samedi 31 décembre 2016

If Brandy had peaked in 91 and Kim in 89 instead

Kim even performing exactly like she did at the 91 worlds at the stacked historic great 89 worlds held in EUROPE, not in the freaking UNITED STATES, would be lucky to even match Brandy's 7th AA finish, probably be somewhere from 7th to 10th. Brandy meanwhile performing exactly like she did at the 89 worlds at the much weaker 91 worlds, with the home court advantage and insanely biased home country scoring would have won the AA gold too, and probably by an overwhelming over a tenth margin just like Kim did.

Wow Brandy was so unlucky and Kim so lucky. Not to mention winning those 2 event golds at the 92 worlds with only 35% of the worlds top/respectable gymnasts showings up and like 12 different people there who could have easily beaten her on beam but didnt for various reasons. The hype on her in Barcelona was so LOL and outrageous, Kim in Barcelona in reality did exactly how I expected. Well 10th in the AA was a bit higher, I would have guessed 12th or 13th, but other than that all her results were exactly as I predicted. Poor Brandy would have been a world AA Champion and overhyped Olympic hopeful had she peaked in 91-92 rather than 88-89. Was robbed of the bronze on vault in Seoul which Silivas clearly did not deserve and only got due to name, and which if she had any decency would hand over to Brandy, but shameful Daniela instead kept her ill gotten undeserved vault bronze, probably to sooth her bittneress at losing the AA gold to Shushunova. And I love Silivas but that vault bronze in Seoul was clearly Brandy's, who is without question a better vaulter than Daniela, and if they were both wearing masks would unquestionably get the higher scores on the event.
If Brandy had peaked in 91 and Kim in 89 instead

Had Kwiatkowski, Thompson, Powell made 96 team would they have sat out all events?

I am not 100% sure on the rules at the time but I do wonder if Kwiatkowski, Thompson, Powell, or someone else had made the 96 team over Borden would that gymnast have possibly sat out every event.

Kwiatkowski

Vault- weakest vaulter on the team (keep in mind she is replacing Borden, not on a team with her) no question.

Bars- definitely would not do bars on this team.

Beam- seems clear Chow is stronger than her on beam, and obviously the other 5 are doing AA. While Borden did beam over Chow, I doubt Tonia does.

Floor- again seems clear Chow on her tumbling alone is stronger on floor. Probably sits out here too.


Thompson

Vault- not strong enough to vault for sure.

Bars- lol

Beam- seems clear Chow is stronger than her on beam, and obviously the other 5 are doing AA. While Borden who was excellent and rock consistent on beam did beam over Chow, I doubt Jennie does.

Floor- not stronger than Chow or any of the girls on floor.


Powell

Vault- OK I could see her maybe vaulting. Then again Chow does a DTY so she still might have vaulted over her, and while she is stronger than Moceanu, Miller, and for sure Phelps on vault, are any of those really denied an AA shot?

Bars- Would miss out due to Chow being stronger here, and the others all being very strong on bars and owed an AA shot.

Beam- weak on this event.

Floor- Maybe she would do floor over Chow, and this would be her one event? Has the best shot of any of the three of doing an event.


Seems clear Mary Beth Arnold would do no events too. So basically Powell is the only one who might have made it and gotten to do an event or two. Floor probably and maybe vault too. The others would do nothing, unless the rules require all 7 to do atleast 1 event. I wonder if Chow might have qualifed AA now, unlikely since her compulsories were too low scoring, especialy compulsory floor.
Had Kwiatkowski, Thompson, Powell made 96 team would they have sat out all events?

Peggy Liddick appreciation thread

With the amazing Peggy Liddick stepping down as Australian Team Coordinator and likely from serious gymnastics involvement altogether we should have a thread to honor this amazing individual and her incredible career and contributions to the sport.

She almost single handedly (since we know Nunno is useless) made America's best ever U.S gymnast- Shannon Miller. For years she greatly aided improving the choreography, execution and artistry of all U.S gymnasts. And, with contributions from some others I will note, was a huge part of taking Australian gymnastics from mediocrity whom it was a success to qualify a team or half team to an Olympics, or win Team Silver at a Commonwealth Games over merely 1 of Canada or England (dont even dream of gold or both pre Peggy) to the dominant Commonwealth country in womens gymnastics and a huge Worlds superpower, including numerous world medals. Such a classy, frank, fair, and charitable women too who brings brightness and sunshine to all who are fortunate enough to encounter her. Hail queen Peggy and have a wonderful retirement, but the sport is so much better off thanks to you having been a part of it.
Peggy Liddick appreciation thread

dimanche 25 décembre 2016

12 Wishes for Christmas

1. Dear Pres Watanabe: Please do not defy the odds and do a worse job than Grandi.

2. Less injuries.

3. Less fear in making the appropriate deductions.

4. Rottenenkos to retire.

5. A job for Alexandrov.

6. A Romanian comeback.

7. More real mounts on beam and bars.

8. More originality sport wide.

9. An AA medal for SCS (let me dream).

10. Actual "competition" instead of "forgone" conclusions.

11. A safe and successful TTY.

12. The fans get along as well as the gymnasts.
12 Wishes for Christmas

vendredi 23 décembre 2016

Early deaths from Russian/former Soviet gymnasts

I'm not sure if this has been addressed before, but I find it quite strange that so many male, Russian/former Soviet gymnasts have died early over the past decade or two. Mogilny, Shabaev, Voropaev, Andrianov....are there more? I know Andrianov had that neurologic disorder, but Mogilny and Shabaev died of heart attacks? Shabaev was only 25 yrs old. How did Voropaev die? What's going on with the Russian men??
Early deaths from Russian/former Soviet gymnasts

jeudi 22 décembre 2016

Peggy Liddick steps down as Head Coach

Peggy Liddick is stepping down as Women's Head Coach of Australia. I think good riddens! She was okay at first but then failed to deliver. What do you think?
Peggy Liddick steps down as Head Coach

mercredi 21 décembre 2016

Palm springs compulsory qualifier

Accel
Aftershock
All olympia
American
Arete
AZ Dreams
Azarian
Gliders
Gym Academy
Gym East
Mismo
Rodina
Salcainau
Winner's
Palm springs compulsory qualifier

mardi 20 décembre 2016

Gabby Douglas the new Change Ambassador for Hack Hasrassment

Gabby Douglas will be visiting school campuses to educate students on the cruelty of online harassment. The L.A. Times reported that she is the new Change Ambassador for Hack Harassment.
Gabby Douglas the new Change Ambassador for Hack Hasrassment

lundi 19 décembre 2016

Purging old issues of IG

Hi all -
In cleaning my old room at my parents, I found a stack of old IGs, that I'm looking to recycle or otherwise pass along to someone who wants them. I think I have every issue from January 1998 through January 2002. Anyone want any of these old magazines?
Purging old issues of IG

Instagram, Twitter, or Other Social Media of Top Gymnasts (List)

I just found myself looking to see if Anna Pavlova had an instagram and I could not find anything. I thought it might help if we kept a running list of instagrams, twitters, snapchats, or other social media of gymnasts we all like or to post stuff from their social media that we like or find interesting. I know some have private profiles, but most allow fans to follow.

