Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller visits Conant

When he woke up this morning, Conant High School gymnast Clinton Martin didn't expect he'd be engaged in a handstand contest against Olympic gold medalist Shannon Miller before lunchtime.

But there he was, alongside teammates Anthony Crivolio and Teri Colletti, all standing on their hands in the middle of the Hoffman Estates school's gym to see if any could outlast Miller, the seven-time Olympic medalist who helped lead the U.S.to its first-ever team gold medal at the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta.

"It was pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime thing," Martin said, adding he was just hoping not to fall.

Miller, now 31, was making her rounds through the suburbs with stops at Conant today and at Buehler YMCA in Palatine Monday. It's part of a publicity tour for the Tyson American Cup gymnastics competition, which will be held this year at the Sears Centre arena in Hoffman Estates on Feb. 21.

Students asked Miller about things like getting burned out by a sport and the fear of failure. The 5-foot-1-inch Miller said gymnastics actually helped develop her confidence and taught her not to be afraid of making mistakes.

"You're going to fall, you're going fall a million times," Miller said.

The American Cup is important to Chicago, which is a finalist to host the 2016 Summer Games. Eyes from the International Olympic Committee will be on Hoffman Estates to see how organizers handle the event.

Miller echoed what many U.S. Olympians who were in Atlanta have said about the magical experience of competing on American soil. She supports the Chicago bid.

"They have everything you really need to have a great Olympics," she said.

Miller won the all-around title in the 1993 American Cup, and it's been a launchpad for some of the sport's rising stars. Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson appeared at the cup last year in New York City before competing in Beijing. Like most sports, a fan can really savor gymnastics by attending an event in person, Miller said. The American Cup will provide a rare opportunity to see top gymnasts.

"You see how high these athletes go, how powerful they are," Miller said.

The Oklahoma native has been retired from competition for 12 years. She holds a law degree and said she's recently started a charity to fight childhood obesity and is trying to raise awareness about cervical cancer. She also does gymnastics TV commentary.

"It's funny, when I go and talk to younger kids, they weren't even born when I competed in my first Olympics," she said. "It's really fun. They go on YouTube and have actually see me compete."

While at Conant, Miller - who did not outlast the students in the impromptu handstand contest - autographed the door to the gymnastics room. But Conant girls' head coach Lorel Cunningham said Miller's bigger gift to the school was inspiration.

"She's about determination and just having fun with the whole thing," Cunningham said. "That's what the girls want to look for."

For more information about the Tyson American Cup or to purchase tickets, go to searscentre.com.