good!' We would stand in thechalk bin for hours and chalk up before our turn. So, that would be that!

G: Alright,final question, and it's a bit off topic. Chellsie Memmel recently announcedher goals to compete in T&T. How has that impacted the sport so far, and doyou think it will affect the popularity of the sport?
CD: I think it's a greatthing that she's coming to tumbling. Tumbling is a crazy cool event to watch.And a lot of people, when she made the announcement, thought, 'what's tumbling?What's T&T? Isn't that some kind of explosive thing?' Um, no! That's anothersport! So it's been great just for raising awareness of the sport. She didn'tcompete [at Nationals] because she got married - huge congrats to her - but assoon as she does start competing I feel like it's going to be such a greatthing to bring awareness and popularity to the sport and bring some attentionto some of the athletes who deserve it in the sport.I

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看到啦！好喜欢这种从小形成的羁绊，能和好朋友一同成长，真是一辈子的友情。

BFF

MM & Kyla are so lucky to have Charlotte!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2016加油~~~~

Awesome awesome friendship!!

Charlotte的首届世锦赛之旅拿了第十二名，加油！