Here are some to start it off:

Instagram:

Simone Biles- @SimoneBiles
Gabby Douglas- @GabbycvDouglas
Aly Raisman- @AlyRaisman
Laurie Hernandez- @LaurieHernandez_
Maddie Kocian- @Madison_Kocian
Nastia Liukin- @nastialiukin
Shawn Johnson- @shawnjohnson
Carly Patterson- @carlypatterson04

Aliya Mustafina- @Musaliya135
Daria Spiridonova- @dashkoy83
Maria Peseka- @m.paseka
Seda Tutkhalyan- @tigrilaaa13
Angelina Melnikova- @gelyamelnikova
Ksenia Afanasyeva- @ksenia3333
Viktoria Komova- @_w_i_k_u_s_


Larisa Iordache- @larisa_iordache
Catalina Ponor- @catalina_ponor

Oksana Chusovitina- @oksana2016
Svetlana Boginskaya- @svetlanaboguinskaia

Giulia Steingruber- @giulia_steingruber
Instagram, Twitter, or Other Social Media of Top Gymnasts (List)

jeudi 15 décembre 2016

updated 2017 Elite Qualifiersp

Cincinnati Compulsory Elite Qualifier Cincinnati, Ohio 1/14(Reg.5)
Brestyan’s Invite & Elite Compulsory Qualifier Medford MA 1/13-15(reg. 6)
January 19-22, 2017 - Sports & Beyond Inc.
Palm Springs Convention Center(reg.1)
January 26, 2017 - Parkettes Elite compulsory qualifier(Reg.7)
January 27, 2017-Fiesta Bowl Compulsory qualifier(reg. 1)
Buckeye Classic & Elite Compulsory Qualifier Columbus, Ohio 2/2(Reg.5)
Brestyan’s Invite & National Qualifier Las Vegas NV 2/11-12(Reg. 1)
Orlando Metro National Qualifier Kissimmee FL 2/25-26(Reg.8)
AZ Dynamics Invite & Elite Compulsory Qualifier Scottsdale,AZ 3/3(reg.1)
KPAC Cup National Qualifier Charlotte NC 3/9-12(Reg.8)
Parkettes 5/26-27(reg.7)
Ranch Qualifier Huntsville TX 7/6(reg.3)
updated 2017 Elite Qualifiersp

Myrtle Beach Results

Hopes
Elizabeth Barber
Bryn Bartman
Whitney Bjerken
Alyssa Beaulieu
Madison Carr
Nicole Dillis
Sophie Fernandez
Gabby Gallatine
Hailey John
Olivia Kennedy
Alonna Kratzer
Gabby*Landyani
Kendall Landry
Caroline Leonard
Rayna Light
Amber Lowe
Kaylen Morgan
Madison McMullen
McCall McMullen
Grace Merrell
Chandler Mitchell
Hailey Merchant
Angela Preston
Ava Siegfeldt
Jamison Sears
Caitlin Smith
Sage Thomson
Tessa Volpe
Jalea Warner
Kathryn Weiblicher
Jamie wright
Elite
Sydney Barros
Emma Boyd
Kayla Dicello
Gabby Dildy
Abby Johnston
Kelsey Lee
Kathleen Ours
Sydney Morris
Anya Pilgrim
Victoria Smirnov
Myrtle Beach Results

Info On Obscure Romanians

I've been looking up some stuff on past team alternates and was wondering, does anyone know the birthdates of 1980s gymnasts Mariana Tudor, Mirela/Aurelia Sidon, and Dana Dumitru? Or know anthing else anout them? Thanks in advance.
Info On Obscure Romanians

lundi 12 décembre 2016

What elite will have the best elite career?

How do you think they'll do? Who will have immediate impact and who will have the best career overall? Lol Obviously meant NCAA
What elite will have the best elite career?

1999 Onesti Gymnasts Info

In Jan 1999, there was a wonderful article in IG about the Onesti Jr. Training Center and the soxteen girls training there at the time. Five of them I remember later: Alexandra Barac, Sabina Cojocar, Silvia Stroescu, Carmen Ionescu, & Monica Sabou. But does anyone know what happened to the other eleven?

1. Melina Druta
2. Cristina Sabou
3. Oana Bucerzau
4. Melinda Jurjan
5. Anca Suciu
6. Alina Toma
7. Andreea Ciubotaru
8. Ramona Zaharuk
9. Gabriela Mitroi
10. Roxana Mihai
11. Olga Varzaru

Also does anyone know their DOBs or any other bio info about them? I'm curious to know when they would have turned senior. Thanks in advance.
1999 Onesti Gymnasts Info

What was the controversy over Siliva's loss to Boginskaya at the 89 Europeans AA on?

I am just curious since I havent seen this event in its entirity. It is interesting Boginskaya was outscored by Silivas on vault (unexpected) and still came back on the other events, the same 3 events Silivas would win gold at both the 88 Olympics and 89 worlds, to win. Is there a specific score or reason for the controversy though?
What was the controversy over Siliva's loss to Boginskaya at the 89 Europeans AA on?

vendredi 9 décembre 2016

What Went Wrong After 1996?

Part of me thinks that the decline in the height of the popularity in gymnastics, especially outside the olympics, can be pinpointed to a lot that happened post 1996.

1992-1996 just seems like this golden age with so many world championships, so much interest in broadcast, so many American, Chinese, Russian and former Soviet, and Romanian gymnasts competing in international competitions against other top competitors year round.

Then 1996 happened and something seems to change. Part of it was the incredibly convoluted rule changes in age which touched the careers of so many gymnasts. Then there was the weird decision not to hold a 1998 worlds (weirdly smack dab in the middle of a quad).

A conversation about Vanessa Atler arose this week on the forum and it got me looking back at the quad. I was reminded of something I had completely forgotten and that is the bevy of "professional" tournaments that happened specifically for American gymnasts and some of the stars of the 1996 games (Lilia, Bogi, and a few others). They were clearly money making schemes and did not at ALL feel like real gymnastics. In my opinion this could have contributed to a lack of knowledge about and respect for the sport. It took the drama and pressure away from real competitions between real competitors and made it fun and silly, even when the competitions were set up to look completely real (world professional championships 1997?). The weirdest part of these competitions is they were on broadcast tv networks. These days we can barely get NBC to air our BIGGEST competitions and even when they do its constant commercial breaks.

Its hard to know what happened from the height in the 90s in popularity and visibility worldwide to now where the sport seems to have a 3 month shelf life with the American public.

What are your thoughts?
What Went Wrong After 1996?

mercredi 7 décembre 2016

Would Atler have helped the U.S team in Sydney?

OK I know her gymnastics was declining, mentally she seemed to be a mess, and everything else but seeing the U.S team in Sydney could she still have helped them? I imagine she could have. Her vault, beam, and floor scores still could easily have contributed and boosted the U.S total on those events, none of which was great. And if she was encouraged and given confidence by Bela and the others this may have helped to get her somewhat back together. I get the sense there was alot of political things against her that year, and that probably led to some of her depression and decline. The Rybackis were also starting to become pretty powerful within U.S gymnastics and I believe Steve was one of the head coaches in Sydney, so this was bad news for Vanessa's chances to make the team as from what I have heard the Rybackis held a huge grudge for her leaving them.
Would Atler have helped the U.S team in Sydney?

