New code -- deduction

Take a look at Shawn's 2008 Olympic FX EF routine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fAlzxwqA-I

Under the new code, per what they said @ Classic, landings like Shawn's double-double (1st pass), 3rd pass and final pass, in which she does she "gymnast lunge landing" would be deducted for.


Umm...what???

When I look at this routine, I think it's darn near perfect as far as landing, minus her second pass. They're really going to deduct for that? The girl's doing a double-double for pete's sake. And whereas she could end with a double pike, she chooses a full-in. Give her a break; she's in total control of the landings. A deduction is ludicrous.

YAY to Nastia's silver medal-winning performance @ Classic

http://www.universalsports.com/mediaPlayer/media.dbml?db_oem_id=23000&sid=-1&catid=-1&id=632508

I wonder if became of the time delay, she didn't want to rush, so she just did the layout dismount, or if she really doesn't have her 2.5 twist yet. Either way, pretty darn good.

Nastia training bars @ Classic!

http://www.gymnastike.org/videos/play/195396
Doesn't look too bad... She's got her Ono-Ono-Ono + 1/2 to Geinger down, with a little leg separation on the Geinger and then a pause after the combo, but wow!

http://www.gymnastike.org/videos/play/195393

The dismount sure look 100% better, of course she didn't do it after a full routine. But wow, when was the last time you saw the Olympic all-around champ look so good so soon after the Olympics? Podkopayeva in 1997?

Nastia wins ESPY

Nastia wins the ESPY for Best "Female Athlete" & Shawn won "est Female Olympian."

Lauren Mitchell's much-talked about BB routine

I'm not overly impressed....anyone else?

Karolyi Camps: 2000 v. 2003

I have a thought/question about the training camps.

I've read from several gymnasts that the camps in 2000 were more brutal and negative that the later ones in the 2002-2004 time period.

Moceanu (OK I know some will take what she says with a grain of salt) said she was humiliated for he weight. Atler (again, some might not consider her reliable) called them "unbearable." But most interestingly, I was reading an interview with Shannon Miller from 2004 and she even said the difference in the camps between 2000 and 2003 was "night and day." I feel strongly that Dantzcher would have choice things to say, although she is kind of from the anti-Karolyi camp.

But seriously... what can we make of this? Does anyone think there's some truth to this and could the difference be Bela v. Marta? Do you think "choice" athletes (i.e. Johnson & Liukin) could "opt out" out of doing some of the extra sets and repetitions and that their coaches could kind of "overrule" the Karolyis because they were too valuable to lose to injury?

A thought

I seriously think I was an elite gymnast in another life. The only problem with this theory is that no gymnast since Nadia's time (that I can think of) has passed away. Regardless, I still file like I used to be one. I feel like I can sense how they feel. I feel like I know how uneven bars feel, how a Tchatchev feels. How it feels to be in practice with throbbing body parts but to continue anyway. How it feels to nervously wait for the judges to give the green light.

Newsflash

Nastia, Ivana, Rebecca, Briley, Sophia, Lily, Grace, Madison - WOGA Elites competing at US Classic, July 24-26 --WOGA's Twitter


OMG, Can't wait to see/hear how Nastia & Ivana do, as well as Rebecca Bross.

PRK -- Pt. 2

So, that ended up being the Kim Gwang Suk post. Here are the rest of the North Koreans.

I really enjoy a mystery, something/someone mysterious, an anomaly, whatever. And I suppose that's what the North Koreans are. Who understand them? How do they train? I mean, the Romanians and the Americans are interesting enough to learn about, but hey, at least we GET interviews with them.

Here is a cutie, Kang Yun Mi at the 2003 Worlds vault finals. Nice lay out in the second vault.



Pyon Kwang Sun -- 2006 Asian Games
I don't know who this girl is, but I somehow came across her. Her uneven bars is a heck of a lot better than her vault, but I love her smile. That's so unexpected! Especially from a North Korean, and after falling.


She came in 4th at the 2003 Worlds on uneven bars:


More impressive ont he vault is 2007 silver medalist Hong Su Jong, not to be confused with her sis, Hong Un Jong. Su performs a pretty darn good Cheng vault here, and vault #1 is a well-landed Amanar.

I wonder what happened to Su in the 2008 Games, but Un was there and obviously, she won the title.

And, I have to say, I love Cheng Fei, but I'm kind of glad that she fell and someone else got to take home the gold medal. And not that I'm pro-Korea, but hey, if it means a better life for Un, then that's terrific.

