e talked to us about her comeback, her goals for the Olympics and how she handles the enormous pressure of the spotlight.Im a different gymnast than I was in 2

Women have been making inroads in sports car racing for decades, and finally, a female driver has won a major full-season North American championship.Christina Nielsen did it this past weekend at Road Atlanta, where she and co-driver Alessandro Balzan captured the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar GT Daytona (GTD) title in the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari. The pair entered the season-ending Petite LeMans with a 32-point lead, and Nielsen, a 24-year-old from Denmark, clinched her share of the title when she completed her mandatory three-hour drive time.Since IMSAs birth in 1969, several women have competed in and won races in the series, and Melanie Snow won the abridged, five-race American Le Mans Series GT Challenge (GTC) title in 1969. Other women who have won North America road racing titles in lesser series than Nielsens include Amy Ruman in the SCCA Trans Am Series in 2015 and Margie Smith-Haas in the SCCA Pro American Cities Racing League in 1994.Nielsens title is the first over a full season in a major series. The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and its four professional classes represent the premier form of sports car racing in North America.One of two women who competed full-time in IMSA this year, along with DeltaWing Prototype driver Katherine Legge, Nielsen won two races this season: the historic Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March and the Sahlens Six Hours of The Glen in July. On Monday, she spoke with espnW about her historic racing accomplishment.You missed the title by two points last year, while driving for The Racers Group (TRG). How much of a focus was it for you?to get it done?this year with Scuderia Corsa?Christina Nielsen: Lets just say we finished last season on the third of October, and it was on my mind the fourth of October. I wanted to go and have another shot at it. In 2015, honestly, I wasnt thinking about the championship. It was my third full season, and I just wanted to see what we could do, and then, suddenly, with a couple of rounds left, we were leading. This year, I knew we were going to be one of the contenders.Your Twitter feed is full of congratulatory posts. What has the reaction been like?CN: The fans have really been great. I really feel like people over here are positive and supportive. Secondly, this has been an amazing paddock to be part of. Like, [competitor] Andy Lally brought me a pair of Ferrari socks. It was a silly thing, but the fact he thought of me, like, Oh, Im going to give these to Christina as a little congrats for the championship meant a lot. And Andrew Davis, whom Ive been racing all year. I often qualified around the same spot as Andrew, so we started together a lot. Weve always had good, clean racing. And he messaged me and said, Congrats, and well done all season, and its been a pleasure to race you -- always hard but fair. It was a great bunch of guys to be surrounded by.What does this title mean for how far women have come in sports car racing?CN:?Im not always crazy about how much attention there is about the fact Im a female, even though -- Im not going to lie -- I do also use it because it allows me to get publicity for our sponsors and the people we work with. I do want to spread the message and say, Hey, women can compete with men on an equal level. We can compete with them and against them, and we can do well in a male-dominated world. Im not trying to get more females into racing in the sense of [recruiting] them because its either in your DNA or it isnt. But I do hope that if there are girls who want to do it, they can look at me and say, If she can do it, I can do it.Sebring was a great win. Was that your biggest accomplishment this season, prior to capturing the championship?CN: Yeah, I would say so. I was in the car when a thunderstorm hit, so I was the one out there when they kept saying, You need to come in and change tires, and Im like, No, Im fine. Im fine. But March seems so long ago. I really like some of these last races weve had because in March I still didnt know the guys as well, and as the season went by, I got to know them better, and everything meant more because I became very close to them and cared a lot for them. Wins are amazing, but we had seven podium [top-three] finishes. There are so many good memories to take away.You stepped it up with fitness this year. How and why?CN: I really worked hard the last couple of months because if they said to me over the radio, Christina, can you do three hours? I wanted to be like, Yup, you got it, boss. Ive been swimming a lot lately. I like it because I dont have the best knees, and it allows you to work with the same muscle groups that you use in the car. We recently started using the stairs in Santa Monica. I live in L.A., and its opened my mind to a lot of new ways to work out because there are so many possibilities with outdoor activities. I also work with a trainer at the gym in the building I live in. We work both the small muscle groups -- like the fingers and wrists -- and the larger muscle groups.Whats next for you? What are your racing aspirations?CN:?I think, as with most drivers, the dream, the goal, would be to get a factory contract one day. Im aiming for something like [IMSA] GT Le Mans. I think theres a pretty good chance Ill stick with Scuderia Corsa next year. Were working out some details, working hard to close the budget gap. I was very happy with them this year. Theyve done a great job, and theyre great people to hang out with. [Co-drivers] Jeff Segal and Alessandro Balzan are just not only good behind the wheel but also good people with good hearts. And so is our team owner, Giacomo Mattioli. I would like to be back in IMSA. I really like racing over here. Cheap Nike Air Max 1 Trainers Gold . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. Cheap Nike Air Max 1 Trainers Black . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. http://www.airmax1cheap.us/cheap-nike-air-max-1-trainers-all-black/ . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. Cheap Nike Air Max 1 For Sale . Artturi Lehkonen, Joni Nikko and Ville Leskinen had the other goals for Finland (1-0) while Juuse Saros stopped 28 shots. Tim Robin Johnsgard had the lone goal for Norway (0-2). Cheap Nike Air Max 1 Trainers Green . Howard Ganz, an MLB lawyer, said in a letter to U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos that Rodriguezs claims do not come "remotely close" to what is needed to overturn an arbitration decision in federal court. Gabby Douglas won the Olympic all-around title in 2012 as a 16-year-old, then took a two-year break from the sport after London to pursue endorsements and other opportunities. Now shes back -- with a reality TV show and a Barbie doll in her likeness -- and shes hoping for a chance to defend her all-around title at the Rio Olympics. But it wont be easy. U.S. teammate Simone Biles is the hands-down favorite for all-around gold after winning the last three straight world all-around titles, and Douglas path to the Olympic team was a tricky one, with inconsistent performances at U.S. nationals and Olympic trials. Shell have to make the U.S. team lineup on all four events in the qualifications on Sunday in order to have a chance to qualify into the all-around, and thats not a given.Douglas has never been afraid to voice her biggest dreams, though, and just getting to Rio has been one of them. She talked to us about her comeback, her goals for the Olympics and how she handles the enormous pressure of the spotlight.Im a different gymnast than I was in 2012. Maturing over the years and the competitive experience Ive had is going to help me in Rio. I know the process and what the journey is like. Im just more confident, more bold and more aggressive going into routines and skills. Im physically and mentally a little bit stronger this time than last time.But in some ways, it all kind of feels the same as it did before London. Competing feels the same, and I feel like I know what to expect.This U.S. team is the team to beat. We are experienced, we know what to do and we are going for gold. Even Laurie Hernandez?--?whos the youngest, and 16 like I was last time -- shes confident already. Im like, Girl, yes, youve got it. This is going to be so easy for you. I love pumping the younger girls up and filling them with energy because I used to be there when I was younger, looking for advice.I got advice from everybody in the lead-up to 2012: my siblings, my moms, my coaches, my friends, other gymnasts. Alicia Sacramone and Dominique Dawes helped me along the way too. Older gymnasts would tell me to go out there and enjoy the moment. I was so bouncy, and Id always go out of bounds, so they told me to calm down, take it one step at a time and dont let the pressure get to you. And, to have fun! Easier said than done.Competing on beam in the 2012 team finals was the most nerve-wracking time of my life. I was so nervous. My beam had been inconsistent, and I wasnt supposed to be on beam for finals, but Martha Karolyi, the head coordinator of the U.S. gymnastics team, switched the lineup. She put me in instead of Jordyn Wieber because I had done really well in prelims. After bars though, I thought, I dont know if I can do this. What if I fall? What if I cost USA the gold medal? Put Jordyn back in on beam!But at that point, even if she wanted to, Martha couldnt because the lineeup was already set, and you cant change it.dddddddddddd So I looked to Aly Raisman and was like, I cant do this. I dont know if I can. I was freaking out. She was like, Gabby, be quiet. Just... no. You got it. Youve been looking so good in training. Youve got this. So she calmed me down, and then I started to believe again.I felt so good when I hit that beam routine. And it was a good thing I didnt fall because that would have been really bad! I was glad I could deliver. Needless to say, its really special that Aly is on the team again with me. We shared a lot in London, and were ready to do it all over again in Rio.There have been tough days this time around, definitely. But thats with anything. Experiences like that one from London have made this comeback much easier. Yes, I had some mistakes at Olympic trials. But my confidence is really good. Its so amazing that everyone believes in me. I feel like I have a lot of people in my camp.I felt the pressure more this time at Olympic trials than last time in 2012. I didnt expect that. But I have a plan going into Rio. Im going to focus on how every turn counts and work on the mental game. I think physically Im good, but mentally I needed some more preparation. I need to not let anything get to me and to fight for every skill.The wait for the Olympic team to be named was extremely hard -- it was five minutes, but it felt like an hour. It was very emotional for everybody. The suspeeeeeeense! And then, I just was so happy when I was named to the team.I dont look at all of this as pressure; I look at it as a great opportunity. My mind feels right, my body feels good and this is an amazing opportunity I have to compete at another Games. At least thats what I try to say to myself! When the doubt starts to get to me, I like to meditate on Scripture, and when I see my teammates, it also helps me realize sometimes that I need to get my game up. I cant let them see me struggling.Before I do a routine in a meet, I give myself a little pep talk. I say, I can do this one, right now. Ive done so many before. Its the scariest time right then, because theres no turning back!My goal is still to repeat as Olympic champion. I want to defend my title in the all-around. No U.S. gymnast has ever done it before. So I aim to do the impossible.When I look back at my comeback, Im most proud of staying with it. Whatever happens in Rio, I already feel like this comeback has been a success. I went to another world championships after being out for two years, and came in second all-around. I got to do the American Cup earlier this year -- this competition that I always wanted to do since I was a little girl. Im already feeling successful. To have more titles under my belt would just be icing on the cake. 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