When It Counts

By Lauren Hopkins

A year ago, 15-year-old Amalia Blanchard failed to qualify to nationals, but now with less than two months until the 2016 Olympic Games, she’s the United States beam champion on her way to fight for a spot on the Olympic team. Gymnastics is Amalia’s life and she’s sacrificed everything to get this far, but she still has to prove she has what it takes to stand out in Rio. The competition is tough and nothing is guaranteed, not even for her teammates, recently-crowned national champion Ruby Spencer, who missed the 2012 Olympics after rupturing her Achilles a month before the Games, and world champion Emerson Bedford, whose personal drama is threatening her mental game when she needs it most. Picking up where "Finding Our Balance" left off, "When It Counts" follows Amalia, Ruby, and Emerson on the next steps in their journey to Rio.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lauren Hopkins
• Release date: Dec 11, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370936359

Lauren Hopkins

Lauren Hopkins began writing about gymnastics for The Couch Gymnast in July 2010, and spent four years there as the US expert while also contributing to International Gymnast magazine, GymCastic, and as a guest on several blogs. In 2014, she created her own website, The Gymternet, now one of the most popular gymnastics sites providing exclusive coverage for the most enthusiastic gym nerds. In 2016, she also began working as a freelance gymnastics reporter for SB Nation, and she was a researcher for NBC’s digital gymnastics coverage, including for the post-competition live recap show, The Daily Dismount. A New England native, Lauren is a 2014 graduate of Columbia University. She currently lives in New York City and she loves the Red Sox unconditionally.

Book preview