Maggie Nichols stood off to one side of the packed arena in 2016, quietly watching her friends realize her Olympic dream.

One by one, other gymnasts jogged onto the floor exercise mat to the thunder of applause. They carried flowers with American flags. Red, white and blue confetti rained.

Maggie had dreamed of making the Olympic team for most of her life. Not in the casual way that kids proclaim as they balance on the side of a curb or swing on playground equipment during recess. Maggie was serious.

From the time she was 3, she spent countless hours in the gym to shape herself into a world-class gymnast. Maggie missed time with friends, holidays with family, high school football games and other youth milestones to pursue that dream.

A blind eye to sex abuse:How USA Gymnastics failed to report cases

Making of a monster:How Larry Nassar abused hundreds of gymnasts and eluded justice for decades

She qualified for her first national championship at 13. Over the next five years, she earned silver and bronze medals in U.S. all-around competitions as well as bronze medals in uneven bars and floor exercise. She was part of the gold medal-winning world championship team.In short, she was among the best.

But there were darker moments. Maggie’s knee injury. Her "treatment" at the hands of Larry Nassar, the longtime team doctor for USA Gymnastics. A year after she shared what had happened, Nassar still had not been brought to justice.

Watching Maggie stand to the side of the mat at the Olympic trials in San Jose, California, her father's mind rolled through all of that. Maggie hadn't made the team.

John Nichols couldn’t take his eyes off his daughter. He pressed his fist against his heart, as though external pressure could somehow calm the emotions roiling inside him — pride, hurt, anger, betrayal, disappointment and, most of all, love.

It seemed like a sad ending to a heroic journey.But Maggie’s gymnastics story did not end there. It was just beginning.

Questions around Larry Nassar: 'Is it normal?'

Maggie was a teenager when she met Nassar.

At first, she said, there was nothing unusual about his medical treatment. Then he led the 15-year-old into a training room during national training camp at the Karolyi Ranch in Texas. They were alone. Maggie said she thought it was weird when Nassar closed the door and shut the blinds.

"He didn't use gloves or anything and told me that there was, like, a nerve down there," Maggie said.

Learn more:Victims share what Larry Nassar did to them under the guise of medical treatment

Later, she asked another gymnast about Nassar’s purported medical treatments.

"Does he do this kind of stuff to you as well?" Maggie remembered asking. "Is it normal? Like, does he do it to everyone?"

Maggie said her coach, Sarah Jantzi, overheard the conversation and didn't think what Nassar was doing sounded right.

Jantzi did not respond to IndyStar's request for comment. But the Nichols family said the coach asked Maggie more questions, then called the teen’s mother, Gina.

Gina Nichols said she was shocked when Jantzi told her Maggie was being molested by Nassar.

"It was nothing you'd expect in a million years," she told IndyStar. "I mean, I'm sending my minor daughter the last four years, one week a month, down to the Ranch to train. So proud. She's on the USA team. Working so hard. Our family making all these sacrifices. It's just, you wouldn't even think that this is something that would have ever happened."

Nichols said she couldn’t wrap her mind around it. How could her daughter not be safe at the U.S. Olympic training site? Where, she wondered, were all the adults when this was happening? Why did they allow Nassar to be alone with Maggie? Why did no one seek her or her husband’s consent before any purported medical treatment?

"It was total, inexcusable negligence and neglect," Gina Nichols recalled in a recent interview.

Maggie later sued USA Gymnastics, claiming the organization failed to adequately supervise Nassar, failed to protect her and compromised her health and safety, federal court records show. USA Gymnastics has denied any wrongdoing. The lawsuit still is pending.

Jantzi contacted USA Gymnastics on June 17, 2015, to report Nassar's "sexual abuse/ sexually inappropriate treatment" of Maggie, according to a letter submitted earlier this year to a U.S. Senate subcommittee.

Jantzi said Nassar had massaged Maggie "in her groin area and too close to her vagina for the knee injury treatment she was supposed to be receiving," according to records submitted to the subcommittee. Nassar also sent Maggie a private message about how beautiful she looked in her prom dress.

Jantzi provided the names of two other gymnasts who might have felt uncomfortable with Nassar.

The official immediately passed the information to Steve Penny, then the president and CEO of USA Gymnastics. Maggie is believed to be the first of what would eventually be hundreds of Nassar survivors to be brought to USA Gymnastics' attention.

Reporting abuse:USA Gymnastics parts ways with key official who knew about Nassar abuse

In a statement to IndyStar, attorney Edith Matthai said Penny was told Maggie had "questions regarding Nassar’s treatments."

"Mr. Penny did not believe this was a report of molestation, but he did believe that Maggie should be interviewed by an appropriate person," Matthai said. "He contacted counsel for USA Gymnastics and proceeded with their direction."

Penny also called Jantzi and Gina Nichols. Both women say they asked Penny if they should report it to any other authorities, according to interviews and subcommittee records. He assured them he would handle it.

