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Paul, you recently took part in the USOC Media Summit in New York City. How long were you in New York for this event?
I was actually only in New York City from 8am until about 4pm that day. I was in LA doing something for NBC so I took the red eye from LA to New York and did the media summit in the morning. In the afternoon, Morgan and I did a photo shoot for People Magazine’s 50 Most Eligible Bachelors.

Did all of the Olympic Sports have a presence at the summit?
Yes, I believe so, but it was spread out over a few days. The day we were there gymnastics was scheduled from 9am - 12pm.

Did you get to meet any of the other Olympic hopefuls? If so, who did you meet?
I did not have the opportunity to, but I’m sure the other athletes did. I was in and out in the same day, so that made it rather difficult!

What is it like to participate in these pre-Olympic media activities? What types of questions do they ask?
The media activities are usually fun. The media summit in New York was a lot of work though because there were so many media outlets there. Overall, I enjoy the media and I recognize that it’s a benefit not only for me personally, but for our sport as well.

What’s the best part of the media?
I really enjoy meeting all of the people from the different magazines and newspapers. I also like getting my story out to the public.

Do you enjoy being in front of the camera? Is this something you’ve had to learn to get used to?
At times I enjoy being in front of the camera but for the most part I kind of shy away. I have definitely had to learn to get used to it. When I was only 17 years old and made the Olympic Team it was a shock and I wasn’t ready for the media attention at all. Now, however, I’m completely used to it and comfortable with it.

Does the media attention ever interfere with your concentration?
The media doesn’t usually bother us during the actual competition, so in that sense no. However, if I am doing too many interviews and such, it can disrupt workouts because we have less time to focus solely on gymnastics.

Do you ever have to miss training for these media activities? If so, do you think it has an affect on your preparation?
I did have to miss a couple of days for what I did in LA and New York, and it does have a slightly negative impact, but we really weigh that against the positive impact the media can have. If we feel like it’s too much we will cut back so it doesn’t affect our workouts in a negative way.