Gymnastics: It's an obsession

Today's Moment of Zen

2010-04-02T15:19:00.002-04:00

Because, on a day like today, I need a moment of Zen.

And ever since the new Code, I appreciate the Chinese 10x more than I ever did.

Getting a little sick of the Bross haters

2010-03-29T15:02:00.005-04:00

There's been a lot of negativity toward Rebecca Bross, and I'm a little sick of it.

Look at this site, where the author says
"Ms. Bross has one of the worst bodies for gymnastics imaginable."

I'm sorry, but I just don't think that's true! Not trying to be a hater, but remember Kristen Maloney? I would make the argument that SHE has one of the worst bodies for gymnastics: not very muscular, slim from the side (esp. in 2000) but from straight on she had hips that prevented her from having a nice line and made her look, well, just kind of awkward.

Bross, on the other hand is petite, straight, compact and muscular. She is very boyish, which in turn makes her a strong gymnast. No, her ankles don't stick together, but that is not a form error, it is her BODY SHAPE. Case in point, Semenova has the same shape and won bars at the '07 Worlds.

This blogger goes on to say " While she is a hard worker and a technical gymnast, everything LOOKS like work." Again, I don't agree and I'll refer you to Maloney. Nothing against her, but to me, she is the definition of a gymnast who was NOT light on her feet. (Esp. if you look at a beam routine from '98, or look at her Geinger on bars, or her many pirouetting and toe-on skills on bars, and most especially her full-in layout dismount off of bars, in which she always looks like she just barely pulled it around and kinda of "plops" down on the map). Bross gets good height, especially on her back layout step-out on beam, Arabian on beam, Tchatchev and Jaeger on bars and have you SEEN her double-twisting front on floor?! HUGE!

I also read where someone on the IG Forum said that he/she didn't think Bross belonged at WOGA but again, I disagree. I think she's well-suited for WOGA -- she is serious about her gymnastics and she understands that work that is required to be great. She wants the sternness and structure of WOGA and doesn't need a sugar-coated coach like Mary Lee Tracy (not that I don't like MLT!!).

Now could Bross use some polishing? Sure. I think that, overall, she could stand to loosen up in competition and trust her training. I also think that her hands and finger positions could be improved. And some more dance training would benefit her. I think her choreography is terrific, but I don't think she's 100% comfortable performing it. But she hits 180 degree splits, points her toes and keeps her legs straight.

But please, not everyone (in fact, hardly anyone) has the body of Nastia Liukin. Who can you think of in the last 30 years who had a body like that and was successful in more than just one or two World Championships? And if the gymnast did at one point have that body type, how did she look after puberty? Please, let's not be mean to Bross because of her genetics. No, she does not have straight, hyper-extended legs, but what she does have is a lot of muscle, and I believe, heart.

P.S. I also don't really appreciate this blogger's remarks on Bross's father. Please? Can we leave the girl alone? Thanks.

Bross -- I love ya!

I'd also like to note that even though I am using Maloney as an example here, I really admire her for surviving the first year of Karolyi camps and all the politics, grinning & bearing it through multiple injuries and also having a tremendously successful collegiate career.

Nastia's big announcement

2010-03-22T14:02:00.002-04:00

She now has a clothing line for girls.

http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/supergirlbynastia/42098/

Not exactly the announcement I was hoping for, but not bad either...

2010 American Cup lineup announced

2010-02-04T11:24:00.001-05:00

Ariella Kaeslin -- Switzerland

Rebecca Bross --U.S.

Dominique Pegg -- Canada

Elsa Garcia -- Mexico

Yuko Shintake -- Japan

Claudia Voicu -- Romania

Elisabeth Seitz -- Germany

A second U.S. gymnast will be added to the lineup between now and March 6.

She might drive me insane...

2010-02-03T15:40:00.002-05:00

I just read this interview with new mom, Shannon Miller.

Interview

Is it just me, or is she a total control freak? I think she might drive me nuts if she was my mom, or even roommate.

Nothing against her gymnastics though. Wonderful. In my top 10. :)

Arbitrary

2010-02-02T14:25:00.003-05:00

The more I've been watching gymnastics lately, the more I'm kind of getting miffed that things (i.e. rules) are not more standardized. I mean, gymnasts basically give up their entire youth to dedicate it to their sport. And it seems like, depending on what era it has been throughout history, results could have been drastically different than they are.

Let's take the '89-'92 Quad. Well, you didn't have to nail two vaults in the all-around because you got to drop your lowest score. Good thing, since gymnasts like Onodi fell on one of them in the '92 Olympic AA (I know she wasn't going to win an AA medal, but still...). And, by the same token, good thing in the '06-08 Quad, Nastia didn't need two different vaults like gymnasts did in the '97-'00 Quad, or she might have been screwed.

And in the '89-'92 Quad, even if your difficulty hypothetically went over a 10.0, if you made a big enough mistake, it didn't matter. Risk did not necessarily = reward. Look at Kim Gwang Suk's uneven bar routine in event finals. (Why this didn't at least get a bronze, btw, is beyond me). (The fact that she was prob. underage aside).

And, I mean, technically, it's always been the rule that pirouettes on uneven bars should end in handstand. But this was never enforced until '06. Well, gee, that sure did come in handy for the 5 previous years for the Romanians. In fact, form in general was conveniently ignored for a good while, at least as compared to the degree to which it's considered important now.

And what about ties? In '92 they were allowed, and there were several. If memory serves me, wasn't there a 3-way tie for bronze on FX. WTF? Now, we go to obscure tie-breaking means, as in Beijing with Nastia & He Kexin. But had that been 16 years earlier, a tie would have been no big deal! And why is it that when there's a tie for say, second place (back in the day when ties were allowed), there's no bronze medal given? There's still technically someone whose score was third-best and it's not her fault that the 2 of the 3 people above her tied. Someone is getting screwed out of receiving a medal. And remember the days when falling meant losing the chance of winning a medal? Well, no more since Shanshan won a medal at the '07 Worlds and Cheng Fei won bronze on vault in Beijing. But, if the rules had allowed such things in the past, then who knows, Mo Huilan may have won a medal in the AA in Sabae at the '95 Worlds! Even minuscule obscure rules like I think in '95 at National level competition, gymnasts got .1 bonus for doing 2 different vaults. And what about the Phelps vault, the thing I abhor more than any other skill... no one really enforced the layout position (deducting for pike), nor did anyone pay attention to the twisting direction! IG had a good write up on this in '97 or '98, in which they concluded that, depending on the direction in which the gymnast twists, it could be considered two different vaults, and that technically, Amanar was the only one performing it correctly! Did no one care about rules?!

Arg, it's just frustrating how arbitrary some things can be.

Just throwing this out there...

2010-02-01T14:16:00.003-05:00

As I re-watched the 2008 Olympic team finals, it might be easy to throw the bulk of the blame on A-Sac that the U.S. lost the gold.

HOWEVER,

At second glance, look at the 2007 Worlds. We won the gold here without Shawn's Amanar, and with two mishaps on beam, one from Shawn and one from Nastia. When you look at things in that light, I think you have to forgive A-Sac. She hit as well as Nastia and Shawn in prelims in '08, and hit in '07 when both of them didn't. It's amazing we won the gold in '07. As a whole, we looked better in '08. We got really lucky, and the Chinese were not as good in '07. Just sayin'....

And would someone please, please explain to me how Emilie LePennec not only won the gold on UB in '04, but how she even had a 10.0 SV. BS!!!

Not cool, Em.

Fantasy Gymnastics

2010-01-29T15:50:00.003-05:00

You know, like fantasy football? OK, here's the match-up I want to see...I miss real competition!

The Romania squad from '04, including Ponor, an un-injured Ban, Safronie, Rosu, Eremia, et al.

v.

The China squad from '08, including He Kexin, Cheng Fei, Yang Yilin, Deng Linlin, et. al.

v.

The American squad from '08 (either all healthy or replacing injured team members....sorry, but only healthy people should be on the team), so A-Sac, Liukin, Johnson, Sloan, and either a healthy Memmel & Peszek, or replacements....

And THEN we can see who is the best team.... we know the Romanians will all hit, but I think the execution deductions will hurt them. But the Chinese would do well with the E-score, but might not hit, and with the Americans, it's 50/50 either way. I think this would be a terrific match-up.

Top Three

2010-01-27T09:27:00.003-05:00

Recently, The Couch Gymnast asked its readers to tell her what one thing they coud change about gymnastics, if they could change anything. I emailed her one, then a second thing, but I think I actually have three. OK, in order:

1. The 2-per-country rule (already went over this, affirmative action for sports)
2. 3-up-3-count (already went over this, not the best judge of who the strongest team is)
3. Vault. I actually think vault was harder in the '97-'00 quad, form aside (they didn't critique on form then like they do now). Seriously, you couldn't get by in the aforementioned quad with just a Yurchenko 1.5, and even if that was just one of your vaults, it was only worth a 9.7 (or 9.8?). Not to pick on Nastia, but really? She won an Olympic gold medal with that vault? Yeah it was pretty much perfect but in my opinion, she really needed more difficulty.

Which kind of reminds me of something else. I'm all for promoting good form. But really, Nastia getting a 9.2-something in Beijing for her stuck 1.5 Yurchenko? Eh? I watched the 2005 National last night and A-Sac turned is one of the most terrific floor exercises ever, with a triple twist that will rival Maria Olaru -- no leg crossing, no bent knees, got it all the way around -- and got a 9.9. Tim & Elfi went nuts, but moreover, she DESERVED it. Do a good routine, get rewarded for it. During that telecast, Tim mentioned that he wished the old scoring system would return. I wonder how he feels now?

And another thing...

2010-01-26T14:09:00.004-05:00

I really dislike the 2-per-country rule. It's like affirmative action for sports, and as far as I'm concerned, sports is about competition. May the best girl win!

Now, let's look at the '08 Olympics. In most events, it wasn't a big deal, but look at BB.

1. LI Shanshan CHINA 16.125 Q
2. LIUKIN Nastia USA 15.975 Q
3. JOHNSON Shawn USA 15.975 Q
4. SACRAMONE Alicia USA 15.950
5. FEI Cheng CHINA 15.875 Q
6. PAVLOVA Anna RUSSIA 15.825 Q
7. AFANASYEVA Ksenia RUSSIA 15.775 Q
8. SEMENOVA Ksenia RUSSIA 15.775
9. DENG Linlin CHINA 15.550
10. SLOAN Bridget USA 15.500
11. YANG Yilin CHINA 15.500
12. DRAGOI Gabriela ROMANIA 15.450 Q
13. TSURUMI Koko JAPAN 15.425 Q

In my opinion, should Gragoi and Tsurimi REALLY have qualified? WHY, when A-Sac qualified FOURTH?! I mean, for all we know, A-Sac could have redeemed herself. But more importantly, look at #8-11, all of whom qualified above Dragoi and Tsurimi. What on earth? You know, I know the point of the rule -- to prevent one country dominating. But so what? Let's assume it finished:

Johnson
Liukin
A-Sac

So what? If the Americans really were the best, then so be it. In the actual final, Cheng Fei (bronze) scored a 15.95, same as A-Sac. So, hypothetically, A-Sac might have been in contention for a medal.

