Jordyn Wieber, Olympic gold medal vorite from DeWitt, turning pro

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Jordyn Wieber of DeWitt performs the floor exercise during the womens qualifying of the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, on Oct. 8, 2011. / KOJI SASAHARA/AP

Newly crowned womens world all-around champion gymnast Jordyn Wieber has made a decision as she prepares for the spotlight as the gold medal vorite in the 2012 London Olympics.

The 16-year-old DeWitt High junior is turning professional.

The decision — announced this morning on her Facebook page — means that Wieber will forfeit her eligibility to compete in college. But it also means that, as the worlds leading gymnast heading into the Summer Games, she can accept prize money for competitions and other events, such as the post-Olympic tour being planned by USA Gymnastics and AEG Facilities. She also can accept endorsement contracts and other deals.

Last spring, for example, Wieber turned down $16,000 for winning the American Cup by beating 2010 world champion Aliya Mustafina of Russia.

My mily and I have given a lot of thought to what this means for my future as an athlete, Wieber said in her statement. Going to college, getting an education and experiencing college life is a very important personal goal for me.

Right now, I want to make sure that I do everything possible to reach my full potential as an elite athlete for the next few years. With this in mind, I have decided to forgo my collegiate eligibility. My parents and I believe this is best for me, and I am excited about pursuing my Olympic dream for the next nine months. Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement.

Rita Wieber, Jordyns mother, said she wont hire an agent at this time.

We want to keep her distractions to a minimum as she trains for the Olympics,cheap wow gold, she said. In the future, we might look into representation.

Two weeks ago in Tokyo, Wieber vaulted into the spotlight when she became the third American female since 2007 to win the individual all-around world title. It was Wiebers first senior worlds competition, and she rallied to defeat Viktoria Komova of Russia by a razor-thin margin of 0.033.

Wieber, the reigning U.S. champion, also helped the U.S. to the team gold medal and won an individual bronze on balbuy us wow goldance beam.

By turning pro, she follows in the footsteps of Shawn Johnson, who gave up her college eligibility the year before the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Johnson became a professional before winning the 2007 world all-around title. In Beijing, she captured the silver medal in the all-around, behind her gold medal-winning teammate Nastia Liukin. Johnson also won an individual gold and silver on the balance beam and floor exercise in China.

But not every world champion trades in a chance to compete in college for the opportunity to make money. Before Wieber, the last American to win the world all-around title was Bridget Sloan, who elected not to turn pro after winning in 2009. Sloan signed a national letter of intent with the University of Florida last April but has deferred enrollment until the ll of 2012 while she tries to make her second straight Olympic team.

Although shes giving up her collegiate eligibility, Wieber — who has a 3.94 GPA at DeWitt — plans to attend college.

The Olympic movement has allowed pro athletes to compete in the Games for more than 30 years.

Wieber resumed training last week at Gedderts Twistars USA in Dimondale. John Geddert, who coaches the gymnast with his wife, Kathryn, said hes supportive of Wiebers decision. Her next competition likely will come in March, when she defends her title at the American Cup at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The U.S. Olympic trials are June 28-July 1 in San Jose, Calif.

We still need to keep our eye on the prize, Geddert said of the London Games. Im supportive of the idea in that Jordyn isnt cut out for college gymnastics. I dont think the 14 weekends in a row doing watered-down gymnastics, thats not what shes all about. When you compete with the best in the world, I dont see her sinking her teeth into that type of situation.

Geddert, who also served as the U.S. womens world team coach in Tokyo, said the excitement level at his two cilities, in Dimondale and nearby DeWitt, is still at a high. The combined enrollment is around 1,000.

I looked around the gym the other, and I went, Wow. Oh, my, God. Shes the world champion. In my gym. I coached her. How did that happen?

Shes the best kid in the world, and shes right here, and I helped her get there. Its very cool.

Contact Jo-Ann Barnas: 313-222-2037 orjbarnas@freepress.com.

Jordyn Wieber, the 16-year-old DeWitt High junior training for the 2012 London Olympics, is turning professional, which means she will forfeit her eligibility to compete in college. It also means

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