evidence: RM: As a child I watched this new generation of Soviet and Romanian gymnasts on TV and they were tiny, graceful, and electric, with these serious faces, and I was in awe of them. (At the time American gymnasts were nowhere near their level.) The state training system was brutal, but such beauty came out of it, and I wanted to explore that dynamic, as well as the costs of greatness. It was also a perfect excuse to lose myself in watching gymnastics under the guise of research.