2004 v. 2008

2010-01-26T10:45:00.003-05:00

Without going back to re-watch the Nationals, Trials & Olympics for each of these years, I initially thought that the 2008 team was the better team. And don't get me wrong, hindsight is 20/20. That being said, I'm starting to think that the 2004 team might have been better. I am still undecided on that fact, but I will say that in 2004 I think the field was deeper and we left many talented gymnasts at home.

Hindsight is 20/20
No one knew McCool would flake out in prelims like she did in 2004. That being said, I think she may have been worthy of a second shot in the team finals, particularly on beam and floor, where Bhardwaj was used instead. We knew Bhardwaj was likely to hit but she lacked the potential to bring in a high score, which we really needed, esp. after uneven bars, where we failed to get the most out of an event that was our strength, and Romania's weakness.

Additionally, as I re-watched Nationals, I had forgotten how strong and clean Tricase was. I think you could have made a case for her to join the team. The only question is, who would you replace her with? Yim and Ishino were also looking pretty strong. I think the problem with that team was that no one counted on McCool not delivering. When you remove her from our lineup on beam and floor, we instantly get weaker. This wasn't helped by the fact that Kupets also was pulled from beam. I am just wondering if there was any possible way for us to have won and if so, what that way would have been. Were the Romanians unbeatable, or did we miss an opportunity here?

ROM 114.283
USA 113.584
Difference = .699

My second thought is that I initially thought that the 2008 team was the strongest U.S. team ever assembled. On paper that is.
Nastia: Do we need to list her qualifications?; needed for UB & BB
Shawn: Current world champ in AA & FX; US National Champ & Olympic Trials Champ; could be used on any event
Chellsie: 2003 UB World Champ; 2005 World Champ AA; looked in good shape from comeback to injury; could be used on any event
Alicia: Numerous World medals on V & FX; needed for V & FX
Samantha: member of '07 world team; needed for V & FX
Bridget: seems like a consistent team player; we needed her for V & UB

Now, my question is, when we knew Chellsie was injured, should we have pulled her out and replaced her with someone like Worley? Is it really fair to Worley that we didn't do this? And what about the rest fo the members of the team? We may have had a better shot at a medal with a healthy athlete to replace Memmel. And what about Peszek? Again, was this fair?

Of course, what we weren't counting on was those two getting injured, but in addition, Sacramone missing on FX. A beam mistake, ok, that's not unheard of.
For beam, Johnson & Liukin went up. Who else could have gone up?

Sloan
Sacramone

Peszek -- out
Memmel -- out

Yea, I guess given the two choices, Sacramone was the one to go with, but still, we have 6 team members for a reason, so that we can pick and choose who we want to go with. This isn't much of a choice, is it?

I'm just sayin'...not much we can do now, but does anyone have any thoughts?

CHN 188.900
USA 186.525
Difference = 2.375

Was China unbeatable or did we drop the ball?

Team Competition Quandries

2010-01-26T09:43:00.003-05:00

Two thoughts:

For the Sydney Olympics being the "dark horse" for the U.S., as I went back to re-watch this competition, we really didn't do THAT badly. We came in fourth, close to third, which is a lot better than sixth at the 1999 Worlds.

But moreover, I don't care what people say about Bela's role, I just think this was a year that kind of lacked huge talent. Stars come and go and this is an ebb and flow process. I think that with the talent that we HAD during this time, they probably benefited from some "toughening up" from the Karolyis, but I mean, seriously, how much better could they have gotten? I just don't think this was a year of terrific stars. By the same token, several of them went on to do very well in NCAA. And Tasha was the next big star. But just a year later we won the bronze at he Worlds with a basically totally new team? You can't tell me that that was Bela's doing. I think we started to get some new talent, new faces, got a little lucky, even had an individual medalist in Katie Heenan. The same thing happened the following year at the Worlds. I'm not saying that there aren't advantages to the "Karolyi Camp" system, but I'm not sure it should be over-stated, and I also don't think we should give the Sydney team so much flack. They did the best that they could, were under tremendous stress and all things said, did a pretty good job.

Second, as I was re-watching the Sydney team finals...wow... Romania won by two tenths,
ROM 154.608
RUS 154.403

OK that's just not even a convincing victory, but ESPECIALLY when you consider how this was the quad of conveniently overlooking uneven bar form breaks. If judging had occurred how it should have, Russia would have been (and should have been) your winner. It's just sickening.

They weren't the best, but...

2010-01-25T11:20:00.005-05:00

As I have been going through and dubbing all my tapes to DVD, I've been enjoying a nice stroll down memory lane. And I've come up with a sub-category of gymnasts who are favorites, and not necessarily because they were the most technically correct (like Dobre) or had the most success (like Miller), but just because I really admired them for the work that they DID do. Because maybe they weren't as talented as some of the bigger names, but they pulled out every ounce of talent they had and utilized it. I have a theory/feeling that some gymnasts work hard, but not as hard as others, and just compete very well. Obviously, at the elite level, all gymnasts must work very hard, but still, I remember reading that Zmeskal said she didn't always have to work so hard in competition but could usually pull things off when in competition. I have read that about Peszek, Dantzscher and Schwikert, to name a few.

I have a soft spot for Morgan White. In all honesty, I don't think she was as good as some of the other members of the 2000 team. But she is so REAL, she is so human. You know, as much as a I love Nastia, there's something inhuman about her. Whether she did a great routine or not, she had little facial expression. She was kind of like a little gymnastics soldier. I used to print up Nastia interviews about how she got her motivation, thinking I could apply her thoughts to my own life. But...she's kind of like a machine. She says she never lost faith, and hard times are hard but they make you stronger. Those are kind of like stock answers. Really? REALLY? You felt like that? Because... it's pretty hard to accomplish all that you have done, Nastia, without doubting yourself, or wondering why you're doing this, or wondering what life would be like without gymnastics, or freaking out after making a mistake. And maybe she DID some of these things, but if so, she never let on that she did. That's kind of hard to relate to.

Morgan was not the brightest star on the team. I think she never really thought she'd be at this level. Poor thing could not vault, and yet this was the pre-specialist days, so she HAD to vault. I'll never forget her reaction at the 2000 Nationals after she fell on her Yurchenko 1.5. She looked like she was going to lose it. Like REALLY lose it. And there is something so human about that. You know, that was an Olympic year. The stakes were HUGE. This was her life. She'd be letting her family and coaches down if she didn't qualify to the team. This was the first step and she blew it. Bela is 15 feet away. And then it's just so exciting when she comes back to make the vault later on at the Trials. And in both occasions, she can't hold her emotions back. And yea, gymnasts are all supposed to be little Gina Gogeans and not feel anything, but you know, that's really hard to understand. She is the total underdog and comes back to make the team.

And then she gets to Sydney, breaks her foot, game over. I mean this was her peak time, too... I have a feeling that no matter how hard she tried, she'd never come back to be this good again. And that's just more real, I'm sorry, than some other gymnasts' stories.

The second gymnast is Courtney Kupets. I already admired her consistency and difficulty, but I really came to like her when she talked about her Achilles tendon injury. I'm sure that the pain and hardship was even greater than she let on:

But I really, REALLY admire her attitude. I have a really hard time staying positive and believing that things will work out. From what I can gather in this interview, as well as her discussing her comeback from her second Achilles injury, she must just be a positive, perky person with lots of friends, and an amazing inner strength. She took the attitude of, ok, what's done is done, we can't do anything to change it other than be positive, not feel sorry for ourselves, but to work hard with what we can do and be patient. Wow, that is some hard stuff! Easy to say, hard to do! I mean, imagine how you'd feel, being the national champion, and then getting injured AFTER prelims at the Worlds? I bet she is the kind of person who is a terrific friend and teammate. I just have loads of admiration for her.

Tabith Yim. OK, her arms are a bit jerky and she's a bit too flexed at the wrist, but I REALLY admire her goals, and that she TALKS about that at each competition. Like, that she wanted a standing ovation after her floor ex! Wow, who says that?! And her unusual choices in music. The way she dances and performs. And, how can you not adore that after her floor ex on night two of the 2002 Nationals, she jumps up and down on the floor exercise mat?! WHO does this? And, I love when she fell off beam, I think at the same Nationals, she puts her hands on her hips, pissed off, gets back up and finishes the routine. I LOVE this. It's so refreshing after the Gina Gogeans and Nastia Liukins of the world, who show you nothing, yet do extraordinary things. It's so inhuman.

Part II...in defense

2010-01-21T12:13:00.004-05:00

Part II of my defense of Make it or Break It.

You know, I am a fan of drama. Good drama. And this is not the kind of show I normally watch. (i.e. I don't watch anything on ABC Family normally). But, it's about one of my favorite things of all time. I can watch it and accept it for what it is and overlook the parts that aren't 100% true to life.

Point #1: A lot of people are bet out of shape over the lack of difficulty in their routines. But, ok seriously, short of having Rebecca Bross taking some "time off" (lol) and come be a stunt double, what do people expect? Elite gymnasts are elite gymnasts, and they train 40+ hours per week to make it the the Nationals, Worlds & Olympics, no be stunt doubles. That being said, I'm ok with the amount of difficulty they do. For an ongoing tv show, I would imagine it'd be hard to find four stunt double who not only could resemble each of the four girls, but who also could, consistently, do things like triple fulls, full-ins and double layouts. For Stick It and Little Girls in Pretty Boxes, since they were films and not tv shows, it was a one-shot deal, so Nastia Liukin and Vanessa Atler could take some time off as a one-time thing to film the movie.

What I'm NOT ok with is the crappy stunt work in a movie like Little Girls in Pretty Boxes. I re-watched that the other week. I think one of that movie's "competitive" vaults was a layout Yurchenko. OK, that's somewhat hard to believe for it being 1997 and a gymnast on the national team, but possible, maybe. But even so, one of the first things gymnasts train is how to fall. That movie (as best I recall) showed a gymnast falling, just straight on her back, on that vault. That's not the kind of fall where you'd break your back, nor is that the kind of fall a gymnast would take. What IS a nasty fault, for example, would be Kerri Strug's fall from compulsory bars in 1994. Please, LGIPB, I'm not that stupid.

Point #2: A lot of people have made comments like, the national team doesn't train at one gym....that's not how national teams are picked, etc etc. Well... the rules for selecting teams in the U.S. have changed numerous times. We used to not have "Bela's Camp" and now we do.... I mean, the show isn't intended to exactly replicate the American system. If it did, then, you know, there could be the potential for some "shady" dealings that might make the Karolyis, USA Gymnastics, and even individual coaches look bad. This is ABC Family and they aren't going to go there. If this was HBO, ok, maybe.

In my opinion, I'd LOVE a show that explored all of that. But that's not what we have right now. But what we have isn't AWFUL. It has its weaker elements: all the sex scandals which seem hard to believe; Mrs. Kmetko, who is too over the top to believe; the wheelchair-bound kid, which is just a bit over the top as well; the chit chatting and casual attitude during practice; the party in L.A....

