USA TODAY's Dan Friedell recently spoke with Scavotto, who is competing this week in the second phase of her sport's three-part Olympic trials in Chula Vista, Calif:

You made it to the Olympics in 2000 as an 18-year-old, and now you're 25. Explain some of the differences between then and now:

Geez ... obviously I'm a little bit older, I've had a little more experience. I made the team when I was 17. I was ranked probably in the top 5 in the country but I was probably a surprise to be on the team. This time around it's a little bit different.

I actually put my bow down in the beginning of 2004 and decided to go to school full time and I wasn't shooting at all. I didn't pick up my bow until the summer of 2006 and I shot for a few weeks while I was home in Connecticut and decided that I was going to go shoot nationals and just have a good time. And I ended up winning it.

I went to school for one more semester and moved out here in January 2007 and started training again.

How is it possible that you hadn't been shooting for about two years and then suddenly you can win nationals after just training for a few weeks?

It's actually kind of amazing. When I picked up the bow again it was like I never put it down. It was kind of like riding a bike. You don't just forget how to do it. My form was good and everything was very similar, but I didn't have the endurance or the calluses that I had before. But the basics were still there.

When you run into someone on the street and tell them you're an archer training for the Olympics, I bet they don't think you've got an intense training regimen. What is it actually like?

(Along with our shooting routine) four days a week I do cardio and weight training and that's pretty much it. Not all the archers are doing something similar to what we are here at the training center. The majority of the archers don't do the cardio training or the weight training, but they're still successful. In my eyes, if it gives me a little more of an edge, it can't hurt. So it's good to include that in our daily routine.

What's life like in California after having lived in Connecticut and Alabama?

Of course archery is one of my top priorities. I have to make sure I get all my training in every day. We have a little bit of free time, but not too much. Once in a while we'll take a little break or someone will come visit. Last weekend we went camping. It's very competitive and somewhat serious environment. Everyone kind of has the same goals that's living and training here.

Are you getting to interact with the athletes from the other sports?

That's one great thing about living at the training center. You get to meet a lot of people and build friendships so when you get over to the Games or the Pan-Ams, you can go root for your friends and cheer them on, which makes it even more exciting.

Have you ever shot at anything other than a target?

I used to go hunting with my father, but I never shot at anything. That's actually how I got started in archery, my Dad's a bow hunter and that's how I got interested in it.

But you never went for a deer or anything like that?

No. Maybe someday, but right now I'm focused on targets.

So you didn't take your bow camping with you to see if you could catch dinner?

(Laughs) No. Catch dinner... (laughs again).

What is it like for you when you're packing to go to some of the events a long distance away?

We'll just have one piece of luggage with all our clothes and uniforms and then our bow case with all of our equipment in it. Sometimes the archery stuff in some countries, it's a little bit difficult to get through customs, getting things cleared, but I haven't run into any serious problems. You get the lost luggage but usually the equipment will show up on time. I'll carry on my spotting scope…just because the optics would most likely break if they were packed.

How did you end up deciding to go to Auburn?

Yeah, people do ask me – how did you end up in Alabama? Because before then I was living in Chula Vista. I just really like the South and I wanted to study industrial engineering. I was looking at some of the schools in the South like Clemson and Georgia Tech. And a few others down there. I stepped on [Auburn's] campus for like 10 or 15 minutes and was like – OK it looks pretty good. I'll go here. I always knew that if I didn't like it I could just go somewhere else. I ended up loving it. And I miss it, I miss the football season and it's a really great university. After the Olympics I plan on going back to finish up my degree, I've got about a year-and-a-half left.

What did you learn in Sydney that will be helpful in China?

I didn't really know what to expect when I went to Sydney, my coach at the time was also on the team and he kind of talked a little bit about what to expect and how it was going to be. But words can't really quite describe it. My jaw was constantly on the ground – (thinking) 'oh my gosh this is where we're shooting and oh my gosh look at this.' It was a lot to take in. And as far as the competition goes, with all of the cameras and spectators, that made it really exciting and something new and different. So going into this next Olympics I'll know what to expect more than I did when I was 18.

Are you anxious about anything outside of competition that you're going to encounter in China? I've heard about some non-traditional toilets.

We were over there in August and China's doing such a great job preparing for this Olympics, and we were able to see some of the construction. They're on top of things and I think it's going to be a really great Olympics. As far as the toilets go, we'll deal with that if we have to.

Enlarge By Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY American archer Karen Scavotto made the U.S. Olympic team in 2000 as a teenager. Now the 25-year-old is back trying to make the team again.

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