"My teammates would call me Mom"- Aly Raisman opens up about her shift in role within the U.S. women's gymnastic team at the 2016 Rio Olympics

Aly Raisman recently shared that her appearance at the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics saw a shift in her role from 'baby' in 2012 to a 'mother' in 2016. She was the captain of the US women's gold-winning gymnastic team in both the Olympiads.

Raisman debuted on the Olympic stage at the 2012 Summer Games, having entered the competition as the oldest among the US women's team members at just 18. She was assigned to lead the team in the London Olympics, although she was just a 'baby' in terms of experience.

Four years later, at the 2016 Rio, she was still a 'baby' at 22, but her experience on the Olympic stage shifted her role to the 'mother', leading the team for the second consecutive time.

Aly Raisman talked about how her experience as a 'baby' of 18 years old in her debut Olympiad made her seasoned in the 2016 Rio Olympics, upgrading her position to the mother of her teammates.

"I think in London I was 18 just graduated to high school, I was such a baby and I think going into Rio I was 22 and I was still so young I still feel like that is still such a baby and I feel like I guess I had sort of already been around... I think I guess I felt like my role had shifted within the team and my teammates would call me Mom or Grandma," she shared with BBC News.

Aly Raisman unfurled her prowess in four medal-winning team performances at the World Championships. She added six Olympic medals to her repertoire, earning the honor of the third-most decorated US gymnast behind Simone Biles and Shannon Miller.

Aly Raisman shared being inspired by the gymnastics women at the 1996 Summer Games

Aly Raisman will be part of the 2024 Paris Olympics as the hospitality ambassador of the 2024 Games in partnership with On Location. She advertised her new Olympic role on her Instagram handle and shared the story of drawing inspiration from the US gymnastics gold-winning team at the 1996 Olympics.

"My first Olympic Games was unforgettable. In 2012, I walked out to compete, thinking about how I used to watch the '96 women's gymnastics competition over and over again. I imagine some eight-year-old kid out there, watching us and dreaming of someday being there," said Raisman.

Aly Raisman was part of the gold-winning team and also won the silver in the all-around and floor routine at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Edited by Ankush Das