All that being said, I am very much enjoying the plot surrounding Payson getting injured. Though not all careers end in injury, a lot of careers end when gymnasts don't make Olympic teams. I have read this before, this can leave a lot of girls baffled and bewildered: gymnastics was my whole life, NOW what? And that's a hard one. I am enjoying that. And the consequence of Payson's injury was (Kaylie?) Cruz winning a national title, which, I think we can all agree that there have been competitions where the best gymnast did not necessarily win. And in th4 back of her mind, she knows that's true. And she knows she benefited from Payson's fall. hmm... much like Bridget Sloan benefited from Rebecca Bross' fall in the final rotation, final tumbling pass at last year's Worlds.

I wish Atler would write a book...

2010-01-20T10:05:00.004-05:00

OK, true, no one knows who she is except me and the people on the IG Forum.

I just watched the 2000 Classic last night (which, although cheesy, I really enjoyed the coach's insights on each of their athletes). Nessa had a nice (for her) bar set. And she seemed genuinely happy about hitting.

Flash forward to 2000 Olympic Trials. She bombs everything.

Flash forward again to 2005 Starting Over. Nessa seems "over" gymnastics, trying to sabotage herself, relieved to have not made the Olympic team, and not so enamored with Liukin.

When does the change occur between Classic and Trials? What happened? I mean...sheesh... if she had continued improving at that rate, I can see her being a player in vault finals in Sydney (esp. if she threw her Rudi, which btw. is a real shame it's not named after her) and perhaps in BB and/or FX finals.

It's now 10 years later and I still feel full of questions. When did she fall out of love with the sport? When you think about it, what a shame! Even if she wasn't happy in early 2000, that's 15 years (give or take) worth of work, all thrown away. I'm not saying she would have been Olympic AA champion, but just to go and give it your all.... why not do that?

Make it or Break it

2010-01-20T08:32:00.007-05:00

Dwight Normile has written his top 10 (really 9) thoughts on Make It or Break It:

1. Including actual gymnastics in a show supposedly set in a gymnastics club has become too much of a hassle for the producers. Last night's gymnastics scenes totaled about 20 seconds. Apparently, the interior of the Rock is about as boring as, well, the inside of any gym. And the daily grind of workouts is even drier. Instead, why not jet (privately!) to L.A. for a party or two? And Payson can get another doctor's opinion while there. Now that's creative, if not convenient, script writing. Is it just me, or does the plot have a "Make It Up As We Go Along or Break It" feel?

Yea, and what top-level coach would give his girls a Saturday off for no good reason? And these girls prob. wouldn't be drinking high-calorie sugar-filled daiquiris by the pool (virgin or not).

2. The sequence of Emily tucking after a pirouette and then slinging a double flyaway was certainly interesting, considering the stunt double was obviously about to jump off. It reminded me of American Anthem, when Mitch Gaylord's high bar dismount at the big meet somehow hovered over the ground forever as the camera panned the emotions of every other cast member. He probably did a quintuple-twisting octuple by the time they showed him land.

I think I remember this scene...and it did seem pieced together.

3. Lauren is the best tumbler on the team; she flip-flopped on BFF Kaylie last night, just like she does with every other character, for that matter. But you already knew that.

Lauren is just annoying, but there's a Lauren in most all soap operas. I guess she's a necessary ingredient.

4. Payson looked really confident strolling the red carpet, despite the back brace. Maybe it was the experience she gained earlier in the season when her team put on its own fashion show.

Yea, why didn't she need her walker then, but in most ever other scene, she looks pathetic, barely getting around?

5. The line "Goodnight, Butterfly" made my two teenaged kids laugh and roll their eyes.

I missed this...

6. Emily and her boyfriend seem to speak in text.

7. It was odd to see a promo for Secret Life of an American Teenager, plugging an appearance by Shawn Johnson. (BTW, happy 18th, Shawn.) My daughter said, "Shouldn't she be on MIOBI?"--Good call

8. I wonder if, say, Bridget Sloan, works part-time at a pizza joint. "Marta, is it OK if I miss the first two days of training camp? I couldn't get anyone to cover my shifts — not even my mother."

lol, I know, right? I mean, I understand an athlete not coming from a well-off family but in elite gymnastics, when you're on the national team, that position trumps all other things in your life. Doubt that would fly with the Karolyis or even Mary Lee Tracy for that matter.

9. The music is the best part of this show.

10. The music is the best part of this show. (Sorry, but out of complete indifference, I could only come up with nine observations.)

Feel free to add a 10th to the list.

I think that the day-to-day grind of gym practice, school, homework and ice buckets ON THE SURFACE doesn't sound that interesting, so the writers added all this over the top drama to add some interest. BUT I think what they're missing is that the hard work, the disappointments, the overcoming of obstacles, the friendly rivalries, etc. (the more subtle things) COULD make for an EXCELLENT show... but it's like they had to "dumb it down" to what they thought viewers would like. I watch it, despite it faults, b/c hey, at least it's a show about gymnastics, and some parts of it I do enjoy. For example, can you imagine how Payson feels w/ her injury? This is something more based in reality, I think. Think Kerri Strug w/ her bad fall in '94. Yes, she came back from it, but any injury like that can take out the most talented gymnast, and then often times ends up being an advantages for other gymnasts to take home medals they might not have been able to before. Another example along the same lines, Milo at the 94 Worlds: She was in better physical shape than Miller but she just didn't compete as well. She SHOULD have won but didn't. Life isn't fair that way. The brunette (can't think of her name) "won" the Nationals in MIorBI b/c Payson wasn't there, even though she prob. wasn't the most talented gymnast there. So...I think that part is realistic and interesting.

One thing I really don't like though: the Kmetko girl's mother. Too over the top, too unbelievable. What would be wrong with a "normal" single working mother? Sheesh...

Phelps Smelps

2010-01-15T11:37:00.004-05:00

Did ANYONE EVER do an even remotely nice Phelps vault? EVER?

UGH so why did we spent 5+ years doing a crappy vault and WINNING medals for it, when there was no clear technique for it, only to have it cease to exist later on.

I'd like to take back all vault medals that were won with one of the two vaults being a Phelps.

MY results

2010-01-15T11:35:00.002-05:00

In the world on Liz, HERE are the event finals results from 96:

V
Huilan -- hello, cleaner!
Amanar -- ok, good difficulty but no sticks & sloppy Phelps
Galieva -- clean clean and almost stuck

Something that occurred to me...

2010-01-13T16:46:00.003-05:00

I just got a DVD/VHS burner for Christmas, and so I've been going through all my VHS tapes and burning them to DVD, year by year. I have done '92, '93, 94, '95 and am doing '96 now.

Wow, when you are accustomed to the 2-panel scoring system, the 10.0 seems quite odd.
For example, we'll assume that most gymnasts in the top 10 at say the 1992 Olympic all-around had 10.0 start values on all four events. But some of these gymnasts technically have over a 10.0. So, what if they hit everything but one skill, versus a "just barely getting to a 10.0 SV" gymnast... who gets the better score? It seems like there were way more judgment calls back then. Like, well so-and-so did a hard routine, so in spite of her balance check, we'll give her a better score. And then other times, someone went out on a limb with difficulty, and you'd kind of like to see the judges reward that, but not. (i.e. Miller v. Lyssenko on BB finals). Basically, the risk-for-reward ratio was whacked (I'm so articulate) -- back then, why take the risk when it didn't necessarily assure you anything? (Of course the flip side to this is Li Shanshan winning a bronze on BB at the '07 Worlds with a fall...).

I mean, I am basically used to the new system and can't see going back, but watching all of those all competitions solidified this in my mind. And another consequence of the new system: most of the time, not all of the time, winners are more definitive. I mean, what is winning a gold medal by .012 (Gutsu v. Miller), especially when we consider HOW subjective it was?! I don't know the exact number off the top of my head, but Liukin defeated Johnson by several tenths of a point.

And another thing: the scoring at the '95 Worlds. A lot of the routines there seemed almost identical to the ones in Atlanta (i.e. Huilan, Gogean, Milo) and yet the scoring seemed a lot losing. We didn't break 9.875 in Atlanta, but there was at least one 9.9 in Sabae. Milo's bar routine was pretty standard in the team competition (or maybe it was all-around) and she had a substantial hop on her double front with a half dismount, and got a 9.875. Umm, what? They were HARDLY giving those out in Atlanta.

I will say that now, it is SO MUCH NICER to be able to actually see HOW the score was derived.

Now the execution scores on the other hand, right now they are still wack. But that's another tirade.

Random thoughts on New Year's Eve

2009-12-31T15:35:00.004-05:00

1. I miss John Tesh
2. I really disliked the Phelps vault -- why did they not amend the rules any, when every gymnast had a different way of doing it, none of which were correct?
3. Roza Galieva is queen of the gymnasts with sassy walks & neat salutes
4. I wonder how Atler would have fared playing the "Sacramone role" (i.e. no bars)
5. Jamie Dantzscher really had one of the nicest triple fulls and double fronts I've ever seen.
6. The 2000 Olympics really were disappointing...so much exciting talent and yet the Romanians racked up the medals.
7. I really would have given Cheng Fei the bronze over Patricia Moreno at the 2004 Olympics on FX EF.
8. I'd be really curious to interview Elise Ray, Kriten Maloney & Jamie Dantzscher about their experience in Sydney -- I don't think it was good for anyone.
9. How did Emilie LePennec win the UB title in Athens? I mean, she had a Def, but seriously? What else?
10. Can't wait to see more from everyone this year, but most especially Bross, Hong & Shapiro!

Happy New Year!

Top Gymnastic Pet Peeves

2009-12-07T15:05:00.004-05:00

(in no particular order)
The Memmel Wrist

She doesn't move her arms at all, she just moves at the wrist. Three times. Ick. It's not graceful at all. I'm thinking it's not technically correct. It's not just when she "salutes" but also during choreography. It seems like a bad example of Americans trying to be graceful. Russia nor China would approve.

The Gogean Recycling Program
Honestly, it seems like in just about every beam or floor routine Gina Gogean did, she recycle these arm movements in her choreography. And yes, that is Romania for you, but it seemed to happen more with Gogean than with any other gymnast.
Here @ :56

Here @ :48

Here @ 1:24

...you get the picture

The Khorkina Fudged Landing
It seems as though time and time again, judges conveniently overlooked Khorkina's mis-steps, including her landings on floor. Now, I love Khorkina, but I do think she was often times given the benefit of the doubt.

After the first tumbling pass. I don't like this for two reasons. It's deliberately designed so as to be difficult to judge, because how do we really know how well she "sticks" it? Sorry, but that gets a thumb down from me.

The Sacramaloney Faux Salute
Alicia and Kristen are both guilty. I REALLY don't like this. Rather than definitively landing a vault/dismount, they take a little hop, then turn to salute without finishing the landing first. ARG DO NOT do this. Thisis just annoying. Take your time. Don't be so hyper to finish. Be definitive in your landing. so you didn't stick it. Who cares? FINISH the move. Ewww ew ew this is just annoying beyond belief.
A-Sac:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQYxnSZdniw
Or Maloney:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVn5CI0lx3o (ew ew EW!)

Bogi does NOT approve

Happy Holidays

2009-12-01T15:40:00.002-05:00

And Happy December.

Now, to think of some blog topics.

Why I miss Milo

2009-11-16T09:43:00.003-05:00

First off, I almost shed a tear because when Googling Lavinia Milosovici, half of what you come up with relates to the Japanese video incident. This was Milo, one of the greatest gymnasts of all time. How sad that she resorted to that.

