Gymnastics: Balancing Acts - Hardcover

The awe-inspiring combination of beauty, grace, and strength is nowhere more realized that in the remarkable athletes that make up the sport of gymnastics. Through their extraordinary competitive performances, gymnasts have captured the hearts and imaginations of millions of spectators and aspiring athletes. Rarely, however, does the world see the individual creativity and expressiveness behind the focused, competitive determination of these champions.

Gymnastics: Balancing Acts leads the reader into their world and explores the passionate, creative energies that shape the sport. With forewords by Olympic gold medalists Shannon Miller and Dominique Dawes and an introduction by world-renowned coach Bela Karolyi, this book showcases thirty of the greatest athletes in gymnastics history, including Kerri Strug, Amanda Borden, Jair Lynch, Dominique Moceanu, Svetlana Boginskaya, Vitali Scherbo, Nadia Comaneci, Mary Lou Retton, Bart Conner, Olga Korbut, and others.

Photographer Christina Lessa has turned her lens to a world not often seen by television cameras and sportswriters. Here, the champions tell their own stories-- through personal accounts, words of inspiration, and above all, beautiful photographs of their lives both in and out of the gym. Through their dedication and courage, their unique experiences, thrills, and hardships in this incredible sport, we begin to understand what it is that makes gymnasts athletes and artists in the truest sense of the words.