There were maybe 30 people in the gym when Justin Spring let loose.

It was late 2005, the beginning of Spring’s junior season on the Illinois men’s gymnastics team, and the World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, were within his reach.

“That’s when I debuted my huge routine,” Spring said.

At the intersquad trials in Colorado Springs, Co., to earn a spot on the World team, Spring did everything he could to sample his eye-popping skills. He was fresh, he was strong, and it was one of the best shows of his life. Everyone there got a preview of the very routines that could soon make Spring one of the most well-known gymnasts in the country, if not the world.

“My goal, and I’m perfectly capable of doing it – I want to win an Olympic gold medal,” Spring said. “I have some of the highest point values in the world. There’s no doubt in my mind that can happen.”

Spring has rebounded from multiple injuries to his shoulder and ankle to keep pace with a heavy schedule planned through 2008. If his progress continues, Spring is capable of anything.

Spring is on track to lead USA Gymnastics into Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics. But it took a long road to get there. Since he started gymnastics in the late 1980s, Spring has had visions of gold. Not until a few months before the Colorado exhibition, though, when he made his first U.S. national team, did Spring fully realize his ability.

“My progression as a gymnast has gone through a lot of steps, but in the last few years, once I made the national team it was great,” Spring said. “It was really an eye opener. At first, it was a side thing, trying to win a medal. I went to that first one and I did well; I missed finals by tenths of a point – like one-tenth. That’s like taking a six-inch step on a landing. When I came back from that I was angry. I wanted more.”

The two-year itch

A year after his Colorado performance, Spring would help secure a second-place finish for Illinois in the NCAA and Big Ten Championships. The Nissen-Emery award, given to the top college gymnast in the country, was one year away from sitting in his trophy case.

Meanwhile, in Colorado and at Nationals, he was attempting to shovel his name beyond the ranks of collegiate greats. In front of spectators and USA national coaches, Spring worked to continue a journey he always hoped would lead him to the Olympics. Now, he’s closer than he’s ever been to that goal. And he’s ready.

“Only a select few people know what I’m capable of doing,” he said. “I’m doing some amazing things right now and I’m proud to say that. It’s not just difficult, it’s dynamic and it’s fun to watch. There are guys who are great at gymnastics, but they might not show the big skills, the kind of stuff you’d see in the X Games. I want to be the guy throwing the huge skills and standing out. I don’t need to prove anything, but I’m excited to show what I’m capable of doing.”

Spring’s senior season at Illinois was one of the greatest in school history, but since then, the 12-time All-American has had little opportunity to showcase his talents on the world stage – not by choice. His plans were derailed.

Spring is seven months post-operation on his shoulder and two months on his ankle.

The shoulder injury plagued him throughout his senior year, but it was the ankle injury, sustained on a booted landing in a floor routine pass, that kept him from competing in the 2006 U.S. Nationals.

In spite of his injury, Spring was offered a spot on the 2006 World team later that year. The Olympic Committee awarded him the spot under the stipulation he could be ready to compete when the time came.

“Even though I didn’t compete at Nationals, the Olympic Committee chose me as one of the six gymnasts to represent at World Championships,” Spring said. “I hurt my ankle two weeks before Nationals and I thought it would get better. I spent all summer training and finally asked (coach) Jon (Valdez) what we could do, what the possibilities were. I was on multiple inflammatory pills, everything we could possibly do for the injury. He told me we were out of options.”

Spring had to forfeit his spot on the World team to an alternate.

A week later, he had his shoulder surgery. Four weeks after that, he had his ankle surgery. His labrum, a primary muscle in the shoulder, was torn.

In his ankle, two bone fragments and “an amazing amount of scar tissue” had to be removed. It’s safe to say Spring has experienced his fair share of rehab. His repaired shoulder, he estimates, is at 95 percent right now.

“I gave up all of last summer training for a competition I didn’t go to,” Spring said. “It was a bad series of events. I’ve been working with some of the best doctors in the country. Jon (Valdez) has been helping a lot. It’s monotonous, boring, you’re doing the same stuff day after day with only small improvements. It gets frustrating, but I’m getting to the point where I’m doing actual gymnastics again. That’s refreshing.”

The olympic dream

Spring hopes to compete in several World Cup meets during the coming months in preparation for the Olympics one year down the line. Thirty such competitions are held annually by countries around the globe, and Spring could be a candidate for two – held in Ghent, Belgium and in the Ukraine – depending on his physical progress. It’s a way to gain experience while making professional money on the side.

“There’s a lot of money to be made doing that,” Spring said. “I have an Olympic testing meet coming up, too, and I’d like to do that if it’s possible. It would be a great experience to see the Olympic venue and the arena ahead of time.”

In February, Spring was named to the U.S. National team for the second-consecutive year.

He became one of only 15 members that will compete in multiple National team camps at the Colorado Springs facility and represent the U.S. on a world stage.

Spring says he’s more than ready for his leadership role and is excited to lead the USA into a new era of success.

“I think anyone training on the national team, if their goals aren’t similar to mine, I don’t think their head’s on straight,” he said. “I’m not going to lie. The reason we haven’t won some of the medals we could have is because we’re not the best yet. Yeah, my goal was always to make the World and Olympic team, but I can help out more by trying to be the best in the world. That’s kind of my philosophy on training. Set your standards high, and if you come up short, you’ll still be in a good position.”

Right now, Spring maintains his high bar routine is among the most difficult in the world and that his parallel bar routine, not far behind, is as elite as they get. Both are top-five routines in the world. There’s even a chance, he says, that he could win Olympic gold on floor exercise, too. His coach, Valdez, said his routines put him in elite company.

“They’re right there among the tops in the world,” Valdez said. “His high bar and parallel bar routine are the highest in the country.”

The word is out

The crowd was small in Colorado where Spring earned a spot on the World Team in 2005. In Melbourne, Australia, it was larger. Competing against the top competition in the world, Spring put on a show for international coaches and gymnasts and they took notice. In fact, it was their high praise that helped fuel Spring’s desire to become the best in the world at what he does.

“Our whole team basically retired after 2004 and we fell off the map,” Spring said. “All the powerhouses thought the U.S. was nothing without them. All the big names were gone. It was my first year on the team and my national team coordinator came up to me and said that other people saw the upcoming strength of USA gymnastics in me. It was an indicator that they saw the potential I had. I competed a skill on floor that year that only one gymnast in the world had ever competed. It was awesome.”

Spring won’t fully inherit the National team until famed brothers and Olympic stars Paul and Morgan Hamm officially withdraw following their expected run at the Beijing Olympics. Once they’re gone, though, Spring will reign – and he could be around for a while. Spring said his Olympic calendar is set through 2012. By then, more than a few people would know what he can do.

“I’m going to continue riding that train into 2012 for sure,” he said. “We have to get people medaling for the USA again. I just have to make that happen.”