I miss that year after year, you knew she'd be at the Worlds, you knew she was one of the 5 or so to watch and expect great things from. Now Romania barely has a team, minus Porgras, if you even consider her worthy of attention (I don't). Milo was in every Worlds from 1991 - 1996. Wow, it's amazing she wasn't out with injury ever. I mean, who does that now?! (Obvious, there's the age rule change, but that aside). You knew that Milo would be there, and she was a force to be reckoned with. She was the backbone of the team. No she wasn't the neatest, cleanest gymnast, but she wasn't Amanar either. She rarely made mistakes. She was someone to count on.

Gosh. Nowadays, it seems like we already know who the winner will be. At least, that was certainly the case in Beijing and in London. It was one of two Americans. No one in any of the other countries can compare. How fun is that? Nothing at all against Bridget Sloan, but is she really good enough to be world champion? I know that in the year after the Olympics, we are essentially starting from scratch since so many retire, and that it is by no means the best time to watch out for stellar gymnastics, but....really? And I absolutely love Bross, but even with a fall, getting silver? On the one hand, that shows you how good she is (and really, better than Sloan), but on the other, can we please do away with gymnasts who have falls winning medals?

If we compare, at least in 1997 we still had some great talent. Khorkina seemed to peak at this time. Amanar's tumbling was amazing. Produonova came onto the scene. Bi Wenjing unveiled the Ono spin. Meng Fei was equally amazing on bars. I'll keep my mouth shut re: Gogean.

It seems like since after the 2004 Olympics, the level of gymnastics around the rest of the world fell, while it got much better in America. And yea it's nice to win, but competitions don't feel like competitions anymore.

To me, the 1995 Sabae Worlds was one of the best competitions in a long time. Amanar was on the rise, Gogean and Milo were steady. Kochetkova was coming off of a terrific 1994, Khorkina was a true contender, Miller was continuing to prove herself, Moceanu was off to an exciting start, Podkopayeva beat the whole world, Mo Huilan showed us perfection....

What do we have now? The showdown of two Americans at the last worlds...Ke Hexin, who competes brilliantly on just one event, Yang Yilin who looked tired and a fraction of the gymnast she was a year ago, an Australian and a Brit who are decent... it's just sad, on my humble opinion.

Am I the only one who wasn't overly impressed w/ Porgras?

2009-11-16T09:26:00.004-05:00

I mean, who has done a double back tucked on FX since 1993? Yea, she still gets in her difficulty, and she's a nice dancer but... is she great or are we just starved for talent anymore? (outside the U.S.... from the traditional powerhouses of Romania and Russia).

Is it really just me? I just know that after the worlds, she was quite the buzz topic. But I'm not sure I understand why. Yea, nice lines. Yea, she's skinny (and as my friend says, the current code is the Nastia/if-you're-skinny-you'll-do-well code).

Our daily dose of nostalgia

2009-11-12T23:14:00.002-05:00

It's a sad state we're in now

2009-11-11T12:56:00.003-05:00

I miss Lavinia Milosovici. That is all.

Happy September

2009-09-01T18:56:00.004-04:00

Well, in the coming months, we have:

The drama of the World Team selection

The Worlds

Nastia's "break"

As well as other random thoughts by me!

Nastia won't be at worlds

2009-08-31T14:10:00.005-04:00

Joint statement from USA Gymnastics and Nastia Liukin regarding her withdrawal from consideration for ’09 World Championships Team

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Aug. 31, 2009 – 2008 Olympic all-around champion Nastia Liukin of Parker, Texas, has withdrawn her name from consideration for selection to the U.S. Team for the 2009 World Championships, Oct. 13-18, in London, England. The first selection camp for the women’s team is slated to start on Sept. 8 at the Women’s National Team Training Center in Huntsville, Texas.

“I have given a lot of thought to this since the 2009 Visa Championships,” said Liukin, who competed in the Visa Championships in Dallas earlier this month. “Getting back into the gym and competition has been a major goal for me this summer, and I have worked hard to balance my training and obligations. This past year has been wonderful and a whirlwind. With the selection process for Worlds beginning next week, I realized I need to take some time to get myself where I need and want to be competitively. Competing at a World Championships is an incredible experience, and I look forward to supporting my teammates as they prepare for London.

“The 2012 Olympics in London remain an important goal for me. I have more to accomplish in this sport.”

Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics, said, “We totally support Nastia’s decision regarding this year’s World Championships. This is just another example of the integrity and sportsmanship that is an integral part of Nastia. We look forward to her continued participation at a high level and are confident that she is making a decision that is in her and the team's best interest.”

Well, in a way, I know that Nastia would hate to appear at a Worlds in less-than-top-notch form, plus it leaves the door open for someone else who has been training all year, so I'd have to say that I'm pleased.

Whoops, spoke too soon

2009-08-20T14:57:00.004-04:00

Nastia wished to set the record straight.

This afternoon she tweeted:

NLiukin: For everyone asking about my floor music... No, it's not "Carmen"....

hmmm....what then?

I knew it!

2009-08-19T22:29:00.008-04:00

Nastia's new floor ex music is...CARMEN!

The Leak

If it's anything like Sasha Cohen's 2002 short program, it'll be stunning.

Interestingly, Nastia originally had Ivana's music, which was Sasha Cohen 2002 short program music. Which is all the more interesting because I have always seen tremendous similarities between Sasha and Nastia. I see them as similar because in the spiral sequences Sasha was one of the only skaters I've ever seen to come to a complete 180 split in her legs, and she exceeds that in her split leaps. I feel like Sasha forever changed the sport in that this became the expectation, similar to how Nastia's handstands became the expectation. They are also both so technically good but prone to small mistakes here and there, that that is why I never expected Nastia to win the Olympic all-around gold. They are also both of Russian heritage, and they both have a mastery in technique, which leads to gorgeous artistry.

<3 Can't wait!

Heated Debate!

2009-08-17T18:02:00.003-04:00

I am having a somewhat heated discussion with the fellow fanatics on the IG Message Board.

Fishbulb says: Bleh. I don't understand the execution scores at all. It doesn't make sense to me that a short handstand on bars can be worse than a FALL. I might get pummelled for this, but... why does Ivana get such low scores on bars? Before you freak out, mind you I'm not a code expert, and obviously I didn't get the memo about short handstands = death. I can see that her tkatchev is bad, but other than that (and the HANDSTANDS) how does she barely score better than Jana?

AGREED. Neither gymnast is THAT sloppy. Jana gets picked on, bur seriously, from an 8.4 you'd think she was horrid. But how can Ivana only score .2 higher than that? Yes, handstands and low Tcatchev, but... hmm for YEARS these things didn't matter like they do now. which leads me to his second point...

I feel like the FIG picks one new thing every code to focus on, and kind of forgets about everything else. Now it's this no-lunge landing thing. Can I just mention that this may be the stupidest thing to ever happen in gymnastics. IMO. I spent a million hours as a kid practicing throwing my head back and stepping back just the way the elites did it. Now that's gone. WHY? They give some BS answer about this being the only way to show lack of control, but isn't that the judges job? Aren't the supposed to watch and decide if someone is in control or not? I see it controlling the girls into a bunch of snapped ankles.

So, to be clear, the two most important things in gymnastics are handstands on bars, and landing like a dude on floor. Not so much skills, artistry, creativity, expression, staying on the apparatus... It's a few tenths for a fall, and 72380189710980 tenths for a missed handstand. HURUMPF.

Precisely. This year it's execution. Oh well if you're consistent and hit 8-for-8, like hong. If you can land like a guy, and hit handstands, you're good as gold.

And, I'm sorry but it's ludicrous to say that the "lunge" girls have done for years shows a lack of control. I'm not a judge, but even I know the difference between a lunge that shows a controlled landing and one that does not!!

Not favorites technically, but....

2009-08-16T23:08:00.003-04:00

Do you (any of my ?? readers...if I have any?) have any gymnasts that, while technically are not your favorites, they have a compelling story that makes them kind of a favorite anyway? I was thinking about this the other day.

Like, for example, Morgan White. Back in the "dark quad" era. America needed a shining light. By late 1999, Vanessa Atler had dimmed. Morgan had some sloppy things here and there, lacked power, and IMO, did something kind of funny with her arm placement.

That said, she came a long way between 1999-2000, especially between Nationals, where she fell on vault, to Trials, where she landed her Yurchenko 1.5. THAT was a big deal for her. Morgan was so teeny and fragile and lacked a lot of confidence, I think, but to her, just getting that vault to her feet was huge. She may not have been Elise Ray that year, but just watching her "grow" and improve over that two-year period, to making the team, I found to be very touching.

And then she broke her foot.

Another one is Courtney Kupets. While I could never get into her strange choices of floor exercise music, and choreograpghy that lacked grace, MAN you have to give it to her for coming back from not one but TWO torn Achilles tendons. In an interview recently I heard on an NCAA competition, whomever the commentator was (can't remember), she noted what a true champion Kupets was, because in the interview, Kupets made note of how she actually looked forward to the comebacks from injury, and fighting her way back. Wow, who likes that?! Who looks forward to that? Who doesn't want to scream and throw a fit an an injury like that?!

Also, as a side note, Kupets needs to teach the world how to do Tchatchevs, Never seen a better one from anyone.

I want to know more

2009-08-16T21:54:00.010-04:00

About Rebecca Bross.
Dear Al Twautwig, Please do a fluff piece on Bross for your next broadcast!

Like I said earlier, she's different from Nastia, yet she's the clear heir apparent (despite her mistakes). I wonder how many of her mistakes were because of injury v. nerves?

I like that in a world of glamor and girlie leos, Bross comes in with plain hair, no make up, all business, with only her teeny little stud earrings. I like that she invokes the seriousness of the "gool 'ole Iron Curtain" days. I like her intensity. I like that she's a power house.

I really, really like her FX music. I think it suits her personality: intense. But what I don't like is that she starts with two tumbling passes, back-to-back, then does a whole lot of dance until the final pass. And it's not stellar dance at that (she's not Amanar but she's not Nastia either). It makes for an imbalanced routine. Additionally, look how solid her tumbling was here in 2007:

She mounts with a full-in (correct me if that's a half-in, half-out or a full-out) (check the landing!). Then: back 1.5 to Rudi; FHS, bounder, double twisting front; back 2.5 to layout punch front with half.

Look at the control in all her landings and check the height of the double twisting front, her third pass. And look how the choreography flows better with the fourth pass added.

Let's move to bars. Someone on the IG message bourd commented about her legs/ankles.Yup, she's got the Ksenia Semenova legs. That being said, who cares? It doesn't bother me. I am all about her quick pirouettes on top of the bar, and the height on her Tchatchev (Hong needs to study that w/ Bross) and her kick-butt Jaeger. Wow, talk about torque, as her arm rips off the bar.

I like that's she's a power athlete with the ability to score exceedingly well on bars. (Ha, note "ability." It's not her forte). I love the way she kind of "kicks" her legs into a really tight pike position when doing an inside stalder. Anyone else notice this? ha, or just me? And love the legs together on the full-in dismount.