lundi 5 décembre 2016

1988 Olympic Trials

I have only closely followed gymnastics since the 92 games and recently found the 88 trials. Couple of questions. Watching Kristi Phillips it didn't appear that she had a terrible trials, was her Nationals performance poor or was her placing more based on politics? Also what was the issues between Bela and the Olympic coach (sorry, I forgot his name). During the broadcast they said Bela had stated that he "would not be going to Seoul". Thank you.
1988 Olympic Trials

samedi 3 décembre 2016

Brestyan 's las vegas qualifier Elite only competitors

AerialAthletics-TX
All Stars - NY
Club Champion - CA
Emeth - OH
EVO - FL
Florida Elite-FL
Gym America - MI
HeadOverHeels-CA
Oasis-PA
Parkettes - PA
Prattville - AL
Premier - NE
Texas Dreams - TX
TopNotch - GA
TwiStars - MI
ZenithElite - TX
Brestyan 's las vegas qualifier Elite only competitors

brestyan 's las vegas qualifier optional only competitors

1st Class - MD
Aeon - NJ
Azarian - CA
EVO - FL
Florida Elite - FL
Gym-Max - CA
Paragon - VA
brestyan 's las vegas qualifier optional only competitors

brestyan 's las vegas qualifier compulsory only competitors

American - CT
Dulles - VA
Gymn Etc - LA
Infinity - IL
V-Force Elite - CA
brestyan 's las vegas qualifier compulsory only competitors

Brestyan 's las vegas hopes qualifier competitors

Aeon - NJ
American - CT
Arete - UT
AZ Dreams - AZ
Azarian - CA
Capital - VA
Dulles - VA
Emeth - OH
Expertiess - MA
Genie's - FL
Golden State - CA
Gymn Olympica - CA
Hopes and Dreams- AR
Infiniti Elite - NY
Infinity - IL
KurtThomas - OK
Lakewood Ranch - FL
Love - TX
M&M - WI
NETX Elite - TX
Olympus - UT
Paragon - VA
Paramount Elite-CA
Prestige - PA
SalcianuElite - NV
TIGAR - CO
UnitedElite - TX
V-Force Elite - CA
West Valley - CA
World Class - IL
WorldChampions - TX
Brestyan 's las vegas hopes qualifier competitors

vendredi 2 décembre 2016

Brestyan 's las vegas hopes and Elite qualifier competitors

1st Class - MD
5280 - CO
Aeon - NJ
AIM - TX
All American - SD
All American - UT
American - CT
Arete - UT
AZ Dreams - AZ
Azarian - CA
Capital - VA
Chelsea Piers - NY
CO Aerials - CO
Denton - TX
Desert light-AZ
Discover - TX
Dulles - VA
Edmond - OK
Emeth - OH
Expertiess - MA
FirstInFlight - NC
GAR - IL
Genie's - FL
GldMedalGreenlawn-NY
Golden State - CA
GTC - GA
Gymcats - NV
Gymn Etc - LA
Gymn Olympica - CA
Hill's - MD
Hopes & Dreams - AR
Infiniti Elite - NY
Infinity - IL
JPAC - IN Blue C
KurtThomas - OK
Lakewood Ranch - FL
Legacy Elite - IL
Love - TX
M&M - WI
Mismo - MT
NETX Elite - TX
Olympus - UT
Paragon - VA
Paramount Elite-CA
Pearland Elite - TX
Prestige - PA
REGA - CA
Revolution - WV
Rochester - NY
Roots - MA
SalcianuElite - NV
San Mateo - CA
Stars - TX
TIGAR - CO
Twin City Twisters - MN
UnitedElite - TX
Universal - FL
V-Force Elite - CA
West Valley - CA
World Class - IL
WorldChampions - TX
Brestyan 's las vegas hopes and Elite qualifier competitors

Brestyan 's las vegas elite qualifier feb 2017

1st Class - MD
5280 - CO
Aeon - NJ
AerialAthletics-TX
AIM - TX
All American - SD
All American - UT
All Stars - NY
American - CT
Arete - UT
AZ Dreams - AZ
Azarian - CA
Capital - VA
Chelsea Piers - NY
Club Champion - CA
CO Aerials - CO
Denton - TX
Desert Lights - AZ
Discover - TX
Dulles - VA
Edmond - OK
Emeth - OH
EVO - FL
Expertiess - MA
Farmingdale - NY
FirstInFlight - NC
Florida Elite - FL
GAR - IL
Genie's - FL
GldMedalGreenlawn-NY
Golden State - CA
GTC - GA Blue C
Gym America - MI
Gymcats - NV
Gymn Etc - LA
Gym-Max - CA
Gymn Olympica - CA
HeadOverHeels-CA
Hill's - MD
Hopes & Dreams - AR
Infiniti Elite - NY
Infinity - IL
Iowa Gym-Nest - IA
JPAC - IN Blue C
KurtThomas - OK
Lakewood Ranch - FL
Legacy Elite - IL
Love - TX
M&M - WI
Metroplex - TX
MG Elite - NJ
Midwest - MN
Mismo - MT
Mountain Brook - AL
NETX Elite - TX
Oasis - AZ
Olympus - UT
Paragon - VA
Paramount Elite-CA
Parkettes - PA
Pearland Elite - TX
Prattville - AL
Premier - NE
Prestige - PA
REGA - CA
Revolution - WV
Rochester - NY
Roots - MA
SalcianuElite - NV
San Mateo - CA
Stars - TX
Texas Dreams - TX
TIGAR - CO
TopNotch - GA
Twin City Twisters - MN
TwiStars - MI
UnitedElite - TX
Universal - FL
V-Force Elite - CA
West Valley - CA
World Class - IL
WorldChampions - TX
ZenithElite - TX
Brestyan 's las vegas elite qualifier feb 2017

jeudi 1 décembre 2016

brazilgirl deserves more respect

This individual is the finest poster at this site and has been for several years now. Yet is not praised and rightfully revered for the quality of her work. This individual deserves much more respect, adoration, and admiration than she gets, along with heavy praise for the stupendous contributions made to the quality of this site.
brazilgirl deserves more respect

dimanche 27 novembre 2016

World's 2017 tix

It looks like the tickets for next year's World's will be on sale soon! I've only been to one competition, so I wanted to check in and see those of you who have more experience have recommendations for choosing seats, etc. I remember reading somewhere that sometimes people don't show up, and you can buy cheap seats then move down the day of the competition to a seat that remains empty. I don't remember what competition that was about, though. Is that fairly typical for these large meets as well?
World's 2017 tix

Lisa Skinner falls in Cirque performance

http://ift.tt/2guXbne

I hope she is ok, sounds scary.
Lisa Skinner falls in Cirque performance

mercredi 23 novembre 2016

Jessica Lopez/Lindsey Stirling FX Music

I seem to recall JLo performed to at least two different Lindsey Stirling FX pieces during ger career. Does anyone know which routines and which songs she used? Having recently become a fan of Lindsey's music I would love to see them.

Also do you know of any other gymnasts who have used Lindsey's music?
Jessica Lopez/Lindsey Stirling FX Music

The Compulsory Thread

Some people in the discussion about potential changes in gymnastics asked about what the compulsories were and how they worked. I thought it would be neat to compile videos of well-performed compulsories from different quads. I'm going to post back to about 1988 in this post, but feel free to add earlier routines or your favorites below! Those of us who loved the compulsories can share our love of them here!

(Edit: Note- I tried to include well-performed routines, but was limited by what I could find on YouTube.)

The gymnasts all had to perform the same routine, following the same choreography. While this might lead to you dreaming the floor music over and over again, it also allowed for direct comparison of execution. Usually the choreography was very well done.

