Aly Raisman's Parents 'Can't Control' Emotions While Watching Daughter Compete
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CBS) -- While Needham gymnast Aly Raisman has captured the world's attention and won three medals at the Rio Olympics, her parents have been in the spotlight, too--for their nervous way of watching their daughter compete.
But the Raismans said Wednesday on CBS This Morning that they don't have any desires to keep it together while Aly's performing.
"You're kind of oblivious to anything else that's going on in the world, you're just so focused on the routine," Rick said.
Watch: Aly Raisman's Parents Can Hardly Watch Her Gymnastics Routine
"I can't control it," Lynn said.
aly raisman's parents are me watching anything scary: pic.twitter.com/1SM6u0ukfO
— chelsea (@chelsea_kaye) August 8, 2016
Videos of Lynn and Rick Raisman awkwardly shielding their eyes and clutching each other while watching their daughter's routines went viral during 2012's London Olympics, and did so again last week as the 22-year-old gymnast qualified for the all-around gymnastics final.
"The whole time I'm just thinking, 'Get through this, get off it. Hurry up, hurry up.' A minute and a half go by quick!" Lynn said.
The Raismans have been "gym rats" for much of the last 20 years, and it has paid off--Aly now has six Olympic medals from two Olympic games, and was the first American to win gold in the gymnastics floor routine in 2012.
She captivated with her floor routine again last week, and took to Twitter to note that the performance took years and years of training.
Years and years of conditioning & millions of repetition. Didn't happen over night. Started training this pass at 14 https://t.co/plVlkt5dsY
— Alexandra Raisman (@Aly_Raisman) August 10, 2016
"I don't think anyone knows what goes into how many hours goes into the training and how grueling it is," Rick said.
Watch: Aly Raisman Brought To Tears After Medal-Winning Performance
Watching Aly's routines leaves them pretty burnt out, too.
"When we finished watching the honor meet, our family was like, 'Oh my God, we're exhausted,'" Lynn said.
Aly took a year off from gymnastics after the London Games, so coming back for Rio 2016 was a big deal.
"She would never say it was harder coming back," Rick said. "But I think it was her dad and being into sports, I just know it was a lot harder."