Beam. Phew girl, she makes me nervous here! Like I said before, you never know how hard a dismount, or any skill for that matter, is until someone misses it. Was it just me, or was she taking off not close enough to the edge of the beam? I felt like she was too close to the beam and in danger of hitting her head. That, and the locked knees on the landing on night 1, and her being off to the side on night 2. Perhaps Valeri will change the dismount. I noticed that when several of Nastia's skills caused problems again and again, they did away with them (her old beam combo that included and back pike, and her scrapping the triple twisting dismount for a 2.5 off beam, and her Randi on floor). I think she clearly let the nerves get to her on night 2, with the little bobble she had on a simple dance move. I TOTALLY thought she was going to fall on her side flip. Nice save.

Vault. I think the ability's totally there, which was evident in night 2. What I don't know is how much of a factor injury and lack of repetition played. I'd love to see her do an Amanar though.

OK but moreover, I want to know about her as a person. Here's what I've been able to find.

She was born on July 11, 1993 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I'm taking a guess her parents are divorced (last names Bross and Brugge). She is 5 feet tall. Her favorite apparatus is beam and her favorite subject is math; she's home-schooled. She likes Chinese food and R & B music.

I can't wait to see more of her. I feel like she's a shoe-in for the World team. And if I had to pick to all-arounders for the U.S., as of now I'd go with Bross & Sloan.

Thoughts?

Getting ridiculously excited.

2009-08-15T14:22:00.006-04:00

Off to buy a bottle of my favorite wine.

VCR & DVR are set. And double-checked.

This will be my 12th Nationals that I have watched live.

And 17th that I have on tape.

It takes me back.... 12 years ago, I was watching and rooting for Vanessa Atler. Ahh...memories.

Word on the street is that Nastia had breakfast with "special friend" 2009 World Figure Skating Champion Evan Lysacek. hmm...wonder if he's gay?

OK off to buy my wine. :)

Ready for Nationals Day 2

2009-08-14T11:54:00.004-04:00

I have my Nastia t-shirt (white w/ pink Nastia + heart logo) and I plan to have a sushi dinner, including a Rainbow Roll (Nastia's favorite). Need a nice bottle of wine. The DVR & VCR are ready. WAHOO!

2009 Nationals: Day 1

2009-08-14T09:19:00.003-04:00

Dwight Normile's thoughts here: Bross Leads Hong at U.S. Championships

Photos here: USA Gymnastics

My thoughts.
The heir apparent?

I really like Bross in a way that's quite different from Liukin. She's got a tough-as-nails look about her. She muscular, compact and boyish. She lacks the grace of Liukin but has raw power. It's got to be tough to be the third gymnast from your gym in a line of Olympic all-around gold medalists. And looking on to 2012, I think the super stars of those Games are likely juniors right now. That being said, at least Bross is age-eligible to compete at worlds ad start gaining experience. Her dance needs some work, but it was a testament to her for hitting bars, not a strong event for her, and for having the meet-high on the event so far. On her Patterson dismount off beam, apparently she missed it in warming up as well. It's amazing because, I know a double Arabian off beam is tough, but in all the years watching Carly do it, I can't remember her falling on it. In other words, it's easy to forget how hard some skills are! Another thought that occurred to me: could you ASK for a better mentor than Nastia?

The Queen Returns

I am really digging these WOGA plum-colored leos. And Nastia's dramatic eyeliner. And her little French braid on the side. That being said, I've never seen her look so tentative. She actually looked nervous, versus at the Classic when she missed her Onodi and switch-ring leap in practice but hit in competition, here her practice looked better but competition not as good. No meltdowns though, and I mean, seriously, who even expected her to be here?! I really wish she would have just bit the bullet and done bars though. Like she has said several times, you have to start somewhere. Even if it's not spectacular, why not just give it a go, just to debut it?

The Rock Wobbles

I would have expected Sloan to have been more solid. I think she's coming into her own as a gymnast, but she still gets rattled by mistakes. Like the fall on beam. She couldn't let it go throughout that routine. And her piked full-in on floor? She normally lands that two-footed! What was her landing about?

Other random notes:

I am digging the sideways-bang-poof thing, as well as Sloan and Bieger's buns over their previous ponytails.

Love Hong's FX music (it's the old Sasha Cohen short program skating music from 2002). (Yes, I am a geek like that).

What is with the no lunging rule on FX? I know that's the new rule but, even when gymnasts looked like they landed and had control, they still took the step; they didn't even look like they were trying to land two-footed.

I remember the days of the 1992-1996 Quad, with Miller, Strug, Dawes... these were the years I grew up watching. And I must say, we NEVER saw a camaraderie like we see now. It's so refreshing. Especially among gymnasts who don't even train in the same gym. so nice.

Chellsie Memmel once again proves she's tough as they come.

New code -- deduction

2009-07-28T15:46:00.002-04:00

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

2009-07-26T11:12:00.001-04:00

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!

2009-07-25T12:22:00.003-04:00

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

2009-07-16T00:21:00.001-04:00

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

Lauren Mitchell's much-talked about BB routine

2009-07-15T15:28:00.001-04:00

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

Karolyi Camps: 2000 v. 2003

2009-07-13T15:49:00.001-04:00

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

2009-07-13T10:11:00.003-04:00

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

2009-07-12T22:31:00.002-04:00

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

2009-07-09T12:01:00.004-04:00

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

2009-07-08T16:54:00.003-04:00

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

2009-07-08T15:29:00.003-04:00

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

2009-07-08T14:25:00.004-04:00

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?

2009-07-06T09:22:00.003-04:00

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!

2009-07-01T14:45:00.001-04:00

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. :)

One of the biggest scandals of all time (IMO...)

2009-06-30T09:34:00.004-04:00

1997 World Championships, Balance Beam Finals
Gina Gogean gets the gold. But why? She does a punch front mount and a punch front on the beam and her dismount. Otherwise, it's nothing but leaps. There is no tumbling, no creativity. It's not even well-choreographed. She's basically "cheating" the (at the time) new Code of Points. No, she doesn't wobble, but seriously? The FIG creates a new, demanding Code, and then doesn't reward the gymnasts who takes the most risk, has the most originality? And I must say, I don't like to be "mean" to any gymnast, but Gina is someone that I have never liked, find very hard to like, don't really enjoy anything she does. And this is one of the ugliest, most compulsory and boring routines, of ALL the events.

Now, a lot of people would say that Kui Yuanyuan should have won. Yes, this is one of the great balance beam routines of all time. But she does have a slight wobble after her layout (but who else DOES a laid-out full-twisting layout on beam? Oana Ban?). And she has a slight hop on the dismount. But this routine IS brilliant. It's what I thought the FIG wanted, since they eliminated compulsories, made it more difficult to get to a 10.0 start value and got rid of bonuses for repeating elements and added bonuses for connecting elements.

In my opinion, Svetlana Khorkina is the winner. This routine is difficult, artistic, original, and clean. Khorkina does not have any balance breaks. WHY do judges reward Gogean over Khorkina? Khorkina delivers what the new Code was looking for, AND she does it sans balance breaks and steps on the landing.

MY results:

1. Svetlana Khorkina
2. Kui Yuanyuan
3. Gag-me-Gogean (sorry, but she really is about the most irritating gymnast of all time)

And another thought: Khorkina looks so good here with a little bit of meat on her bones, much better than at the 2004 Olympics.

Re-visiting the 90s

2009-06-29T09:02:00.006-04:00

A trip down memory lane. It was the Clinton era, I was in middle & high school, and this was the first decade I began to follow gymnastics. From the 1996 Olympics, which I watched and re-watched religiously, one of my favorites was Dina Kochetkova.

I loved her skinny, svelte body, and her lovely fluid movements, particularly her Kochetkova (full-twisting back handspring on beam) and her Shaposhnikova to immediate uprise on uneven bars, and her pencil-straight handstands.

Look how straight she is!

I must however, get on my platform and note that part of what gave her such a great line was a, uh, minimal backside. She was quite tiny. I do tend to prefer skinny gymnasts....they do tend to have better lines. And Kochetkova was surprisingly powerful despite being skinny. Although, I remember in the 1996 Olympic floor event finals, the Tim & Elfi said that she was barely making 3 of her 4 her tumbling passes. And she really could have medaled in the all-around had it not been for her disastrous vaults. Poor thing.

And her 1996 Worlds balance beam gold medal was well-deserved. She has not a wobble in the routine, is fluid and confident. Seriously, they couldn't give her a 9.9 for this?

Dina retired in 1997 and made an appearance at the 1997 Worlds, looking cute as a bug.

And now she is working as a trainer in Russia. I have to admit, the mullet is somewhat cute.

"Silver medal" floor exercise musics

2009-06-29T08:34:00.005-04:00

Nastia Liukin, 2005
I really love the dark and classical tone of this music, and I love her opening "pirouette" she does with her hands on her hip. And the opening Randi is about the best I've ever seen her do.

I was re-living the 2004 Olympics, particularly Ponor, And I must say, I really enjoy this music. It reminds me of Egyptian music a bit. Neat beat and exotic.

I really, really enjoy the classical dance and slightly darker side to Kathy Johnson's music from 1978.

A better clip of Grosheva

2009-06-25T23:00:00.004-04:00

Since this is one of my favorite floor ex musics, here's a better clip of it:

While we're on the topic of autographs

2009-06-12T22:35:00.004-04:00

Here are the ones I have.

Shannon Miller, from 1997

Vanessa Atler, from 1997

Kristal Uzelac, Mohini Bhardwaj & Tasha Schwikert, all from 2002 U.S. Classic

Nastia Autograph!!

2009-06-12T22:26:00.002-04:00

I just got it in the mail! Yipeeeee!!!

Re-Nastia-ed Cubicle

2009-06-11T11:41:00.001-04:00

Note also the pink Nastia water bottle...and some old school Shannon thrown in. And some Shawn.

Nastia at work

2009-05-14T14:14:00.002-04:00

How many people have gymnastics-plastered cubicles?

I WON the NastiaCanDo contest!

2009-05-14T14:08:00.002-04:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/nastiacando/

Check me out dressed up as Nastia for Halloween, complete with pink leo, blonde hair, Nastia grips, and "gymnastics" pants.

Fllor Ex du jour/another one of the best pieces of floor ex music ever

2009-05-01T00:08:00.004-04:00

Yelena Groshova's 1994 floor exercise music

Yay Shannon!

2009-04-29T10:03:00.000-04:00

Miller expecting first child

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., April 28, 2009 – Shannon Miller, the USA’s most decorated gymnast with 16 total world and Olympic medals, and her husband John Falconetti, a Florida businessman, are expecting their first child in early November.

"My husband and I are so excited to begin the wonderful adventures of parenthood. We couldn't be happier!" said Miller, 32, in a “People” magazine online story. "I already feel that incredible 'mama bear' protectiveness toward our baby. Each day I wake up wondering what our baby looks like today, how much he or she has grown, and anticipating the fun and surprises that lie ahead."