1996:
Vault- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT5DZPdK7ME
Bars- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40N3OjOEjR8
Beam- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p0LjGnTGM0
Floor- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8UQz6pJZu4

1992:
Vault- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEimzJDoiq0
Bars- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zPp...65AECBA22364A9
Beam- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4LXfW0O18E
Floor- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx7tjVZtCbI

1988:
Vault- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl3eclKeuGA
Bars- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Uwj3olAbk0
Beam- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_Irt72l0Nk
Floor- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaKxA0fZvHc
The Compulsory Thread

mardi 22 novembre 2016

Korean Rhythmic Gymnast Son Yeon Jae in hot waters

I haven't been on here in ages but I wanted to share something with you... although it seems that there hasn't been much activity in the Rhythmic Gymnastics section of the forum.

Anyway, Son Yeon Jae, the rhythmic gymnast who placed 4th at Rio and once hailed something close to a media celebrity close to Kim Yuna's level, is now the public enemy after it's been questioned whether she has been given preferential/special treatment for her connection with the disgraced Korean president.

Long story short, the Korean president, Park Geun Hye, is very corrupt and has been using billions of dollars of government money to fund her close friends (and their friends) in their personal endeavors, and also putting pressure on different organizations to do favours for them. The key woman in this whole ordeal is Choi Soon Shil, who has been revealed to influence the President in the way of making decisions and speeches, and even has been receiving classified information for years. She got close to the as her father was a shaman fortuneteller and the president trusted this shaman fortuneteller... anyway, that's a long story. Basically, this is the biggest political scandal that Korea has ever seen.. and Korean politics has always been riddled with scandals -- so that's saying a lot. Anyway, the Korean people have reacted to this news very emotionally, hundreds of thousands gathering around the Blue House to demand that the president step down.


Anyway, back to Son; she was linked to the president and Choi Soon Shil for two things; one, she attended an exercise event that was run by the president and her personal friends (the president was in attendance too); two, she frequents a beauty clinic that the president also frequents (close to the point where she sent them gifts after her performance at Rio).

Everyone realizes that all of this could just be coincidence (For instance, male artistic gymnast Yang Hak Sun was also there but no one is accusing him of anything) but the people are accusing her because they are finding all this 'evidence' of special/preferential treatment that she seems to have gotten.

For instance, despite not being dominant in her sport at the world level, she's been given a sports award given by the Korean Government that even Kim Yuna has never won, despite not having a single Worlds or Olympic medal. Besides Son, all of the other winners are Olympic gold medalists, often several times, or have won a Worlds gold in their sport.

Another thing is that her mother had an access card to accompany her around restricted areas at Rio as well as her Russian coach, her Korean coach, her agency CEO, and her personal physical therapist. This is in stark contrast to the marathon team, who couldn't even have their coach accompany them, and the biggest star swimmer couldn't have his physical therapist and was only given 1 access card for his coach; the entire volleyball team had just 3 access cards, and also had to have their star player also act as their translator and their coach act as a doctor.

The other thing is that she was admitted to Yonsei University, the most prestigious university in Korea, without having made the academic cut. This is despite Yonsei not having much of a rhythmic gymnastics team. Despite not being able to attend her classes because she trains in Russia (classes are mandatory in Korea), she has not been kicked out. Seeing as the whole president scandal began with Choi Soon Shil's daughter Jung Yoora (who is a dressage athlete) being admitted to another prestigious university called Ewha university and passing all her classes without attending any of them, people are quite wary at this point about Son's situation as well.

Son's also skipped out on national team selection meets for the past number of years, each time because she "is in poor condition" but she goes to public events just fine. And of course, she's was still put on the national team each time.

Son Yeon Jae's biggest achievement is winning gold at the Asian Games, but her achievement even there is being questioned, as someone pointed out that she was seen hugging one of the judges after the meet.

She's been the talk of the town for the past several days because of this. With that said, for the past number of years, she's been getting lots of media attention; she takes months at a time away from her gym in Russia to appear on Korean TV, goes to events, etc, and is compared constantly to Kim Yuna. There were always a few Korean rhythmic gymnastics fans who realized that Son is not on the same level as Kim.... like... at ALL, but no one can deny that Son has a pretty face and that 'star quality'. But because of how strongly everyone has reacted to the presidential scandal, Son appears to be caught up in that as well. Her agency had to clarify a number of things and they have denied any special treatment but no one is believing them.

This might be difficult for someone who's on the outside looking in to grasp, especially with this short post... but every Korean is talking about this and her Instagram is currently being bombarded by haters and supporters alike. I'm still personally torn, I think people are taking it too far but even before all of this, I did think that Son got a lot more attention than what she deserved -- I could never reconcile media putting her on the same level of Yuna Kim... at the same time, I really don't know anything about rhythmic gymnastics. What are your thoughts?
Korean Rhythmic Gymnast Son Yeon Jae in hot waters

lundi 21 novembre 2016

How Would You Change the Sport of Gymnastics?

Hi everyone, I've been a reader of this forum for many, many years, but I don't post very often. However, I was inspired to start a thread after reading IG's brief article about new FIG president Morinari Watanabe's "innovative plans" for the sport. He doesn't actually say anything actionable in the article, but there are a few tidbits that are interesting such as when he says he wants, "to evolve the competition from one for gymnastics fans to the one that generates gymnastics fans." I find it particularly curious since I don't think competitions are really designed for current gymnastics fans to begin with. So... With that said, I'd be interested in hearing other people's ideas about how you would change the sport to make it sustainable (financially, commercially, whatever) and grow the audience in such a way that it supports the athletes, satisfies hardcore gymnastics fans and appeals to a broader audience so it's not relying on the Olympics (or traditional powerhouse countries like the US) to remain popular.

I imagine that most people want to bring back compulsories, stop cutting down the number of athletes per country, etc., but I'm hoping there are other ideas out there.

Here are a couple of ideas that I turn around in my head from time to time:

1) First, I wonder if the FIG can work more directly with individual federations to promote the sport. It's alarming to see countries like Ukraine, Romania and even Australia falling off the gymnastics mat. Thinking about the sport systemically, I just don't think the FIG can do much to grow the sport if the federations can't attract talent or funding for their programs.

2) Second, that code of points. Needs an overhaul, right? A few years ago, Elizabeth Price complained that the current code doesn't encourage some of the more creative or unique skills because they don't carry enough bonus. It made me think that they could experiment with creating a code that is still open-ended but has more constraints on the composition--for example, like requiring A and B skills or putting a cap on the amount of C and D skills. And finally figure out a real way to reward artistry.

3) Lastly, it kills me that TV stations haven't figured out a way to display scores in a user-friendly format. NBC's system of using green, yellow and red lights to indicate a "good score" gets an "A" for effort, but is really sad. Trying to explain to someone how 1.2 (or more) in deductions translates to good or bad is even worse. There's gotta be a better way. Invest in some technology. Something.

Anyway, if you got ideas or just opinions on what's not working for you, I'd be interested in reading them.

FC
How Would You Change the Sport of Gymnastics?

dimanche 20 novembre 2016

Why Dina was robbed (indirectly) of the 1996 Olympic AA title, and directly of silver

With the performances exactly as it actually was Dina was in fact robbed of the Olympic AA silver in 1996. Since her scores on bars, beam, and floor should have been as follows:

Bars- 9.825
Beam- 9.875
Floor- 9.825
Vault- correct

With these new scores she gains enough to push her past Gogean, Milo, Amanar, even with her huge errors on both vaults. So already directly she was robbed of the AA silver.