A tribute to PRK

A tribute to the few North Koreans who have surfaced in world & Olympic competition.
Please feel free to fill in any holes -- I'm just filling it what I know. The North Koreans really fascinate me. I mean, it's odd enough to imagine training in a former Iron Curtain nation, without exposure to the outside world, but that was 20 years ago, and the Wall fell and many emigrated to the West. And I guess you could liken them to the Chinese, but they are so much more closed off; we know so much less about North Korea. Bart Conner mentioned in the broadcast of the 2007 Worlds that the North Korean coaches kept the girls from speaking with the press and that they did not show up at many international events because of a lack of funding. Well, no kidding, if parts of Korea suffer from famine, I wonder how they fund their gymnastics program. And I wonder if the gymnasts' motivation is for the state. (I wrote my graduate thesis on communist nations and their gymnastics programs and how the gymnasts' motivations come from the state). I wonder if Kim Jong Ill bought Hong Un Jong an apartment for her gold medal on vault at the Beijing Olympics. I think it's a shame we can't ever learn about these girls! Furthermore, what's interesting is that we seldom see the North Koreans but when we do, they are stellar. I mean, how many girls in the world can perform the Cheng vault? And Hong Un Jong did and (I'll have to look) but I think Hong Su Jong did as well at the 2007 Worlds.

The first North Korean I can remember was Kim Gwang Suk, who was famously "15 years old" for 3 years. She won the uneven bars title in 1991. I love the "Counter-Kim" a Tkatchev-front flip toward the high bar. The skill came to be known in the Code of Points as the Counter-Kim; as of the 2008 Code of Points, it was classified as a difficult 'F' element. And I really think that's it's wrong that she didn't medal in Barcelona. Personally, I think Shannon should have been left out and the bronze should have gone to Suk.
Kim Gwang Suk, 1991 Worlds UB EF


And I just found this adorable video of her at the 1990 Asian Games (if she was underage at the 1991 Worlds, no telling how old she is here). Nice handstand split and she holds it through the pirouette.

The more I look for Kim Gwang Suk videos, the more confused I get, re: her age. Here she is at the 1989 Worlds, where technically she'd need to be at least 14.

But then here she is in 1987 as a junior. By my calculations, if she was (let's says eh had a late birthday) 13 in 1989, then she was 11 in 1987. And look at this routine!


Wikipedia lists her birthday as February 15 but no given year. The "generally accepted years" are 1978 or 1979, making her 9 or 10 at during that beam routine and 13 or 14 for her World title.

And she is still alive! Here she is for the "North Korean portion" or the torch carrying for last year's Olympics.

My name is Yekaterina

And my last name is Lobaznyuk, which can be pronounced "Lay-boz-NUKE" or "La-BOZ-nee-uk." But no matter how you say it, I am pretty darn cute.


I would just like to share that I think Lobaznyuk is one of theose great gymnasts who was enormously talented EQUALLY on all four apparatus, and clean as well. I wanted to give her her due. I think part of why more people don't remember her is that she was at her peak for a relatively short time. She "debuted" at the 1999 Worlds, winning a silver medal with her team (ahh remember the good 'ole days when Russia was in the top 3?). At the 2000, if you go back and re-watch (which I am fond of doing) you realize, which I had forgotten, that she was right up there with some of the best. She got a silver for team and beam and bronze on vault (arg I think you can argue that she was better than Raducan on vault) and 5th AA. But look AT her vaults: double-twisting Yurchenko and double-twisting Tsukahara. Who even does double-twisting Tsukaharas now?





And yes I love that someone who can be so amazing on vault can also have such an amazing beam set.


And I have to say, I really, REALLY want to give the gold to Lobaznyuk over Liu Xuan. Liu just really didn't blow me out of the park on this one. Yes Lobaznyuk did have a slight step after her standing Arabian and a slight waver after her aerial front walkover. That being said, I want to say this routine is a smidge more difficult... thoughts?

And besides, you have to giver her bonus points for being cute.

Oh, I don't want to be mean but

I am Gina Gogean.



Sadly, I do not deviate much from this facial expression. I always look bored, have bad under-eye circles, and in general, I am the most unenthusiastic gymnast you will see.

[Haters to the right. This is a post where I am going to gripe about Gina Gogean. Yes, she certainly has some redeeming qualities, but seriously....okay here we go].