USA Gymnastics would conduct its own investigation into the allegations involving Maggie and other gymnasts for five weeks. The organization then handed the matter over to the FBI.

"Who am I to question him?" Nichols asked. "This is the president of USA Gymnastics. My daughter is this major contender and one of the top gymnasts on the USA team. I'm not going to argue with somebody who's telling me, who's the president for an American governing body, that he did call the authorities. ... We're trying to do the right thing. I'm not going to argue with him because I'm not going to try and, I mean, ruin my daughter's chances because we reported child sexual abuse."

Focusing on the Olympic dream

Maggie tried to remain focused on gymnastics. It was the year before the Olympic games, and every competition counted.

Maggie seemed to be on track, earning medals in multiple competitions.

But she and her parents struggled to understand what was happening with Nassar.

"We didn't hear anything," Maggie said. "No one asked if I was doing OK or anything like that. So I wasn't really — I don't know — I didn't really know what was going on and still wondering, like, if they were, like, fixing everything."

Gina Nichols said Penny periodically reminded her that they were handling it and to keep quiet — a claim Penny denies. Prior to the FBI report, Matthai said, Penny told Gina Nichols the organization would try to protect Maggie's privacy and handle things in "an appropriately confidential manner." Matthai said Penny doesn't remember having any conversations with Gina Nichols about this topic after the FBI report.

Maggie kept training and competing.

In October 2015, about three months after reporting Nassar's abuse, Maggie was part of the gold medal-winning team at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Glasgow. She also earned an individual bronze medal in floor exercise.

She was the only U.S. gymnast to compete in all four events in the team final.

In an article published earlier that year on the U.S. Olympic Committee’s website, former national team coordinator Martha Karolyi called Maggie the most improved athlete of the four-year cycle since the last Olympics.

"I think at this moment she is showing world-class gymnastics with clean, technical work," Karolyi said in the article.

Expectations were high. Maggie's face appeared on posters and banners promoting the Olympic team. She represented her sport in commercials.

"Congrats on your 1st World's team and helping team USA win Gold!" one friend posted on Maggie’s Facebook page. "And way to go in floor finals! You made us all proud! Keep up the momentum and I can't wait to see you in Rio in 2016!"

Another Facebook friend said she was exploring flights, accommodations and tickets for Rio.

"Congrats Maggie!" a third friend posted. "It had been so much fun watching you. This is your year. Rio is within your reach!"

A devastating knee injury

In April 2016, three months before Olympic trials, Maggie performed a vault during training, and her knee popped when she landed. Everything changed.

USA Gymnastics initially said Maggie suffered "a slight knee injury."

But everyone soon realized it was much more serious. She had torn her meniscus and needed surgery.

Typically, Maggie said, a gymnast would try to completely heal before coming back. But she didn’t have the luxury of time.

So in the months following surgery, Maggie said she spent almost every day in the gym, trying to remain in shape and stay as strong as possible.

"It was definitely one of the worst times of my life," Maggie said. "I'm not gonna lie. Because I only had a few months to get ready for the biggest competition of my life that I'd been looking forward to for forever."

Maggie’s mother Gina said she became increasingly frustrated with USA Gymnastics during that time period. She said she felt as if Penny was trying to control Maggie’s gymnastics career, from the commercials she participated in to the medical treatment she received for her knee injury.

In a statement, Penny’s attorney said USA Gymnastics left the final decision on any commercial appearances to Maggie, her parents and coach. And the national governing body "did everything it could to offer Maggie support for her injuries."

It was during this tumultuous period that Nassar’s name again came up to the Nichols family.

On June 13, 2016, almost exactly a year after USA Gymnastics had learned of the allegations against Nassar, Gina Nichols received an email from FBI Special Agent Michael Hess.

"I am looking into a complaint that was filed involving alleged misconduct by an individual associated with USA Gymnastics," Hess wrote. "When you have a moment, please give me a call at the below numbers."

Gina Nichols said she called him and said, "You know, I'm really glad that you're gonna do that, but we reported this 13 months ago."

She told him the conversation would have to wait until after Olympic trials. Maggie, she said, "has enough on her mind."

Eleven days later, less than a month before Olympic trials, Maggie participated in her first competition since the surgery: the P&G Championships in St. Louis. She only competed in two events: uneven bars and balance beam. She wobbled and missed skills.

Publicly, Maggie continued to project confidence. But internally, she struggled.

"I was kind of like, 'I can't do this anymore,'" Maggie recalled. "I mentally, physically can't do it. I can't perform very well. That's probably my lowest point. I didn't want to do it. I didn't want to go. I didn't want to compete. It was the biggest meet of my life and I just wasn't mentally there, so it was pretty difficult."

Maggie misses the U.S. Olympic team

Until the moment Martha Karolyi and others walked into the room after the second day of Olympic trials to tell the gymnasts who made the team, Maggie thought she still had a chance to realize her dream — at least as an alternate.

"I was so proud of myself for how far I had come after my injury, but I was definitely nervous and really didn't know what to expect," Maggie said. "I thought for sure I had a good chance of being an alternate at least."