Miller has won more Olympic and World Championship medals than any other U.S. gymnast. She earned seven Olympic and nine World Championships medals during her career. Her tally of five medals (two silver, three bronze) at the 1992 Olympic Games was the most medals won by a U.S. athlete in Barcelona, Spain. During her career, Miller won an astounding 58 international and 49 national competition medals, with more than half gold. A member of two U.S. Olympic Teams, Miller was part of the “Magnificent Seven,” the first U.S. women’s gymnastics team to win an Olympic team gold medal, at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. She also became the first American gymnast to win an individual gold medal on the balance beam in 1996. Miller is a member of seven halls of fame, including the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame, International Women's Sports Hall of Fame and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

Miller received a bachelor’s degree in marketing and entrepreneurship from the University of Houston and a law degree from Boston College. In 2007, she began the Shannon Miller Foundation, which is dedicated to fighting childhood obesity. Miller was named to the Florida Sports Foundation Board of Directors in 2008 and was appointed co-chair of the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness in 2007.

Miller and Falconetti were married in 2007.

Source

The three best floor ex musical pieces of all time

2009-02-24T13:52:00.006-05:00

(in my opinion)

Inga Shkarupa - 1999 Worlds

Svetlana Boginskaya - 1992 Olympics

Hollie Vise -- 2003 Nationals

Top 10 gymnastics moments that will make me cry

2009-01-23T09:03:00.004-05:00

1. 1992 Olympics, all-around
Shannon Miller. Anyone who was really watching and knew what was going on knew that this kid had a legit. shot at winning. But we didn't know enough about her to be able to rely on her to hit once again. She qualified first with compulsories and optionals, but this may have been a fluke. But time after time, she was hitting. And you have to remember, for the U.S., this was huge. Sure Zmeskal was the current world all-around champion, but we still hadn't really "Broken through" the iron curtiain. There were a large number of legitimate contenders: Boginskaya, Gutsu, Lysenko, Bontas, Milosovici, Onodi and Zmeskal. Sorry to say it, but this was not a 2008 Olympics scenario where everyone knew that one of two girls was going to win. No one really knew. And the spotlight was not on Miller. This the the ideal scenario. When it comes down to Miller's vault, I always lose it. Nunno is ecstatic and we even see Miller crack a smile after her first vault.

2. 1995 World Championships, all-around
As Milo dismounts beam, her final event, she leaves the podium and breaks down. This always gets me. The poor girl never won an all-around title. And she finally breaks down, after giving it her all, and her competition is complete.

3. 1972 Olympics, team finals
Olga Korbut steps up to mount the uneven bars. I think the old-school commentators really add a lot. They get so excited. "Watch this, watch this...back flip right to the other bar! ....Has that been done before, by a girl? .....Never, not by any HUMAN that I know of!" She dismounts effortlessly, and then runs off the podium, smiling. Then she goes to balance beam. Near the end of the routine, the commentators get excited. "Think this is the part we've been waiting for....back flip and...a front off! Look at the gal go!" I mean, history is being made here. How can you not tear up?

4. 1972 Olympics, event finals
Olga is on floor, after Touricheva. I think the common thought is that Touricheva has won it. But everyone's REAL favorite is Olga. Well, her music is just charming. And seductive. The whole package is just brilliant. As she finishes, it's like the commentators have fallen in love with her. "Oh yeah...she feels like she can fly to the moon on her own power right now."

5.

Who is the sexiest gymnast?

2009-01-21T21:47:00.005-05:00

lol, ok a little bit different from previous posts, but seriously, there are some hot gymnasts out there.

Henrietta Onodi

This girl is just gorgeous...when I saw her in 1992, I thought she looked more like a 20-something model than a 17-year-old gymnast (body aside). Her beaty mark and her eyes...I think she's stunning.

Alicia Sacramone, duh

This girl has got it going on. Especially in her little choreography section where she, uh, feels her leg (above). Tan skin, blond-ish hair, nice toned body and uh busty for a gymnast. Tres hot.

Hell-o

Yelena Zamolodchichova

In a kind of cute/kind of hot way, I vote Zamo.

Hollie Vise

She's definitely like the high school hottie type, but when she was about 12, I never would have guessed! hah remember her in 2001?

Nastia's new leo line

2009-01-16T23:28:00.001-05:00

So what do we think?

http://www.gkelite.com/Nastia.html

Why are they all sleveless? They are so pretty, wouldn't you want to compete in them?

Some random things in Gymnastics that I DON'T like

2009-01-16T23:16:00.002-05:00

1. The White leo: Why do gymnasts even wear one? Even if you're a waif, white is not flattering. It's going to make you look larger than you are, plus you can SEE through it. Just pleae, never, ever. At the 1996 Olympics it's like they were obsessed with white. There were umpteen dfferent varieties. Thank goodness Dawes finally dawned a red one for floor event finals.

2. Bad salutes. I think Kristen Maloney is the most guilty of this offense. She did this totally weird... take a hop on the landing, and then just turn to salute without "finishing" the landing, ya know?

3. Beam shoes. I just don't like the interuption of the line of a gymnast's leg that they create.

4. The side flip on beam. It's just ugly.

5. The stupid "if there is a tie for gold, then there is no silver medal" rule. WTF?

hmmm...more to come.

Hongs Regret Move to Blue Springs

2008-10-29T10:14:00.002-04:00

BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. - Olympic alternate Ivana Hong says her road to the Olympics was a lot rockier than anyone had known.

Ivana, like many other young gymnasts, moved to Blue Springs to train with Al Fong, who has built up his Gage Gym to national prominence.

At age 11, Ivana left her father behind in California, coming to Blue Springs with her mother and three siblings to train with Fong. It is a decision the Hong family says they regret.

In a gym, Fong looks the part of a master motivator especially through the eyes of a teenage girl.

“I was kind of intimidated by him,” Ivana told NBC Action News. “I always saw him at camps when I was really little."

Intimidated or not, Ivana thought she needed Fong’s tough love to make the Olympics.

Fong coached two silver medalists in 2004 and Ivana seemed destined to become his next big success story.

For four years, Ivana trained under Fong. Just four months before Olympic trials, her ankle started hurting.

The 15-year-old says she tried to tell her coach, but he wouldn’t listen.

“They kept telling me that nothing was wrong with my foot,” Ivana said. “I knew what was wrong with it, but I wasn’t going to be like ‘I have a fracture in my foot and I’m not gonna train.’”

Fong discouraged Ivana from seeking medical treatment. Against his wishes, Ivana’s mother took her to a doctor, who confirmed she had a fractured ankle.

With the Olympics looming, Ivana thought she had no choice but to trudge on.

She finished fifth in the team trials, earning an invite to the team’s selection camp.

Her lifelong dream was still in reach, but it had become clear her fractured ankle had fractured her relationship with her coach.
Ivan’s mother says Fong simply stopped instructing her daughter.

“She wasn’t being coached,” Michelle Hong says, “And I don’t know what I was paying for.”

Fong says Ivana gave up. He refused an on-camera interview, but told NBC Action Sports “It became blatant she flat-out quit. It was almost as we were taken down a deep dark path.”

That path ended with Ivana just missing an Olympic bid.

“Just because I wasn’t crying at the very moment they named the team, they think I don’t really care whether I made it or not,” Ivana says. “I was just trying to keep it all in and now it feels like maybe if I did something or if they did something different, it wouldn’t have ended up this way.”

vana says Fong’s tough love became too tough to take. Ivana soon left Gage Gym and is now conducting a national search for a gym where she will train for the 2012 Olympics.

Her foot still has not healed and some of the pain from her experience might never go away.

“It didn’t end up as big as I wanted it to, but I don’t want to regret for the rest of my life moving here.”

Sadly, this is a common tale in the gymastics world.

A few years ago, a book was written on the subject titled “Little Girls in Pretty Boxes.” That book mentions Al Fong and how two of his former gymnasts died.

One was paralyzed in a training accident; the other died from organ failure after a bout with an eating disorder, which she said Fong contributed to with name-calling.

Fong denied repeated requests from NBC Action Sports for an interview, saying he wanted to focus on the future and the promising gymnasts he has left at his gym.

Hmm... I'm beginning to wonder, is he really a "Bela" type coach. I kind of gave him the benefit of the doubt with Henrich, and McCool and Humphrey never let on any complaints. But then again, i'm wondering are more caoches than I originally thought, or all coaches, like this?

What about some EXCLUSIVE pics?!

2008-10-23T23:13:00.004-04:00

Whoa, I actually have something no one else will have. So a friend of a friend who lives in NYC snapped these 2 paparazzi-style shots of Nast in NYC at a party.
Shot #1:

Shot #2:

I believe that this shot, from Gettty Images, was taken earlier the same day.

US Weekly Hot Hollywood Issues Celebration NEW YORK - OCTOBER 21: Olympic gymnast Nastia Liukin attends US Weekly's Hot Hollywood Issue Celebration at Skylight on October 21, 2008 in New York City.

Alicia rocks some awesome riding boots

2008-10-08T12:33:00.002-04:00

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - OCTOBER 01: TEAM USA Gymnastics Silver Medallist Alicia Sacramone visits the 24Hour Fitness Thousand Oaks Sports Club on October 01, 2008 at in Thousand Oaks, CA.

I very much want legs like hers.

She looks blonder, IMO.

Shawn can eat ice cream again

2008-10-08T10:42:00.000-04:00

Q What can you eat now that was verboten during training?

A Shawn Johnson: "Oh, ice cream! Edy's ice cream. There was a little time to splurge right after the Olympics." But she works to stay in shape even on the road. "I try to work out a little every day. Even if just in the workout room at the hotel."

Source

Shawn Johnson: Hello, President Bush!

2008-10-07T13:16:00.001-04:00

Shawn Johnson: Hello, President Bush!

Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson lands in Washington D.C. to meet with President George Bush at the White House on Monday.

“I am heading to the White House along with all USA Olympians for an honorary visit which I am so excited about,” the 16-year-old gymnast wrote on her blog.

At the airport, one videographer asked Shawn: “Do you look up to the Jonas Brothers? Are you excited to meet President Bush?”

She responded, “Yeah, I am.”

When asked if President George Bush will take away their Gold Medals to help bail out the economy, Shawn just laughed.

How cute is she?!

The Evolution of gymnasts' hairdos

2008-10-03T21:04:00.004-04:00

Let's take a journey down the road of hairstyles....

The Bubble
Wow, talk about a style that is not conducive for gymnastics. How do you flip and do giant swings or even run for that matter, whith this bubble-beehive on your head?

The Pigtails
This style also does not seem conducive for doing acrobatics -- don't ponytails on either side of your head get in the way? BUT, it's cute as a button, I'll give it that.

The Ribbon
Again, another cute look but that is fianlly practical. It's kind of the "all-business" look with a touch of flair.

The Boy Cut
It was the 80s, I guess women felt the need to be liberated from that long, ironed-straight hair from teh 70s, not to mention the ultimate practical hairdo for the sport.

BANGS
Oh, my goodness. Bangs came, and long overstayed their welcome. I mean, check this out. A decade of poofy bangs. The requisite hairstyle was ponytail, about 9 metal clips and the curled, poofy bangs in front. Curling irons were put to very good use.
1986:

1992:

1993:

1996:

Glitter and/or corn rows
Apparently, no one understood the concept of all things in moderation. People went insane with the glitter.

And meanwhile, it seemed like the Parkettes began experimenting with corn rows. Fortunately, this was short-lived.

Things were rather subdued from 2000 -2005. I think we were calming down from the many trends that were just wacko and thigns were very plain. A style began to develop in about 2007 though that was in reaction to the decade plus of bangs.

The bang poof
Just about every girl on the Beijing team did this. Finally, a happy medium.

