Mighty Mo repays Pam debt in silver

‘‘It’s been eight years since our team was on an Olympic awards stand,’’ she said. ‘‘With this format of three-up, three-count, where every mistake is so big, any medal is hard to come by. For me, I guess, this represents 21 years of hard work. I started gymnastics when I was four years old. So this means everything.’’

Earlier this year, Bhardwaj was deep in debt and could not afford to attend the U.S. Olympic trials in June. Friends at her home gymnasium in Los Angeles sold raffle tickets on her behalf. One of her friend’s mothers offered one to a neighbour, who happened to be Anderson. Rather than buying a raffle ticket, Anderson — a former gymnast herself — chose to visit the gym and promptly handed over the cheque to a startled Bhardwaj. Speaking about their friendship, Bhardwaj said: ‘‘She sent me a huge bouquet of flowers before I came out here. I talk to her once in a while.’’

Bhardwaj, who spent several years out of top-class gymnastics after abandoning her sporting aspirations to pursue a college degree, said Anderson’s donation covers about half of her expenses over a six-month stretch. Anderson has also created a foundation on Bhardwaj’s behalf and has been asking for donations through her website.

‘‘Being in debt was stressful’’, said Bhardwaj, who came back into the sport after realising she may lose out on fulfiling her ultimate goal. ‘‘You’re just in debt and miserable and it just alleviated a lot of the stress on my part. I think I would be a nervous wreck.’’ For now though, Bhardwaj’s money woes appear to be behind her as she looks to add to her Olympic medal collection in the all round-competition and floor exercise over the next week.