Maggie Nichols: "Those obstacles... led me to where I am now."

Just a few weeks after missing out on the 2016 U.S. Olympic gymnastics team, Maggie Nichols found herself back in the grind, facing a new challenge.

The then-teenaged Nichols had driven with her parents from her native Minnesota to Norman, Oklahoma, to join the University of Oklahoma’s women’s gymnastics team.

The cross-country move brought a whole host of changes – not the least of which was the squad’s 6 am morning strength training sessions.

Despite having come almost directly from the rigors of elite training, Nichols wasn’t used to the kinds of workouts the Sooners ran. Working through those difficult workouts with her teammates was one of the first signs that Nichols had found her new home in Norman.

“I know this kind of sounds crazy, but the 6 am workouts… I was super new to that kind of training and getting up early for those workouts… I just felt like those moments, those really tough times really brought us all together,” Nichols told Olympics.com. “The way the coaches train us is just so different, it’s so motivating, it’s really hard, but I don’t know, I just felt like that brought us really close.

“It was really challenging for me at first,” she continued, “But just the support of all the girls – and the coaches, as well – during those hard times, I just felt like, ‘Dang, I’m going to be really successful here.’ These people want me to be successful and we’re all doing it together. Those moments, I felt were really special.”

Nichols, whose autobiography Unstoppable! My Journey from World Champion to Athlete A to 8-Time NCAA National Gymnastics Champion and Beyond was recently released, was right, as she went on to become one of the best collegiate gymnasts of all time.

During her career at Oklahoma, which was cut short by the COVID-19 global pandemic, Nichols helped Oklahoma to two team NCAA titles (2017, 2019) while winning six individual titles including back-to-back all-around crowns in 2018 and 2019.

Sharing a new part of her story

In her new book, Nichols is opening up for the first time about her struggles with body image and eating in hopes that by sharing her experience she can help other young athletes.

“It was just a really hard time in my life,” Nichols says. “It affected me in all areas, especially my gymnastics – mentally, when you’re not feeling yourself, your mind isn’t quite right, it’s not giving you what you need. And, then, also, in the gym, I struggled a lot with energy and injuries and stuff, so I think a big part of those struggle was because of the eating, especially the injuries.”

Nichols became one of Team USA’s best gymnasts in 2014, finishing third at the U.S. Championships that year but injury weeks later kept her out of the World Championships.

In 2015, she finished runner-up to Simone Biles at nationals and went on to help the U.S. squad to a team gold medal at the 2015 Worlds. She also won a floor exercise bronze medal.

She suffered a knee injury in early 2016 as she prepared for the Pacific Rim Championships. The injury hampered her in competition at the U.S. championships and Olympic trials.

“I think the biggest thing [I wish I knew back then] would be that food is energy,” said Nichols. “Eating just chicken and egg whites and fish is just not going to give you the energy to be able to perform at your highest level, let alone just function in school and every area of your life.

“At the time, I didn’t know any better,” she continued. “I wanted to do everything I possibly could to be as successful as I possibly could. I did everything to the T, to the gram of protein every single day. From going to OU and now being a personal trainer, I was taught so many incredible lessons about food, what gives me energy, what helps me recover, what will help me gain more muscle.

“I kinda wish I knew that stuff back then, but I mean, I wouldn’t change any of it just because it taught me a lot, it’s part of my story,” she concluded.

Blessings in disguise

Nearly four years removed from the abrupt end of her collegiate career that came as the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown the world, Nichols has moved to southern Texas and is navigating a busy life.

She’s an author, an online personal trainer, a public speaker and runs her own non-profit the Maggie Nichols Foundation, which supports victims of all types of abuse, according to Nichols.

“I’m kind of busy all over the place,” she says with a laugh. “But it’s fun.”

The distance from the end of her career and the heartbreak of missing out on the U.S. Olympic team has given her perspective and a new outlook on that period of her life.

“When I look back at all the challenges and obstacles and everything, I kind of see some of them as blessings in disguise,” Nichols says. “I feel like they truly grew me into the person and the athlete that I am today. Without some of those obstacles, I wouldn’t be as successful as I am today.

“Not making that Olympic team kind of led me to Oklahoma, and if I would have made that Olympic team, sometimes I wonder if I would have even gone to Oklahoma,” she continues. “I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to go Oklahoma because it just really changed my life in so many ways, so many amazing ways.

“Those obstacles were really challenging and probably the darkest times in my life, but they led me to where I am now, and I’m a stronger person from them.”