By Daniel Gibson
Action photo by John Cheng
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Andrew Elkind, a member of the U.S. Men's Senior National Team, is no stranger to hard work.

"I train six days a week, twice a day on four days," said Elkind. "My training time depends on my efficiency, but a typical week of training is about 25 hours, excluding rehab. Switching to competitive gymnastics, training regimens gradually increase with age and level, so it is a gradual, not major change."

Elkind has successfully transferred his determination and dedication from competition to the classroom. At the age of 25, Elkind has earned a BA in economics from the University of Michigan and a M.S. in accounting from the University of Denver.

He didn't take time off from training or competing while working towards either of these degrees. He focused on strengthening his mind and body.

"In working to improve my gymnastics, I practice a lot of mental training," said Elkind. "All of the mental training I do is applicable to everything outside of the gym, so I apply those techniques to all aspects of my life. Also, my hunger to succeed in gymnastics has spread to all aspects of my life."

Elkind is determined to reach the goals he has laid out for himself, both as a gymnast and outside of competition.

"As a gymnast, my goals are to make a World and Olympic team," said Elkind. "After gymnastics, I want to do something business-related. My goal is to become a billionaire. I have my CPA, so I will probably start in accounting and gain some experience because I have not had the opportunity to intern in various fields and see what I prefer. From there, I am not quite sure. I may want to switch to a finance/accounting department at a major company, work for a hedge fund, or open my own business. I want to work my way to the top with anything I am involved in though."

With all of the things Elkind has accomplished thus far in his life and career, he is able to narrow down a few of his favorites: being named an All-American; getting selected to the World University Team while in college; making the senior national team; and winning the gold medal on the high bar at an international meet in Canada.

A main reason behind Elkind's success in gymnastics and the classroom is he never is satisfied with his effort. He constantly is assessing his performance and taking the steps necessary to improve.

"As I have gotten better, I have learned to constantly evaluate my strengths and weaknesses," said Elkind. "In doing so, I am able to practice more deliberately and get more out of each practice. I have become more mindful of myself and am continually learning. In terms of skills, I know myself better, so I can select skills that I will have more success; however, this is after having created a solid foundation of basics to build upon."

Outside of competition Elkind prefers the outdoors to watching television. He also enjoys reading books to learn something new and researching stocks. His favorite foods are lobster and soft-shell crabs.

When asked to describe himself as a gymnast in three words, Elkind chose driven, persistent, and focused. He used driven, analytical, and funny to describe himself as a person.