A Clarification

2008-10-03T15:07:00.003-04:00

A fellow blogger commented on my "body type "entry, saying that gymnasts with bodies like Maloney and Raducan still went on to have great successes. I didn't mean to suggest that they could not; only that with a body like Nastia's, you've already got a tremendous advantage in the bag.

Case in point, look at this pose:

With a body like Liukin's, this is just going to look prettier on her than someone else with legs that are shorter and more muscular. But obviously, gymnasts like Shawn Johnson still went on to win titles. I'm just saying that it gives Nastia an extra "wow" factor that her legs are SO long, straight and lean.

Here's "Liukin" at you, kid

2008-10-01T15:26:00.000-04:00

I am so funny, I know.

SAN DIEGO - SEPTEMBER 14: Athlete Nastia Liukin attends Woman's Day Frosted Pink with a Twist at San Diego Sports Arena on September 14, 2008 in San Diego, California.

Chinese Olympic gymnasts legit, federation finds

2008-10-01T15:21:00.003-04:00

BEIJING, China (CNN) -- The Chinese women's gymnastics team did not use underage competitors during this year's Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, the International Gymnastics Federation said Wednesday.
Widespread reports claimed that gold medal winner He Kexin was only 14 years old.

The federation said it has concluded its inquiry into the matter after it confirmed the gymnasts' ages through official documents that the Chinese Gymnasts Association provided. The documents included passports, identity cards and household registers.

However, the organization intends to further investigate the ages of two gymnasts, Dong Fangxiao and Yang Yun, who participated in the 2000 summer games in Sydney, Australia. The federation said it did not consider the explanations and evidence that Chinese authorities provided in regard to those athletes as satisfactory.

The International Olympic Committee had asked gymnastics officials to clarify the situation after numerous commentators, bloggers and others questioned whether about half the members of China's team were old enough to compete.
Athletes must be at least 16 in the year the games take place. In women's gymnastics, younger girls can have an advantage over older competitors on account of their often smaller, lighter and more agile bodies.

The Chinese women's gymnastics team won a gold medal in a team competition at the Beijing games, and five members won individual medals.

One of the challenges came from a blogger known as "Stryde Hax." The blogger claimed to have uncovered proof that Chinese gymnast He Kexin is only 14.

In Internet searches, "Stryde Hax" allegedly uncovered Web pages showing lists complied by China's General Administration of Sport that show a 1994 date of birth for He.

CNN was not been able to independently verify the information, but snapshots of the Web pages appeared to back up the claim. Other bloggers joined the search and reported similar results.

The New York Times conducted its own investigation, producing similar results that seem to implicate He and two other members of the team. The Times uncovered a 2006 biography on He that lists her birthday as January 1, 1994.

The International Gymnastics Federation, however, has said that those gymnasts were eligible and that the ages on their passports were correct.

Chinese gymnastics coaches also defended their team.

"Asians have different figures than people from the West, so that's what caused their suspicion," said Huang Yubin, head coach of the men's and women's teams, referring to media inquiries. "They shouldn't be suspicious."

Personally, I think the FIG is pleased to turn the other cheek, because 12 years ago, 14 was OK and they made the decision to raise the age for political correctness. No one wants to strip anyone else of medals, nor piss of the world's best gymnastics team. I wish we would go back to the old age, but if you're going to have this rule, for Pete's sake, find a better way fo enforcing it. This is making us (gymnastics enthusiasts) look bad.

Did Cox screw me over?

2008-09-30T23:27:00.002-04:00

Well I don't know about anyone reading this, but where I live, they didn't broadcast the Gymnastics Tour on Friday. :0(

For all who haven't seen, there is a STUNNING routine on Live.Breath.Love.Gymnastics of Nastia performing on floor to Ave Maria. I mean wow.

Most emotional gymnastics moments

2008-09-28T00:05:00.004-04:00

In no particular order, here are some of my favorite "moments" that yes, can bring a tear to my eye. (Uber dork, I know).

1. Lavinia Milosovi: 1995 World Championships, All-Around
Lavinia Milosovici ends her competition on the balance beam. She does a good, solid routine. When she's finished, she leaps off the podium and squats down and puts her head in her hands and begins to cry. Why, she has done ane xcellent routine? Rather, it is the pressure of finishing the competition, her fourth world all-around competition, and just knowing that it's over. This really spoke to me, because you think of gymnasts being nervous before the routine. it's amazing to see her let this emotion out after the routine was over, and after a hit routine.

2. Dominique Dawes: 1993 Worlds, All-Around; 1994 Worlds, All-Around; 1996 Olympics, All-Around
In each competition, Dom was leading until silly mistakes, in 93 and 94 on her final rotation on one of her best events. Why does this happen? and 2 years in a row. I think 1996 might have been the worst though. I think it devastated her. In a 1997 interview almost a year later, she relived the moment and began crying even then, a year later, saying "You go to the Olympics to medal individually, at least for your second one you do....I guess it's just me being hard on myself, but why shouldn't I be?"

3. Shannon Miller: 1996 Olympics, All-Around
After her floor exercise with three potential areas for deduction, she could not stop hysterically crying. And this is a sport where most athletes suck it up and don't cry, even when it comes to big dissapointments. and even though Shannon is known t be a cyer, she just didn't stop. At one point we here Steve say in a low voice, "STOP CRYING...there's people EVERYWHERE...stop crying." Geez,steve. This is a life-long dream that was just crushed. At the opening of the ceremony, they show a picture of 4-year-old Shannon, saying that it had been a lifetime dedication...that always makes me tear up.

3. Vanessa Atler: 1999 U.S. Nationals, All-Around
This was where Vanessa had a disaster for the third year ina row on the bars, and her coach, who had a microphone on, basically blasted her on network tv. She was humiliated, not to mention personally devastated at missing this event yet again. This was the final straw that led her to leave the Rybackis. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when that went down.

4. Shannon Miller, 1992 Olympics, All-Around
I still can't help but cry when I watch this. I know we've had all-around gold medelists since then (Carly, Nastia) and I know Shannon "only" got teh silver, but dude, back then the silver might as well have been the gold. To me, the competition back then was so much more steep. Look at all the potential gymnasts who could have medaled: Milosovici, Bontas, Okino, Zmeskal, Lysenko, Boginskaya...Shannon outperformed anyone's expectations. She LOOKED like a Soviet. America had never dreamt of doing so well. I know, I know, Zmeskal won the worlds the prior year, but she had an "American" style that was neat, but not as artistic or desireable as Miller's. Yes, I think Gutsu was ultimately the best, but what a victory for Shannon.

5. Amy Chow: 1996 Olympic Trials, Optionals
I'll tell you what, she sure as hell eraned her trip right then and there. That was one of the nastiest falls I've ever seen. She had been suffering from back spasms that week and had limited training time. She completed her FULL routine with nothing taken out, to make the team. Damn, girl.

And on a side note, I'm also a figure skating fan.

1. 1998 Nagano Games: Michelle Kwan was so perfect but just missed, and Lu Chen only won the bronze but could not have been happier. Likewise, 2002 Salt Lake Games, Sarah Hughes, the underdog, came from no where with the skate of her life to win. Ahh, touching.

Body Type

2008-09-27T23:46:00.003-04:00

My fellow gymnastics enthusiant Brian and myself have this theory that some gymnasts receive form deductions that are really for their body types. To be specific, a gymnast with a flat butt and straight or hyperextended legs is going to have a better handstand on bars than a gymnast with a "normal" build, and that's just wrong. But I'm not sure there's a way to prevent it. Case in point. Look here at Ma Yanhong's line:

I have to admit, even Nastia Liukin gets lucky here. She obviusly practices perfect form in that her legs are always together on her Geinger and toes always pointed, but it's also a big gift thrown her way that she has long, slender, straight legs and a flat butt. Compare her build to Andreea Raducan's, who has excellent form, but is so muscular that it can appear her legs are bent. Midway through the routine, Bart Conner even comments on this.

And then there's Kristen Maloney, who doesn't practice good form AND has an awkawrd body that just doesn't have a clean line at all. No offense to K., but she is one of my least favorite gymnasts to watch. Kind of make me cringe. Not light on her feet at all.

My version of smooth skills

2008-09-27T23:13:00.002-04:00

Gymnast.com has been posting a series of what they call "smooth skills," which I think arose because we are seeing gymnasts now throw so many skills but the execution component is lacking, but this was not the case in the previous years. So, I wanted to make my own list, if you will, not just of gymnasts from the 1980s, but just some of my favorite gymnasts as far as execution and form over the past few decades.

Aurelia Dobre, 1987 Worlds, BB Event Finals:
I love the perfect 180 splits, the toe point, and the skills that are all done in connection.

Bi Wenjing, 1997 Worlds, UB Team Finals:
I remember this was the first time the world saw the Ono spin, and how Kathy Johnson marveled at it.

Ling Jie, 1998 BB International Team Championships:
Despite the break in her series, looks at the artistry. Looks how she delivers the choreography. Look at the height in the Onodi. And LOOK at the dive to handstand. I don't know that I've ever seen anyone hit that skill that way.

Mo Huiland, 1995 Worlds, BB Event Finals:
The Chinese choose very simple choreography without a lot of exessive movements but they deliver it so flawlessly. I adore her iconic mount, pressing her handstand down on one hand.

1989 Worlds, Yang Bo, BB Event Finals:
dismount aside, this kind of leaves your breathless. Her signature leap is stunning.

Oksana Omelianchik, 1985 European Championships, FX Event Finals:
The tumbling + the dance = there are no words

Nastia moving on?

2008-09-25T09:27:00.001-04:00

Nastia Liukin's Performance Quells Rumors of Quitting Tour of Gymnastic Superstars
Liukin Turns Out a Stellar Performance in San Jose Show

astia Liukin has certainly become a hot topic with numerous offers of lucrative endorsement deals and even talk of an appearance on the hot teen TV show 'Gossip Girl' that had the internet buzzing about whether she'd honor her obligation as one of the headliners of the 2008 Tour of Gymnastics Superstars. Her name was dropped from some of the advertising which led some to believe she would be a no-show and that maybe the fame had gone to her head . . . or her wallet.

Nastia Liukin opened the show in San Jose on September 21, 2008 alongside fellow gold medalist Shawn Johnson and both women delivered their typically riveting performances, albeit in some pretty ridiculous looking outfits. I'm not sure anyone was prepared to see members of the US women's Olympic gymnastics team perform in neon colored outfits fashioned more for Mardi Gras than the uneven bars. Even in her hot pink bra top and tutu Liukin was regal on the uneven bars, then later a grace to behold on beam and finished with a uniquely elegant floor routine for which she is famous. Johnson rocked out a few numbers on floor, which reminded the audience just why this spunky little spitfire won the gold. Something tells me she's not done with the Olympics.

Liukin and Johnson aside, the other women did struggle. The rhythmic gymnasts failed to perform with any degree of synchronicity, which made their performances appear awkward and poorly rehearsed. The crowd became awestruck when they began tossing the large metal rings, but for all the wrong reasons. One missed catch after another, then another made you feel embarrassed just watching. For the ensemble cast of girls on the uneven bars, it was a hot mess. One girl fell and like dominos everyone started falling and suddenly no one could stick a landing. Maybe they hated their hideous outfits?