I have the traditional Romanian hairdo: bangs slightly curled and then split in half, equally pushed to both side of my face (ick!). As previously mentioned in the post "Biggest Scandal" re: 1997 Worlds event finals, I frequently do sub-par routines and somehow medal.

I do not have the best "gymnastics hands," as my fingers are always separated. In addition to the "hands" issue, I have ugly wolf jumps and have this habit of doing my beam choreography, then taking two "little steps" before "big skills."


I have the most "dead vaulting run" ever. I start off without the little "jump start" some gymnasts have and continue to run with zero facial expression. And I have an annoying little habit of "almost sticking" my vault but not really but I still get marked down some but not much. Case in point: 1996 Olympics, all-around AND AGAIN in event finals. I got a silver in the AA (thank GOD Lilia hit...I can't imagine the 1996 Olympic champ being Gogean) and a bronze in the vaulting finals, which really should have gone to the neater, cleaner Galieva, especially considering my sloppy and strange Phelps vault). (And note the leg separation as I take off from the horse!).




I also have the most pathetic excuse for a Tcatchev known to man. I really need to chat it up with Courtney Kupets. (On the + side though, I do have a very nice one-and-a-half pirouette).


And who, in their right mind would have given me the bronze in the 1996 Olympic balance beam final? OK, I hit everything, but seriously, Kochetkova took like 5 times the risk and had 10 times the grace...Judges, step up to the plate. After all, it's an event final....we need to see the extra risk and reward it.

And no one can forgive me for the extremely uninspired music and dance used in my 1997 worlds floor exercise music. "Zorba the Greek" never seemed so...grim. (In keeping with the Biggest Scandal of all time entry, again, the gold should have gone to Khorkina for floor, then Produnova, then Gogean...if we must).
(Note the little piece of "choreography" she does at :56...this same "skill" is repeated on her beam routine...ugh...).


Now, so that I am not being a total hater, I will say that she does have a pretty leap that I think is "hers:"


And we do need to say that she was tough as nails, as Elfi and Tim love to remind us at the 1994 Worlds in Dortmund:

Now, please don't think I'm being mean to be mean. Basically, I think Gina lacked a lot of polish, not to mention she at time seemed inhuman. It's hard to like someone who doesn't seem real. And frequently, yes, she did hit her routines. That being said, many times there was a gymnast who took more risk and have cleaner, better lines & presentation who got bumped a place behind Gogean. Blah!

You know what I miss?

Competitions where you really didn't know who would win. Where there was, you know, real competition. Maybe it's because I'm from capitalist America, and it's not that I don't like (well, love) Shawn & Nastia. But, c'mon. EVERYone knew that either one or the other would win last year at the Olympics. How much fun is that? And it was the same in 2004. Carly v. Svetlana. This is really not that cool.

This is due mostly to the fall of former Eastern-bloc nations, and the 2-per-country rule, which is also eliminating competition. So what if gold, silver and bronze medalists are from the same country? May the best nation win, I say.

Talk about, excitement, let's take a walk down memory lane. The first competition that I watched over and over again like a good chick flick was the 1996 Olympics, all-around. There were SO MANY performances shown and so many athletes who potentially could have won that it was extremely exciting. Thirty-six gymnasts competed. What a competition. And one by one they fell and we saw the best win.

Let's reminisce: Shannon Miller, 3rd rotation: she gives it away with a botched floor exercise. Dominique Dawes, in the same rotation, same event, has a fall. They were leading, Daw3ees in first and Miller in second up to that point. Khorkina was up there until she fell on a transition from low to high on uneven bars. (shocking!).



Dina Kochetkova was leading up until her last event and botched both of her Yurchenko one-and-a-halfs.


Dominique Moceanu blew it in the first rotation with a sizable wobble on beam, followed by a step out of bounds on floor and then piking down on her full-in double layout off bars.

Mo Huilan was nicely set up to medal but had a large step out of bounds on her final rotation floor routine.

Any number of gymnasts could have medaled in the 1996 Olympics. Realistically, Shannon Miller & Dominique Dawes, although they were not favorites to win, could have medaled. Dominique Moceanu could have done very well. I do think that she was a bit over-hyped, but if you look at her team options scores, they were all 9.8+ with the exception of vault, which had the potential of getting a 9.80 at least. Any of the Romanians could have medaled (and did). So that adds Amanr, Gogean and Milo to the pile. Mo Huilan was certainly up there, and could have medaled with just an average floor exercise. A lot of insiders favored Podkopayeva, with good reason. And any of the three Russian, but especially Kochetkova and Khorkina, could have been there. Kochetkova was third in 1994 and current world champion on beam; Khorkina was second in 1995. So, all in all, at least 11 people could have been considered for the top three spots.

