Known for her explosive vaults, difficult tumbling skills and charismatic personality, she won or medaled in several important meets, and was considered to be one of the front-runners for the 2000 Olympics.
At age 11, she began training at Charter Oak Gliders in Covina, California, and was coached by Beth Kline-Rybacki and Steve Rybacki.
[8] With her February 1982 birth date, Atler missed the age cutoff for senior competition—which would have given her a chance to compete for a spot on the 1996 Olympic team—by only six weeks.
"[11] Over the next few years, bars would become a mental block for the young athlete who regularly struggled to put together a mistake-free routine in the heat of competition.
Atler's main issue on bars involved a release move called a Comaneci salto, which she fell on at three consecutive National Championships from 1997 to 1999.
This led to persistent questioning as to whether the Comaneci should have been removed from her bar routine despite the fact that she did complete the skill successfully on occasion.
In July at the 1998 Goodwill Games, Atler was chosen to compete on floor exercise and vault, her two strongest apparatus.
[14] In December, she continued to gain momentum at the 1998 Copa Gimnastica competition in Mexico City, where she once again delivered strong routines on all four events and won the all-around bronze medal in a deep field behind Viktoria Karpenko and Simona Amânar.
[6] Atler began her 1999 season in February with a strong showing at the American Classic, where she won the all-around title by a large margin with top quality routines on every apparatus.
During the floor exercise event final, she severely injured her ankle when she landed her double layout-punch front opening tumbling pass out-of-bounds.
Atler recovered in time to compete at the 1999 U.S. National Championships, where she won the silver medal in the all-around behind Kristen Maloney.
Following the U.S. National Championships, Atler left her longtime coaches at Charter Oak gymnastics club, Steve and Beth Rybacki.
Struggling with her ankle injury that was progressively getting worse, she placed 31st in the all-around after ending her floor routine with a basic layout tumbling pass.
[5][10][21][22] However, even with several significant mistakes, Atler managed to place sixth at Trials and was still widely regarded as one of the United States's best gymnasts, causing some to argue that she had earned a spot on the team and to question the fairness of the selection process.
[25][26] In multiple interviews in subsequent years, Atler expressed regret over leaving the Rybackis in 1999 and over not having better communication with them during that time.
[27] Atler formerly worked as a coach and is the girls team director at American Kids Sports Center in Bakersfield, California.
Her floor music pieces were: Phil's Piano Solo by Terry Snyder in 1995 and 1996; Jack's Conga by Micheal Kamen in 1997 and 1998; La Cumparsita by Gerardo Matos Rodriguez in 1998 and 1999; and Les Deux Guitares by Paul Mauriat in 2000.
Balance Beam: Punch Front + Jump mount sequence; Layout to two feet; Switch Leap + Gainered Layout in combination; Piked Front + Jump in combination; Tucked Barani; Roundoff + Back Handspring + Double Tuck Dismount.