What does everyone think?

Nastia & Alicia attend fashion week

2008-09-08T19:15:00.002-04:00

U.S. gymnasts Nastia Liukin and Alicia Sacramone, fresh off medal-winning performances at the Olympic games in Beijing, are making the rounds at New York Fashion Week.

Liukin was front row today at Peter Som and sat beside fellow sports babe Maria Sharapova (more on tennis babes Sharapova and Venus Williams at Fashion Week to come).

The two mugged for the paparazzi before the show, chatting until the lights went down, and then Nastia watched the models strut by -- giving most and up-and-down and keeping a placid smile on her face ... a far more sedate reaction than that of actress Elizabeth Banks, who sat on the gymnast's other side visibly oohing and ahhing.

A few scary vaults

2008-09-06T15:32:00.002-04:00

These are a few of my favorite clips, ironically enough, of vaults that could have gone really really wrong.

Here is Elise Ray at the 2000 Olympics, before the horse was set to the correct height.

A few good vaults

2008-09-06T11:10:00.002-04:00

Just taking a moment to relive some beautiful vaults over time.

Lilia Podkopayeva, 1996 Olympics, AA, Vault 2, Podkopayeva vault (Yurchenko half-on, piked front out)
This vault and since become a base for popular vaults now, that is, doing this vault in a layout position. What you have to love about Lilia is the strong bump off of the horse she gets, the clean execution with the legs together and toepoint and of course the stick.

Simona Amanar, 1996 Olympics, AA, Vault 2, Double twisting Yurchenko vault
I don't really think anyone comes as close as Amanar does as far as distance away from the horse. She really flies off and does it seemingly with ease.

Aurelia Dobre, 1987 World Championships, AA, Yurchenko full vault
OK we just don't see vaults like this anymore; the perfection of the position is unmatched. It makes me sad that we don't see anything like this anymore.

Kim Zmeskal, 1992 Nationals, Yurchenko full vault
Again, perfection. She is also aggressive and hardly has to work for the landing at all.

Kerri Strug, 1992 Olympic Trials, Yurcheko full vault
I honoestly think that she is about as good as Kim.

Do we ever see good Yurchenko 1.5's?

2008-09-06T11:00:00.002-04:00

I don't think we see many nice one and a half Yurchenkos, and I'm not sure that they are easy to do well. I mean, duh, on the one hand, but on the other hand, I've seen more stuck double Yurchenkos than 1.5's. So here are a few that I think are terrific.
Also, I think you could argue that these are even better than Nastia's "perfect" vaults at the Olympics, to which Steve & Elfi flipped out over. To me, she almost look underrotated, and she doesn't ge the same "pop" off the horse as these do.

Dominique Moceanu, 1996 Olympics, AA, Vault 2

Kerri Strug, 1996 Olympic Trials, Vault 2

Some nostalgia

2008-08-29T23:20:00.001-04:00

Some personal favorites: scenes of brilliance from 10 years ago

The emergence of Ling Jie, one of the best bar workers of all time.

Vanessa finally hitting bars, and this may have been the ONLY time in a major competition.

The completely unanticipated comeback of Dominique Moceanu.

Yelena Produnova, who revolutionized floor exercise with her front tumbling.

And last, but not least, smiling Adrienn Varga with her beautiful handsrping Rudi vault, picking up some medlas for Hungary.

More Late Show action

2008-08-29T22:44:00.003-04:00

Shawn will be on Jay Leno tonight....yipee!

And, Nastia graces the Wheaties box, which of course I'll be picking up.

Also, check out Nastia's video of her photo shoot of the jeans she is endorsing:

http://www.vanillastarjeans.com/

Johnson supporting Obama? Let's hope it's true

2008-08-27T13:46:00.004-04:00

Taken from: desmoinesregister.com

America's transition from the Olympics to politics was oh, so smooth.

There's even overlap, curious as it is, with the news in Tuesday's Register that Iowa's gold-medal gymnast Shawn Johnson will be on stage at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this week. Word is she will lead the crowd in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

Republicans already are making with the jokes about the delegates needing a kid to help them with the words.

Johnson's appearance hasn't been officially announced by the Democrats, but if it comes off it'll likely be Thursday night before Barack Obama's acceptance speech at Invesco Field in front of 70,000 people.

Why the 16-year-old is getting involved in a political event is anybody's guess, but she's already taking flak. Critics are screaming that she's a liberal - relax, it's allowed - and she proves it by wearing earrings with the peace symbol. She wore them during an NBC interview in Beijing and on the David Letterman show Monday night.

Things I miss seeing

2008-08-26T16:34:00.003-04:00

The subtitle for this entry is: BRING BACK COMPULSORIES!

I really miss seeing and think there is a lack of emphasis on cumpulsories. They were the great equalizer to me. They broke everything down to a level playing field. Here is the same vault everyone; now, go do it and we'll evaluate you. I bet Nastia and Shawn would have been so exciting to watch in this capacity.

Now, poll: Whose vault is best: Simona, Dominique or Yelena's?

(I think Yelena)

In a previous life

2008-08-26T14:16:00.003-04:00

I think I must have been a gymnast in a previous life. I swear, I THINK like a gymnst. I feel like I understand them. I feel like I understand how an uneven bars release move feels. How else could that be?

So, I think if I were a gymnast in a past life, I would have had the body type and form of Jaycie Phelps but the mentality of Kerri Strug. I am sure of it. Kerri was always so very serious and like she didn't have a clue about the real world (hello...me much?) , and had an extreme intensity. But I can imagine that I would have been super anal about toe point and dance like Jaycie.

If you're a fellow nerd reading this, what gymnast would you have been?

Shawn Johnson Leaving the Late Show w Letterman

2008-08-26T13:33:00.001-04:00

The meanies on ohnothyeydidn't were saying she looks like a troll. OMFG get off it. She's f----ing awesome. And uh, I'd love to have legs like that. Shawn, you rock so much!

And, I'm such a nerd, I bought these "designer" Papyrus cards to mail to my favorite gymnasts for autograph requests. Yay!

I hope Nast doesn't turn into Paris Hilton

2008-08-26T10:17:00.006-04:00

Nastia will be on Jay Leno tonight. Here is a pap. shot of her leaving dinner after taping. As if that wasn't enough, there is an accompanying video to boot.
Leaving Dinner

I also recorded Shawn Johnson on Letterman last night and am thinking of adding it to my youtube page.

How did I get so into gymnastics anyway?

2008-08-20T23:15:00.003-04:00

It all started here.

12 years ago...I was 14. I don't know how it happened but I started reading articles about athletes with eating disorders, something that really interested me. Then I started becoming interested in gymnastics. It was an Olympic year. I remember the trails coming on, which I taped. And then the Olympic games. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was speding the summer with family in Charlotte, N.C., and bought a copy of Dominique Moceanu's biography from Border's. A little later it was July and the Olympics were on. I was still away for the summer, and mailed my mom the tv schedule for her to tape it for me.

Once I had it on tape, that was it. I watched the women's team and all-around again and again and again, until I had memorized all the commentator's comments and the gymnasts' routines. I didn't know much about the sport, so I am self-taught. I learned what all the skills were by watching my tapes over and over again. The internet was becoming bigger and bigger at this time; I scoured the net in search of photos and articles, and then pasted them in my journal. I had everyone's medal record memorized.

I got the book Little Girls in Pretty Boxes. I was even more fascinated. Then I started buying more and more biographies of gymnasts, as many as I could find. I remember never being able to find International Gymnast magazine and then one time during a trip to Virginia Beach I was at Barnes & Noble and found it. My first copy. I inhaled it. Then I subscribed and have ever issue from 1996 to present.

The next competition to come on was the 1997 American Cup. It was the coming out party for Vanessa Atler. Then I became obbsessed with her. My mom says that I have always been like this; I get into something and I become fixated on it. I read Vanessa's online journal everyday and printed them all up. I waited in eager anticipation for the Nationals that year.

Tha Christmas, I got the video tape "Gymnastics Greatest Stars." I watched Mary Lou Retton at the 1984 games and literally cried. My bedroom as a teen was plastered with posters of gymnasts. The ceiling above my bed had 5 gymnastics posters on it: Alexei Nemov (my crush), Lavinia Milosovivi, Shannon Miller, Dominique Moceanu and Lilia Podkopayeva. Gymnastics was not only fascinating to me but gymnasts inspired me to work hard, stay in shape and achieve my goals. I always adhered to a strict diet and ran most everyday, always with gymnasts achieving perfection and working hard in the back of my mind.

Around this time, I discovered that you could purchase VHS tapes of competitions online. Fabulous, I thought; now I can catch up on all the competitions I have missed! I now own competitions that I have purchased from other from 1987 to 1995.

For me as a dorky teen, what was "cool" to do was to watch these competitions over and over, until I had everything memorized. To this day, when I am nervous or can't sleep, I picture certain gymnast's routines that I have memorized.

1998 was the mid-point to the 2000 Olympics. I remember we were on vacation and the Goodwill Games were on, which I taped. During the 1998 Nationals, Night 2, I baked an apple pie for my family. I cried with Vanessa as she made her bars routine on night 2. During the 1999 Nationals, I had just moved into my college dorm as a freshman. The 2000 Nationals were held in St. Louis, and ironically, a few months later I would be dating a guy from there. 2000 Olympics I had just moved in sophomore year with Becca. I think we ordered quesadillas and chicken tenders and watched together. 2001 and 2002 I watched while on summer vacation from college. 2003 I eagerly watched when I was on my own for the first time from college. 2004, I watched in the same house. 2005 I I had to tape because I went out to a fancy dinner at Frankie Rowland's Steakhouse, where we rented a Nissan Z3; that was Nastia's coming out party. I remember exactly what I was doing during every Nationals. In fact, I "date" things so to speak according to what gymnasts were on top that year. For example, whenever someone refers to 1995, I always think "Oh, Sabae, Japan, World Championships; Shannon Miller was on the edge and Dominique Mocean just starting."

I have watched, live, 4 Olympics now: 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008. I have re-lived the 1992 games via VHS tape. And now with the invention of youtube, I have relived many more great moments, especially when bored at work. I have a book of winners, records and scores. I have over 70 VHS tapes. Dare I say it, I used to pretend the tiles in my paernts kitchen were a balance beam and I'd "do my routine." (OK I was a kid back then).

I can't think of anything else that I am so obsessed with. And it's not a fading interest. Many things have caught my interest for a while and then faded, but not gymnastics. It's not fleeting. It's fascinating to me and always will be.

Obsessed: Entry # 1

2008-08-19T14:31:00.005-04:00

Welcome to my first entry of my gymnastics blog. Here I can go off on my favorite sport and have an outlet to express my opinions on all things gymnastic. Bliss!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

G	JOHNSON Shawn	7.00	16.225
S	LIUKIN Nastia	6.60	16.025
B	Fei CHENG	6.80	15.950
4	PAVLOVA Anna	6.80	15.900
5	DRAGOI Gabriela	6.50	15.625
6	Shanshan LI	7.00	15.300
7	AFANASYEVA Ksenia	5.80	14.825
8	TSURUMI Koko	6.30	14.450

Thoughts: Well, finally a gold for Shawn. I'll wait until I watch it tonight to say anymore, but I am so, SO glad that she got a gold.