However practically speaking had she received these scores rather than being tied with Mo Huilan and barely over Lilia (coming up on floor where she is likely to score huge vs Dina on vault where even hitting she just scores mediocre probably) she would have a huge lead on Mo and Lilia. And given that she would in fact now due to her 9.9 vault which she could do easily for a 9.75 type score rather than push for the 10 vault and win. She could have done her 9.9 vault and secured silver or bronze depending how Mo scored on floor if she hit (Lilia was certain to advance to gold past Mo and Dina being only 0.031 if she hit floor since she would score way bigger on floor than either Mo on floor or Dina on vault would), but being the true competitor she was she wanted gold even if it meant trying a 10 vault she realistically could not perform that well. She knew she needed to score in the mid 9.8s to have a chance of holding off a hit Lilia on floor, so she foolishly took the gamble. A gamble which would no longer be needed had she been scored correctly on the other events.

In addition to this, Lilia should have scored no higher than a 9.7 on bars with a big error, and probably like a 9.75 on beam where she had 2 significant errors- grabbing the beam on her Cheng and a big hop on the dismount. Mo should have scored no higher than a 9.7 on beam where her dismount should have been 2 tenths minimum deduction, although she deserved higher than a 9.8 on bars so gets some of that back, but not all of that. Lilia and Mo were the 2 favorites for the AA gold and got some gifts as a result, while Dina was hyped as only the 3rd best Russian hope after Khorkina and Galieva, and her scores reflected that, along with Tim Daggett's hatred of her (Tim has HUGE political power in the gymnastics world).

I wanted to also say she was robbed bigtime of the 94 world AA title where she should have beaten both Milo and Miller by atleast 2 whole tenths. She was robbed of the silver on bars at the 94 worlds where she should have beaten Khorkina, although that Chinese gymnast deserved the gold. She was robbed many times in her career of better achievements by bad judging. The judges hated her, and her own federation plotted against her and favored Khorkina, Galieva, Grosheva, and Fabrichnova all over her.
Why Dina was robbed (indirectly) of the 1996 Olympic AA title, and directly of silver

mercredi 16 novembre 2016

Cottbus Word Cup 2016

*World Cup, of course. :o

It'll begin tomorrow (17.11.) and ends on Sunday (20.11.).

Full schedule (German time):

Thursday
16.30 - 20.00 Qualification I

Friday
16.30 - 20.00 Qualification II

Saturday
14.00 - 17.00 Finals I

Sunday
14.00 - 17.00 Finals II


Notable competitors: (not a strong field, tbh)

WAG
Emily Little
Leah Grießer
Kim Janas (yay!)
Future UCLA Bruin Pauline Tratz
Zsofia Kovacs
Dorina Boczogo
Angelina Kysla

MAG
Andreas Bretschneider
Lukas Dauser
Krisztian Berki (yay!)
Igor Radilov

Full list: http://ift.tt/1RrOp8t
Cottbus Word Cup 2016

samedi 12 novembre 2016

Who is the classiest, nicest, most sportsmanlike gymnast ever?

While there are a number of good choices my pick would be SIMONA AMANAR. She competed in my favorite era ever in gymnastics with my favorite gymnast ever- Dina Kochetkova, and others I either loved or atleast appreciated like Mo Huilan, Lilia Podkopayeva, Milosovici and Gogean, Miller, Dawes, Moceanu, Strug, Furnon, Piskun, Meng Fei, Liu Xuan, Khorkina, etc...She was always gracious in defeat and congratulatory to her competitors, even in dissapointment. It was painful for her I am sure to never get the elusive world/Olympic AA title (well other than the wierd 2000 one) or a major floor title, but she was always professional and positive towards the winners. She was a great teammate both to her older and younger training mates, without the major diva attitude other star Romanians of the time- especialy Milo and Marinescu, tended to adopt. She was incredibly gracious in the extremely difficult and delicate situation of the 2000 Olympic AA finals. Even Khorkina really liked her when Khorkina was well into her major bitch phase at the end of Amanar's career, and that tells you all you need to know.

I also had the pleasue of meeting her in person once and while her English wasnt great she was incredibly kind and friendly.
Who is the classiest, nicest, most sportsmanlike gymnast ever?

vendredi 11 novembre 2016

Myrtle Beach Compulsory Elite qualifier Teams

Arete
Braswell
Coastal Point
Carolina Elite
Everest
First Class
Georgia All star
Georgia Elite\
GAA
Golden City
Gymnastix
Gym revolution
Hills
Iowa Gymnest
KPAC
Kurt Thomas
Lake Murray
Lakewood Ranch
M&M
Mountain Brook
Orlando Metro
Paragon
Pearland
Stars
Shooting Stars
Top Notch
World Class
Myrtle Beach Compulsory Elite qualifier Teams

mercredi 9 novembre 2016

I guess Simone has finally "arrived"

"Jeopardy" is a show I never miss (one of the few I even bother with). I learn how much I know and how much I don't know. The other day Simone Biles appeared in a "question." I was out of the room and didn't get it all, but I heard Alex say something about while there were no more "10s," this gymnast attained this score and won the FX and the AA title. One of the contestants got her name. Nadia has been a "Jeopardy" question more than once, and I think Olga also, but back in the "old days" more everyday Americans knew the names of the athletes on the Soviet team (a few of them, anyway) but could not name any American gymnasts (except maybe Cathy Rigby). If you become a "question" on "Jeopardy" I conclude that you have "arrived."
I guess Simone has finally "arrived"

dimanche 6 novembre 2016

Four Year Early Prediction: Jordan Chiles

We did this with Simone (and I think Ohashi) a while back and it was fun to see the results. So lets do the same with our current upstart Jordan Chiles. SHe hasn't been getting as much attention lately because she wasn't at nats due to injury but I'd say she is still the junior to beat and would've easily beat McCusker.(even on an off day) and probably O'Keefe as well.

She has shown some weird consistency problems though, so that she actually never had a podium finish at junior nats oddly enough. Has a good amanar, nice tumbling (and toe point!) on floor, ok and can be good on both beam and bars if she hits.

What do you guys think?
Four Year Early Prediction: Jordan Chiles

samedi 5 novembre 2016

Tournoi Combs-la-Ville

Junior results

Team:



All-Around:


Tournoi Combs-la-Ville

Swiss Cup 2016

Takes place tomorrow (06.11.) at 12:00 local time.

Teams:

Team Switzerland 1
Ilaria KÄSLIN / Pablo BRÄGGER

Team Switzerland 2
Caterina BARLOGGIO / Eddy YUSOF

Team Germany 1
Kim BUI / Marcel NGUYEN

Team Germany 2
Leah GRIESSER / Lukas DAUSER

Team France
Anne KUHM / Julien GOBAUX

Team Canada
Victoria Kayen WOO / René COURNOYER

Team Netherlands
Eythora THORSDOTTIR / Bart DEURLOO

Team Venezuela/Brazil
Jessica Brizeida LOPEZ AROCHA / Arthur Nory MARIANO

Team Russia
Angelina MELNIKOVA / Nikita IGNATYEV

Team Ukraine (winners last year)
Angelina KYSLA / Oleg VERNIAIEV

Stream: http://ift.tt/2fmHAGW (Swiss VPN needed)
Swiss Cup 2016

mercredi 2 novembre 2016

Gander Memorial 2016

It's underway right now. :)

Scores here: https://twitter.com/GinnasticaIta

Some low scores from Oleg so far. Melnikova had a good DTY, JLo and Eythora are doint fine (though not brilliant) as well.