She finished sixth overall, but it wasn’t enough.

At the time, Karolyi explained to the reporters that, to win a team gold medal, the committee "must select the five gymnasts who can combine for the highest scores — and not simply the five with the highest all-around scores," according to an article in the Star Tribune.

Everyone picked for the Olympic team, including the three alternates, had earned a top-three finish in at least one event during the Olympic trials. Maggie had not.

Maggie was crushed. But somehow she managed to hold it together in the arena as she hugged and congratulated those who made the team, signed autographs and took pictures with fans.

A week later, she announced her retirement from elite gymnastics.

"When I was growing up, I never actually knew if I would go to the Olympics," she said in a post on USA Gymnastics' website. "As you get older, you realize how hard it actually is to make that team, how many things have to go right. I think I made that little girl proud, that little Maggie proud. I've been through so many hard times and injuries and hard days that I pushed through, so I’m very proud of that.

"For me, the next chapter is about to start. I can’t wait."

NCAA helps Maggie fall in love with gymnastics again

John Nichols said his daughter is special in so many ways. Yes, she’s a talented gymnast. A great person. But, he said, Maggie also has the ability to take horrible things in stride, harness her energy and refocus it into something else.

"She will take any experience and believe that it happens for a reason," John Nichols said. "It meant that she's now supposed to turn left, turn right, go straight, go up, go down. It just means that this was the path that was chosen."

Maggie said she faltered many times. But when she has a setback, she said she looks toward a goal.

"If I'm going through a hard time, I just try to look at the positives in it and grow stronger from it," Maggie said.

After Olympic trials, Maggie declined an invitation to join her teammates at Olympic training camp. She opted against the Tour of Gymnastics Champions. Instead, she headed to the University of Oklahoma earlier than planned.

Maggie told IndyStar that college has been the best experience of her life.

It has been such a contrast to her time in elite gymnastics. Maggie said she was "terrified" every time she had to go to the Karolyi Ranch. There was intense pressure, she said, and gymnasts got in trouble for ranking too low or not looking a certain way. She said Nassar's abuse made a bad situation worse.

"I think people really don't understand what the Ranch really consisted of and how scary of an environment it really was," Maggie said.

Linda McElmurry, a family friend who has known Maggie since she was 4 years old, said Maggie became a different girl during her elite gymnastics career. She was still sweet, resilient and self-effacing, with a strong faith in God. But more quiet. Reserved. Serious.

McElmurry said college brought back Maggie’s lighthearted, goofy personality.

Maggie said she also fell in love with gymnastics again through her time at Oklahoma.

"You have your whole team behind you," she said, "cheering for you. And it's just so exciting when you compete. And the coaches are so nice and — I don't know — it's such a different experience than elite gymnastics. And I have loved every minute of it."

She's collected accolades. This year, Maggie was named Big 12 Athlete of the Year and NCAA all-around champion, according to the University of Oklahoma. She became the first gymnast in NCAA history to record a "Gym Slam," which is a perfect 10 on every event, two years in a row. She has 15 perfect scores to date.

"She was able to, you know, focus all that negative energy, aim it and hit NCAA gymnastics and blow it out of the water," John Nichols said.

Maggie said one of the best moments of her life was when her team won the NCAA championship in 2017. She remembers completing her vault and running back to her teammates, who welcomed her with high-fives and hugs.

"I've never experienced anything like that before," Maggie said. "And we all knew we won after we all finished. So it was incredible. And then they brought the trophy over, so I think that's kind of the moment that was just indescribable."

'She's my role model'

Maggie told IndyStar she went back and forth on whether to come forward publicly as a survivor of Nassar’s abuse. She decided to do so in January.

The support she found at the University of Oklahoma and elsewhere helped her do so.

"I felt like it was the right thing for me to do, for myself and for other people," Maggie said. "I felt like it would help me, because I would have a lot of support and people that were behind me. Also, I felt like it could help other people to come forward."

More than 330 girls and women have come forward claiming they were abused by Nassar. In separate cases, Nassar pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct and child pornography charges. He is in federal prison.

People who love Maggie said they are awed by her positivity in the face of adversity.

"She's my role model," John Nichols said simply. "She gives me strength. She gives me inspiration with how she does things, and how she handles situations, and the things that she says and the things that she does."

For now, Maggie is focused on college. But she told IndyStar the idea of another run at the Olympic team has crossed her mind.

Call IndyStar reporter Marisa Kwiatkowski at 317-444-6135. Follow her on Twitter: @IndyMarisaK.

Statement from USA Gymnastics

In response to questions from IndyStar, the national governing body said: "Maggie Nichols has shown her grit, determination and courage both on and off the field of play. USA Gymnastics will never forget the horrific events that impacted our athletes like Maggie and the gymnastics community. We are committed to doing everything we can to prevent this from happening again. Our athletes are the heart and soul of our sport, and our coaches and clubs are focused on building a positive, encouraging atmosphere where athletes, and all members, thrive and feel comfortable in speaking up."