Many sports enthusiasts appreciate gymnastics only when medals are on the line, but the University of Missouri-Columbia draws impressive crowds to its meets even during non-Olympic years. Its annual Cat Classic is the eighth-best-attended gymnastics event in the nation, and Alicia Robinson has rewarded those faithful fans with acrobatic brilliance. The Bates City native and 2001 National Tumbling Champion trained with the U.S. team and has the preserved Internet profile to prove it (favorite actors: Bruce Willis and Dean Cain). While her former club teammates Terin Humphrey and Courtney McCool competed in Athens, the 5-foot-3-inch Robinson dominated the Big 12, earned All-American status and assumed top-totem position on every list in the Tigers' record book. Having completed her college career with a fifth-place finish at April's NCAA championships, Robinson, who started practicing gymnastics at age 3, looks forward to a year without competition. "Just hanging out and trying to enjoy being a normal student," she says of her plans prior to graduation in May 2006, after which she plans to pursue a coaching job.
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