Similarly, in 2000, the field was wide (haha unless you were an American). Karpenko was second at the 1999 Worlds and would have medaled had it not been for the silly "tripping" incident on floor in the last rotation. Just like Karpenko, Zamo had a similar fate on one of her best event, floor exercise. NO ONE saw this coming. Zamo was third at the worlds in 1999. Khorkina was certainly in the mix, having won the 1997 Worlds and was one of the "leaders" in the bizarre '97 - '99 Quad. But she made an error similar to 1996 on uneven bars, and then the dang vaulting issue screwed her over as well.

The fateful "trip"


Zamo's most uncharacteristic fall: (it kind of brings tears to your eyes)


In the 2000 Games, Karpenko, Zamo and Khorkina could have all challenged. And of course, the reliable Romanians all challenged (and all medaled): Raducan, Olaru, Amanar. (disclaimer: I am a die-hard who still counts Raducan as the winner). I suppose Elise Ray was America's best hope, and might have medaled with some luck from her part and errors from others. And let's not forget the terrific Lobazniuk, a bit of a personal favorite for me, who had no weak event (double twisting Yurchenko AND Tsukahara on vault, nice on beam, cute girl, great body for the sport, love her). But, on her first event, floor exercise, she took some extra steps on her double layout. Basically, at least 7 girls were challenging for the top.


Now let's travel WAY back down memory lane to the year of big bangs and the Dream Team: 1992. The field was wide open in 1992. Obviously Zmeskal was the 1991 World Champion, but she also technically won the "all-around" at the 1992 Worlds; she just had a royally bad meet at the Barcelona Olympics. Bogi was second in 1991 and a favorite again in 1992. Milo and Bontas looked like the best bets for Romania, with tumbling passes like a whip through to a full-in to a punch front and a full-in double layout. Miller was certainly on everyone's mind with super stellar compulsories and optionals. It was hard not to overlook bird-like Gutsu and her unthinkable-easy-looking 3-flip-flops to a perfect full-in off beam. WHO can do this, even now, with such EASE?

And of course, Okino, although not a favorite, was up there in the top 10. And Gogean was an up-and-comer. Lyssenko as well, who would go on to win beam, could have won if it hadn't been for a botched floor exercise. And, duh. One of my most favorite girls of all time, with tumbling that would rival years later, Onodi.


So, in 1992, we had 10 girls who could have challenged.

I'm not sure how much taped coverage I have of the 2000 Games, but in 1996 I have AT LEAST 2 hours of coverage, and same with 1992, including all of the lovely, wonderful "fluff" pieces that hardcore fans/saps like me adore. all in all, hours of coverage, almost a dozen top girls each year meant you didn't know who was going to win = DRAMA. LOVE IT.

NOWADAYS, with 2 per country and uh, the fall of other countries, to put it in not so many words, it sucks.

2004: With the 2 per country rule, we have eliminated some people right there. I would have liked to have seen McCool challenge (she botched up prelims but give the gal another shot!). Ban I believe was out with injury but she was stellar and could have done some damage. I remember at the beginning, upon learning that Ban was out, that all Patterson had to do was hit and she'd win. Pavlova and Zhang Nan and Safronie were decent but everyone knew it was Khorkina or Patterson.

2008: DUH. Months ahead of time we knew it was Shawn v. Nastia, with a slight favor toward Shawn. Yeah, I suppose we knew the Chinese would put forth someone decent, and same with Nistor and Isbaza, but everyone knew it was Shawn v. Nastia. I would have really enjoyed seeing 3 per country, because even though I'm sure the gold and silver results would have been the same, why not at least give some others a SHOT? The way figure it, these girls give their entire lives to their sport. They are good enough to make it to the Olympics, so give them all the opportunities to compete that are possible. Same with teh 2-per-country on event finals. This is BS! You know, I really would not care if all the medalists on a particular event were from the same nation; may the best win.

Sigh.... so now, as we approach the 2009 Worlds, we have a pretty small number of contenders to win, and I think it's sad. After all, it's a COMPETITION.

Phew, ok that was a novel.

How embarassing!

I have seen some embarrassing falls in my time as a gymnastics spectator, but I don't know that I've ever seen anything like this. And Kathy is one of my most favorites -- she has a special place in my heart. :)