Chellsie chasing comeback for the ages

Memmel knows that better than most. She's watched Olympic champion Simone Biles redefine the realm of possibility. She's judged athletes doing skills that didn't exist in 2005. So reaching the Olympics would be great. But it's also not the point.

Memmel bristles when asked if she could be tarnishing her legacy if the reboot fails.

"That irritates me," she said. "In other sports, nobody bats an eye when you go out and play it for fun, no matter what age you are, especially in men's sports. Why is there that stigma that you have to stop doing gymnastics when you hit a certain age? ... I don't like people saying you should stop doing it because there's nothing left for you."

And there very much is something left. This is not a "Tokyo or bust" situation. This is rediscovering and sharing the joy that led her to gymnastics.

"I'm not doing it for anybody else," she said. "I'm doing it for me. And even with what I've done already, I feel like I've accomplished so much. I feel like I've already won."

AP