As a young gymnast growing up in Oklahoma in the 1980s, I had one idol: Mary Lou Retton, who vaulted her way to victory at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Mary Lou was peppy, compact and full of explosive power. As a gymnast I was nothing like her. All the same, I was determined to carry on her legacy: to go out and achieve excellence at every single competition, no matter what the circumstances.Mary Lous accomplishments followed me and my future Olympic teammates to dream throughout our childhoods, and they accompanied us as we marched into the Georgia Dome for our own Olympic moment when we won gold in July of 1996.Fast forward 20 years, and the Final Five -- Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Gabrielle Douglas, Madison Kocian and Laurie Hernandez -- are the undisputed queens of gymnastics. You cant really compare the victories: My teammates and I won Olympic gold by eight-tenths of a point in a close duel with the Russians. The Final Five stormed the Rio Olympic Arena and landed eight whole points above the nearest competition (still Russia). They are that good.No one word does this team justice, but when I think about it I keep coming back to the word strong. All gymnasts are physically strong, and behind every flawless routine is half a lifetime of work. But the mental strength displayed by these five young women surpasses age, natural talent, and even the assurance that springs from outstanding past results.It was an open secret that the American women were going to win the team gold medal in Rio, barring a stranger-than-fiction catastrophe. It was so clear they were the best that they didnt even need to do everything they were capable of to lock down that medal. They could have chosen to simplify their routines. To play it safe. To protect the gold. They could have accepted winning by seven points, or six, or five -- and it still would have been glorious.But they refused to go easy. They gave everything they had, performing to the maximum of their abilities. And they executed flawlessly, turning in the most dominant performance of any womens gymnastics team ever.We say its easier to be the hunter than the hunted. I always felt it was simpler to be the underdog, because when there are no expectations, whatever you do is going to be great. But when youre the team thats supposed to win -- when youve been splashed across the media and everyone is saying that you cant possibly lose this -- it can throw you off balance. What I love about the Final Five is that each of these young women was actually able to thrive on that pressure. They understood that they were walking in as the best and they were determined to maintain that. To be able to cross the finish line, to fight for every tenth of a point as though everything were riding on it, is as hard as most of the gymnastics they did so well in Rio.What better example could be set for all the little girls who were glued to their TV or computer screens watching them this summer? What more could we ask for in role models for our daughters, the next generation of Simones, Alys, Gabbys, Madisons and Lauries?More on the Final Five? They are the greatest! U.S. are best womens gymnastics team ever?Story ?? Simone Biles and Final Five meet Zac Efron?Story ?? The Final Five gymnasts play Hungry Hungry Humans with Jimmy Fallon?Story ?? 9 stunning photos of the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team?Photo gallery ?The IMPACT25 is espnWs annual list of the 25 athletes and influencers who have made the greatest difference for women in sports. Explore the 2016 list and more content at espnW.com/IMPACT25. 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There were no high-fives or major celebrations Monday out of the Providence, Rhode Island, offices of the American Athletic Conference.But commissioner Mike Aresco can admit to exhaling after the Big 12 announced that it would not expand, calling the months-long decision-making process a colossal distraction.There were so many rumors that I sort of stopped reading a lot of the things, Aresco told ESPN on Tuesday. I would glance at them and I would note it and I would realize that in the end, nobody really knew what was going to happen. None of us did. And so you just basically make sure day to day that you try to stay focused on conference business. The other thing was communication -- I tried to communicate pretty regularly with our schools. Somebody said, Has it been awkward communicating with your schools about this process? And even today we had a conference call, and I said, No, not all. It hasnt been awkward at all, and Im not saying that disingenuously.They understood that I was going to try to be sensitive to their situation. They were going through a lot. This has been really tough and so it was up to me as a leader here at the conference to make sure I was sensitive to what they were doing.The Big 12 announced Monday that it would not expand, after three months of exploring the option. The conference had video interviews with nearly 20 candidates, in addition to September in-person interviews with 11 different schools, including seven from the American: UCF, Cincinnati,?UConn, Houston, South Florida, SMU?and Tulane.Aresco has been the Americans commissioner since 2012, back when it was still the Big East. Since then, the league has renamed itself and seen the non-football schools break off and create a new Big East.Aresco has also overseen a number of defections and expansions, from Notre Dame moving its non-football sports to the ACC, Rutgers moving to the Big Ten and Louisville to the ACC; to adding Houston, Memphis, SMU, UCF, East Carolina, Tulane and Tulsaa from Conference-USA.ddddddddddddNavy began playing in the American last year as a football-only addition, too.You just had to try to control your emotions and realize it wasnt personal; it was the business of college sports as we know it, Aresco said of the Big 12 drama. You try to empathize with everyone because this is a tough deal for everyone: for our schools, through people in the Big 12, for (Big 12 commissioner) Bob (Bowlsby). Its been tough on everyone. Im not going to comment on the Big 12 process, but it was a long process and we had to basically try to tune out the distractions as best we could.As the Big 12 news made its rounds Monday, a number of rejected targets issued statements reiterating what their schools have to offer.Aresco says he views all of the Americans schools as Power 5 programs in that sense, and he sees no reason the league cannot be elevated to Power 6 status eventually, calling the recent attention placed on the leagues elite schools through this process a silver lining.Weve probably gotten more attention in this process than we got in the couple of years prior, Aresco said. I think our brand is national now. I think the AAC, the American, the fact the light was shining on our schools, they were the targets for the most part. We had a certain status. I think thats really important and I think its important to capitalize on that.From here, Aresco hopes to launch a Power 6 campaign for his league that includes benchmarks, goals and guideposts, as the plan had been on hold amid the uncertainty of Big 12 expansion. He is hoping that the recent success of many of its marquee football and basketball programs will play a vital role, especially as the American aims to draw more revenue from a new television deal.The American is currently in Year 4 of a seven-year deal with ESPN that runs through the 2019-20 season. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '