The blonde-haired 11-year-old rhythmic gymnast was relaxed, somewhat surprising given that she was waiting to be interviewed for the first time. Perhaps more impressive at that hour was that she remained energetic, hardly giving away the fact that she had been running, jumping and tumbling since 9 a.m.

Whitaker trains at Integrity Gymnastics in Plain City, where she isn't the only athlete dealing with four-hour sessions. But Anna Loescher, Whitaker's coach for the past three years, said Whitaker is someone who never complains that practice lasts too long.

"For her, it definitely seems like it is very much self-motivated," Loescher said. "Compared to a lot of athletes, she's very passionate about the sport. She's not only talented, she's passionate."

It would be difficult to rise so quickly to the level that Whitaker has without natural ability and a willingness to take on four-hour practices on a regular basis. Whitaker, who began rhythmic gymnastics just three years ago, has reached the Junior Olympic National meet each year since she started, and she finished third in level 7 at the national meet last April.

Whitaker and Loescher were thrilled about that result considering the level of competition for a fifth-grader in level 7.

"There were a lot of kids there, and a lot of good kids there," Whitaker said. "Sometimes it felt like, 'Oh my gosh, I wonder how I'm going to do?' But you have to try and focus on yourself instead of other people."

Rhythmic gymnastics is an Olympic sport and has been since 1984. Like artistic gymnastics, athletes compete in different disciplines and are scored by a panel of judges in each. Rhythmic gymnastics typically focuses less on strength and more on balance, grace and the athlete's ability to work with the various apparatuses. Each discipline requires the athlete to work with a different apparatus: the hoop, the ball, the ribbon, the clubs and the rope. There is also a floor routine with no apparatus.

Loescher's club at Integrity Gymnastics is the only rhythmic gymnastics club in the area, with the next closest being in the Cleveland area. One girl travels to Plain City from Nashville, Tenn., to train for a two or three weeks at a time.

The club at Integrity, however, has been around for just three years, meaning athletes like Whitaker are significantly behind others her age who have been involved in the sport since preschool.

Whitaker had been doing artistic gymnastics since she was 6. Though rhythmic gymnastics demands unique skills, particularly in dealing with the various apparatuses, Whitaker had already developed a good athletic base by the time she began working with Loescher.

"I was already pretty flexible coming into the sport, and that's one thing you need," Whitaker said. "We just did the basics (my first practice), the basic tosses and skills, and I was pretty good at those."

"With her body line, she's nice and clean in her execution," Loescher said. "She's just naturally just very clean and precise."

Whitaker continued to train in artistic gymnastics along with rhythmic gymnastics for about a year before a severe arm injury convinced her to concentrate on rhythmic. Whitaker landed on an elbow on a fall off the bars and had to get two surgeries to repair the damage, though she has no effects today.

Rhythmic gymnasts compete in levels that are based solely on skill with no respect to age. The levels are ranked 1 through 10, with 10 being the caliber of the national team. Whitaker began at level 5 and has progressed one level each year and is training for level 8 competitions.

The rhythmic gymnastics season runs basically from December to June, with six to seven events concluding with the Junior Olympic National meet. This year's meet was moved up to April.

Although five months remain until Whitaker's next event, that doesn't mean her time in the gym will drop off. The four-hour sessions continue even during the school year, and Whitaker admits it can be difficult to balance everything.

Still, she never seems to mind being in the gym, partly because she knows that's what she'll have to do to get where she wants to be.

"Well, I would like to make the Olympics, but that's kind of way out there right now," Whitaker said. "But I'd like to be on the level 10 national team and be able to compete internationally for the U.S."

For the past two years, Whitaker has been one of 40 athletes to be selected to the Future Stars National Team, which allows her to travel to the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, N.Y., for a week of training in September. Jessica Kennedy, a gymnast from Integrity who competed in level 6 last spring, also made the team this season.

Loescher said she "definitely" believes Whitaker is capable of getting to level 10 within the next few years. Given her ability and willingness to put in the long hours with no complaints, it's hard to say what the ceiling is for Whitaker, if there is one.

"She has a lot of natural talent for the sport," Loescher said. "She's also extremely mature, extremely dedicated and a very hard worker.

"From the time she steps into the gym until she leaves, it's just non-stop work."