Stream: http://ift.tt/2eB1IEc
Gander Memorial 2016

lundi 31 octobre 2016

If it aint broke don't fix it - Valeri Liukin

I'm wondering about Valeri? Do you think he is going to change the program? The US doesn't have strong juniors coming up. Will that sabotage Valeri's leadership?
If it aint broke don't fix it - Valeri Liukin

mardi 25 octobre 2016

Olympic Hopes Cup

The Olympic Hopes Cup is set to take place in Liberec, CZE from Nov 2-6 http://ift.tt/2eOEqKH
Not sure about the official website yet, or what countries have been invited.


Gymnastics Canada has announced the athletes and coaches that will be attending
Ana Padurariu and Jade Chrobok (Oshawa Gemini), Haley de Jong (Flicka), Victoria Jurca (Gym-Fly), and Sophie Marois (Viagym).
Coaches: Elena Davydova, Dorina Stan (Flicka), Jacinthe Emard, and Frank Kistler (Viagym)

Anthony Tawfik, Ioannis Chronopoulos, Evgeny Siminiuc, Jesse Tyndall, Chris Kaji, William Emard and Felix Dolci
Coaches: Markos Baikas, Adrian Balan, Zhaohui Huang , Alexander Pozdniakov
Olympic Hopes Cup

lundi 24 octobre 2016

2016 Massilia

Program

November 11th : Open Massilia 11am (local) - Hopes tournament 9/12yo 5pm (local)
November 12th : Master Massilia 5:30pm (local)
November 13th : Apparatus finals 3pm (local)

Website : http://ift.tt/2f0e4KQ

Master Massilia - Teams

RUSSIA

- Daria Spiridonova
- Seda Tutkhalyan
- Elena Irimina
- Anastasia Iliankova

GREAT BRITAIN

- Georgia Mae Fenton
- Alice Kinsella
- Lucy Stanhope
- Taeja James

AUSTRALIA

- Georgia Godwin
- Naomi Lee
- Erin Modaro
- Tania Folino

FRANCE

TBD


+ 2 best teams from Open Massilia


Open Massilia - Teams

USA - WOGA

Irina Alexeeva

AUSTRALIA

Waverley Gymnastics : Rachel Laval - Kate Mcdonald - Jade Vella Wright -Romi Brown - Mia Banks - Caitlyn Montgomery - Rebekah Chen
Delta Gymnastics : Emi Watterson
Sydney West Gymsports : Ercole Cassidy
NCE Melbourne : Eadie Rawson - Elly Bayes
Western australian institute of sport : Darcy Norman - Sophie Prince - Sydney Stephens - Aya Meggs - Lily Gresele - Niamh Collins - Yasmin Collier

AUSTRIA

Gmunden- Hernals - Ternitz : Xenia Hamersak - Linda Samstag - Kirsi Wolfisberg - Pirjo Wolfisberg

BELGIUM

National : TBD
Fédération francophone de gymnastique : Chloé Storey - Sophia Kola - Luna Cassart - Cato Fleurackers
De Gympies : Lisa Vaelen - Fien Vanderbeg - Margo Van Linden

CANADA

Gym Fly : Victoria Jurca - Audrey Foucault - Mia Saint Pierre - Laurie Lou Vezina
Gymnix : TBD
Dynamo : Madison Hugues - Brooklyn Moors - Megan Dipietro - Emma Spence - Jessica Dowling
Tumbler gymnastics centre : Juliette Chapman - Rosales Avery
Futures Gymnastics : Skylar Ellis - Hope Moxam - Carly Au - Vanessa Bryk
Via Gym : TBD


FRANCE

National : 3 teams TBD
Pôle Marseille : TBD
Pôle Saint Etienne : TBD
ASCM Toulon : Alisson Truchard - Louna Dozon - Alizée Aicardi - Anna Garde
Avenir montalbanais : Emeline Vançon
Dunkerque Gym : Romane Fontaine - Alice Lesaffre - Emma Lenoir - Myriam El Koucho
Etoile Gymnique Colomier : Clemence Behier - Maelle Buret - Alexandra Lens - Mey Line Anton
La Saint Loise Gymnastique : Loicia Porte - Adelaide Challes - Agathe Deshayes - Clementine Toulorge
Gym flip Beaucaire : Carlotta Rodrigues - Violetta Sanchez Alonzo - Alba Ascencio - Alba Marta Gilcedopetisco
Union Haguenau : Axelle Wolf - Tess ****z - Eva Breney - Mathilde Bithorel

ISRAEL

National : Feldon Tzuf - Kremer Ofir

MEXICO

Elite Gymnastics Mexico : Daniela Doddoli Lankenau - Barbara Doddoli Lankenau - Paulina Guera Valdes - Gabriella Lazo Villareal - Ana Paula Chavez Lozano - Eugenia Barbosa Cantu


CZECH REPUBLIC

TJ Bohemians Praha : Adela Merkova - Vendula Merkova - Kristyna Barbcova
2016 Massilia

dimanche 23 octobre 2016

Best gymnast per quad

Who would you consider the best gymnast of each quad. Here would be my choices.

1969-1972- Kato, Janz
1973-1976- Andrianov, Commaneci
1977-1980- Dityatin, Commaneci (nobody is really a solid choice though)
1981-1984- Bilozertchev, Yurchenko
1985-1988- Bilozertchev, Shushunova
1989-1992- Gutsu (nobody is really a solid choice, Boginskaya is the only other decent option), Scherbo
1993-1996- Podkopayeva, Scherbo
1997-2000- Khorkina, Nemov
2001-2004- Khorkina, Paul Hamm (gags)
2005-2008- Liukin, Yang Wei
2009-2012- Mustafina, Uchimura
2013-2016- Biles, Uchimura
Best gymnast per quad

vendredi 14 octobre 2016

Chinese Gymnastics Appreciation: Post-Rio

Good time as any to start a new thread for China.

This video has some videos (both qualification and podium training) from individual nationals. There are also videos from junior nationals including dance tests.

Chinese Gymnastics Appreciation: Post-Rio

Do you think Gabby Douglas should train for Worlds 2017?

I for one think Gabby should train for Worlds because she has unfinished business. This is because she seemed to have ran out of solid training time before the Olympics. What do you think?
Do you think Gabby Douglas should train for Worlds 2017?

lundi 10 octobre 2016

National team competitions

American Cup
Stutgart World CUP
Jesolo
London World Cup
American Classic
US Classic
US Nationals
World Championships
National team competitions

vendredi 7 octobre 2016

2016 World Challenge Cup - Szombathely

Qualification results (WAG & MAG):
http://ift.tt/2dLbKW8

Bai Yawen and Yana Horokhova didn't compete although they were on the nominative roster.

Pretty great return for Krisztian Berki. Excellent day for the Vietnamese men as well.
2016 World Challenge Cup - Szombathely

jeudi 6 octobre 2016

Coaching changes for the upcoming Seasons

There was a lot of shifts in the NCAA coaching staff. This is a really helpful article by Flogymnastics

http://ift.tt/2d6YVEj
Coaching changes for the upcoming Seasons

mercredi 28 septembre 2016

All American Appreciation Thread - Post-Rio Olympics

The last post about gymnastics from the old thread.

Quote:

Originally Posted by milktea View Post
Leyva talks a little bit more about his acting plans following the Olympics.



Suffice it to say he probably won't be returning to gym anytime soon if he does at all. If not, at least he ended his career on a high note.

All American Appreciation Thread - Post-Rio Olympics

lundi 26 septembre 2016

Ncaa 2016-2017

Rachel Gowey (Florida) training beam and looking good. flic - loso - loso acro series on beam.

http://ift.tt/2cwPI4U
Ncaa 2016-2017

vendredi 23 septembre 2016

Could an American women have medaled in the AA in 2000 (given all that played out)

With everything else staying exactly as it was, including Raducan's DQ, could an American women have medalled in the AA in Sydney? Pre Games that would have been almost unthinkable, but in hindsight I think it was might have been possible. I dont believe Maloney could score high enough to beat Olaru or Xuan's final totals especialy as her beam had declined massively that year (and her bars never strong had also declined). I believe Chow or Ray might have been able to though. Or maybe even Atler had she made the team, despite that her gymnastics had declined; or maybe even Jamie had she gotten an AA shot (although probably not since even hitting beam her score would suck there).
Could an American women have medaled in the AA in 2000 (given all that played out)

Fancy Bear Leaks (non-US gymnasts)

Now we have non-American gymnasts in the latest leak.

Nile Wilson clearly taking medication for asthma (his is old).




And Brittany Rogers also treating ADHD.

Fancy Bear Leaks (non-US gymnasts)

jeudi 22 septembre 2016

Was Raducan robbed of a possible 4 golds/1 silver Games in Sydney by wrongful drug DQ

A few of us were having a sensible discussion on this on another thread before PavLiukin agressively barged in with attacks and name calling since some of us dared to believe Raducan would have beaten her beloved crush Zamo on floor (lol). It got me thinking though, and I think it is worth a thread since it is rarely discussed.

It is well known Raducan was wrongfully striped of her Sydney AA gold for a cold medication issued by a Romanian doctor. What alot dont realize is she was being subbed into the beam finals for Presecan. As she had the highest beam score of all the competition in Team Optionals and the All Around, and her Team Optionals score of 9.837 was the highest beam score of the whole Games, despite a major break on her full twisting back flip, she most likely would have won gold here over Liu Xuan. Due to the emotional distress of the news having just broked she felt she could not go up on beam, which is why they didnt sub her in. Then on floor she competed but was obviously still shaken and fell, whereas with a hit routine she likely would have won gold.

So Raducan's wrongful AA DQ robbed of her a possible 3 additional golds, not just of the AA gold, and she might have ended with a 4 gold/1 silver Olympics, which would have even topped the Olympics Simone had in Rio.
Was Raducan robbed of a possible 4 golds/1 silver Games in Sydney by wrongful drug DQ

mercredi 21 septembre 2016

over and over again

I have concluded that one reason NBC's gymnastics coverage contains three talking heads--Tim, Nastia, and good ol' Weird Uncle Al--is because they need a lot of talk to fill in all that time. Unfortunately, that coverage contains an awful lot of repetition. I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard "King Kohei," "Gymnastics 101--"fly high and stick the landing," and how many times did Tim repeat his asking of "King Kohei" if he had a choice between winning the AA gold or getting the team gold, he said he'd take the team? And we must not forget good ol' Uncle Al (though, I am sure, many would like to). He asked Nastia in the Olympics if she would like to take a chain saw or something to the balance beam, though I distinctly remember that in the recent World Championships he had asked if Nastia dreaded the beam and Nastia replied that actually she had liked beam. Did he forget that? Or is he going senile?
over and over again

mardi 20 septembre 2016

The 2017-2020 code practice thread

It's been 1 month since the Olympics ended with 5 more to go before Scam... it's a good time for us code nerds to get better acquainted with how routines will look in the next quad (main changes are on beam).

Here's a made up routine so if there's anything I got wrong, please give corrections... still getting the hang of it:

Nastia (circa 2007) beam:

Press on mount
Bhs + LOSO + whippy layout 2 feet (D+0.3cv)
Split leap + front aerial + split jump + sissone (b+D+b+a+0.2cv+0.1sb)
Switch half + Onodi + wolf full (D+D+D+0.4cv+0.1sb)
Full turn + side somey (D+0.1cv)
Switch ring (E)
RO + 2.5 twists (D)

1E+7D = 3.3
CR = 2.0
Bonus = 1.2

6.5 SV
The 2017-2020 code practice thread

lundi 19 septembre 2016

New seniors 2017

So, now that Rio is over, there aren't a lot of gymnastic news, so I was thinking we could start a discussion about the juniors that are turning senior in 2017 and could factor into next year teams for european/worlds.

I don´t follow the junior scene closely, so if you could post about the juniors of the countries you're more familiar with, it would be really great. I will start the list, but feel free to add or modify whatever you want:

Australia
?

Belgium
?

Brazil
?

Canada
?

China
?

France
Lorette Charpy

Germany
?

Great Britain
Alice Kinsella
Maisie Methuen

Italy
?

Japan
?

Netherlands
?

Romania
Olivia Cimpian
Ioana Crisan
Carmen Ghiciuc

Russia
Elena Eremina
Anastasia Iliankova
Uliana Perebinosova

Spain
?

Switzerland
Lynn Genhart

USA
Shania Adams
Jordan Chiles
Morgan Hurd
Riley McCusker
Trinity Thomas

* Sorry about my english, not my first language.
New seniors 2017

dimanche 18 septembre 2016

countdown game

Ok. So, compared to most people on the board, I'm relatively new here (started in 2012). I went by this same username on the WWgym board and others, including one that I absolutely loved that was discontinued in 2009 (which eventually led to me joining this board right before the 2012 Olympics).

On that latter board, I used to do a countdown each year, following Olympic order, where I sought out posters top 20 routines on each apparatus, and then combined them to make a Top 100 list. I would post 10 to 15 routines about every other day, and discussion would continue as the countdown went along.

I'd like to do this here, and I'm asking y'all if you would please participate.

I've wanted to do this again for a while, but just haven't really had the time. Now, I have end-stage renal disease (14 percent in one kidney, 18 percent in another), and so I'm about to start dialysis, and will have a lot of time while sitting there for five hours several times per week. This is the perfect thing to keep me occupied and busy.

So, please help a fellow out, and submit your lists. The more the merrier.

We will start with women's vault. The only rules I had back then (and which I will keep now) are as follows:

You need to weigh your lists from 1-20, with 1 being your absolute most favorite vault ever. Please only do 20. If you feel the need to tie, do so, but don't add an extra number. So, if you have two gymnasts ranked at 5, the list would go:

1
2
3
4
5
5
7

Make sure to put the gymnast's name, name of the vault, and the competition in which the person vaulted.
For example, if you want to include Vanessa Atler's vault at 1999 worlds, you'd need to say:
Vanessa Atler - DTY - 1999 World Championships Team Finals Vault 1

ABSOLUTELY NO ROUTINES MAY BE SUBMITTED IN WHICH THE GYMNAST FELL. Any such submissions will be disregarded, but I will not disregard your entire list for this faux pas.

Also, remember to number your entries. If you don't number them, I will take them in order from top to bottom.

AND separate from your list, please give me your selection for BEST STICK, BEST DISTANCE, BEST HEIGHT and BEST BLOCK. These can be on your list, but please note whether you want them as one of those categories. These will be tallied separately (given 5 points each, and then averaged) to come up with the best vaults of all time in each category, as believed by IG.

Feel free to send videos of these vaults as well. You don't have to, but you can.

Each vault will be given a number score (with your top vaults each being given a value of 20). They will then be totaled as more lists come in and the average will determine the vault's place on the list.

I will give posters two weeks to send lists. My email is editorial@manninglive.com. I'm excited. I've already made a folder in my inbox for entries.

I will begin posting the list three days after the deadline.

So, please send your Top 20 vaults by noon Oct. 2.

I look forward to hearing from you.
countdown game

Is Daniel Keatings dead?

Just looking at his wikipedia I was stunned:

http://ift.tt/2cTaVIG
Is Daniel Keatings dead?

samedi 17 septembre 2016

Cant we all just get along and be nice to each other

One thing I am dissapointed in is the amount of vitriol on this board of late, which is escalating lately for some reason, perhaps post Olympics tension? Even if we disagree sometimes you can still present your opinions and views in a respectful and polite manner even to those who might feel differently than you do. The way posters such as myself, Sdk310, dbhmr, London2012, Agags, Brazilgirl23, NMills123, Lithi, amongst others do. It is a shame that of late more posters are resorting to profanity, agressiveness, and rudeness when someone has an opinion that is different from theirs.
Cant we all just get along and be nice to each other

vendredi 16 septembre 2016

Do you prefer power gymnasts or graceful artistic gymnasts?

Obviously gymnasts don't always neatly fall into one of these two categories. But sometimes they do.

In general, do you prefer power gymnasts or graceful artistic gymnasts?
Do you prefer power gymnasts or graceful artistic gymnasts?

jeudi 15 septembre 2016

Elena Shushunova getting more respect these days?

One thing that I found in my time as a youtube poster as russianskatingfan (I rarely post there anymore, it is too full of toxic and nasty presences, unlike calm and respectul people who just want to discuss gymnastics politely and positively like myself) that Shushunova was one of the most disrespected gymnasts there. Imparticular by Silivas fans who heavily disputed many of her successes, particularly her closely fought Olympic AA win over Silivas. Despite that I am in fact a bigger Silivas fan than a Shushunova fan (although I love both) and would have much preferred Silivas to win the AA in Seoul (and can certainly see arguments done with reason why she possibly should have won, there are valid arguments in either direction) this was quite irritating as it got out of control with the hatred and obvious bias. However signs, especialy on a forum of highly reputed gymnastics experts such as this, indicate Shushunova is now getting more greatly appreciated as times goes on, which is good to see. She deserves it. Maybe the passage of time is burrying the urban legend and mythical "controversies" created by angry and bitter fanbases (similar to the so called controversy of Gutsu vs Miller from Barcelona which the rabid Miller fan who are only a notch down from the rabid Silivas fan base have spammed youtube and other venues ad nauseum with whining on for years) and allowing her to see the legend she is for what it is. Biles who is a very similar style of gymanst to Shushunova, is perhaps also now causing her work to be more appreciated.
Elena Shushunova getting more respect these days?

Rate each quad since 73-76 in strength of competition

There is alot of talk here of weak eras and strong eras. However taking each quad since 73-76 (the unofficial start of modern gymnastics for most us) and rate each up to now in terms of strongest overall competition and weakest. Here would be my rankings:

1. 89-92: Just an incredible quad with so many great gymnasts. 89 worlds is still the best in history. 92 Barcelona is my favorite all around womens gymnatics Games in history.

2. 85-88: Amazingly high standard of gymnastics, particularly at the 87 worlds and 88 Olympics. People like Silivas, Shushunova, Dobre, even Boginskaya literally touching perfection.

3. 97-2000: Very competitive AA quad from start to finish.

4. 77-80: Very competitive and deep from start to finish, but could have been even better without all the injuries. Nadia's decline from 75-76 helped it get more competitive too, which shows how the competitive evaluation can get backwards at times too.

5. 93-96: Amazingly strong field in 95 and 96, but less so in 94, and much less so in 93.

6. 2009-2012: Field was probably at its strongest in 2010. 2009 was very weak. 2011 and 2012 were decent competition wise, but not great.

7. 2013-2016: Some people recently (mostly those frustrated with Biles's dominance) call this the worst era ever, but IMO it isnt even close, although it is far from the best too.

8. 81-84: Too many injuries, and the LA boycott really wrecked things for the quad, even if it was just one year.

9. 73-76: Not that much depth, mostly about Tourischeva and Korbut in the first half, and Commaneci and Kim in the second.

10. 2001-2004: Just meh, this and the one to come are the only periods that were truly "weak".

11. 2005-2008: Far and away the worst, and nothing comes close. Although Beijing was a much better field than Athens, 2001-2003 were all better years than 2005-2007, so it still comes ahead as a quad.
Rate each quad since 73-76 in strength of competition

lundi 12 septembre 2016

2017 LA Cup Invitational

Dear Rhythmic Gymnastics Coaches & Club Directors,

Rhythmic Academy of Los Angeles invites you to join us for the 2017 LA Cup Rhythmic Gymnastics “GRAND” Invitational in beautiful Los Angeles, CA from Friday March 31st to Sunday April 2nd 2017. THIS IS ONE OF THE LARGEST AND MOST COMPETITIVE RHYTHMIC GYMNASTIC COMPETITIONS IN AMERICA!

Web Site: http://ift.tt/2cgrVvQ

Facebook: http://ift.tt/2cn5ult

The competition venue will be held at Los Angeles Mission City College Main Gymnasium where we hosted the 2016 LA Cup and 2016 Level 7 to 10 SoCal State Championships. This world class facility features over 30,000 SQF of open floor space, 60 foot ceiling clearance, competition carpet over wood floor and a very large warm-up area with 3 full size Rhythmic Gymnastics carpets and ballet bars.

AWARD CEREMONY IS VERY IMPORTANT TO US… During the awards ceremony we will present the LA Cup Trophy to the top 3 highest scores in each level without regard of age. Individual routine and all-around medals will be awarded to the top 3 highest scores per level and age classification. Ribbons and achievement certificates will be awarded up to 8 place winners. Each grand level champion will also receive a special gift and prizes!

The 2017 LA Cup is sanctioned as an international event and opened to clubs from all over the world. We already received registration interest from top clubs in the USA, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuanian, Latvia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, China, Mexico, Canada, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Egypt, Israel and many other great nations. Complete schedule will be posted on the competition Web site (http://ift.tt/2cgrVvQ) by the end of December.

Our goal is to make LA Cup one of the top and most competitive Rhythmic Gymnastics competitions in the world. We will always strive to attract the most competent and experienced High Level judges, offer quality prized, scholarships and gifts, and make it a very special and competitive event for the girls and entertaining for parents and Rhythmic Gymnastics fans. We are honored to receive confirmation that

Competition Site:

Los Angeles Mission City College
12890-Harding-St, Sylmar, CA 91342

Entry Fees:

Level 3/4 - $85 (fee includes 3 routines)
Level 5/6 - $120 (fee includes 4 routines)
Level 7/8 - $135 (fee includes 4 routines)
Level 9/10 FIG - $155 (fee includes 4 routines)

Entries are limited & each level will be closed when full. One check per team, payable to Rhythmic Academy. Entry fees are non-refundable!

Competition Flyer: http://ift.tt/2cgrEcj

Mail Your Club Entry Fee To:

Rhythmic Academy of Los Angeles
5632 Van Nuys Blvd., Box 237
Sherman Oaks, CA 91401

Team entry forms & fees must be received by Wednesday February 1st, 2017. Late entries, if accepted, will require a $25 fee per athlete.

Competitive Levels 7-8 Forms: Please upload D-forms to http://ift.tt/2cn5hPh by Monday March 20th 2017. $25 fee per athlete will be charged for late forms received after March 20th 2017.

Routine Music: All routine music must be uploaded to http://ift.tt/2cgrDVQ by Monday March 20th 2017. $25 fee per athlete will be charged for late forms received after March 20th 2017.

Daily Admission: $25 Adult, $15 Senior, $10 Kids, $10 Students

Awards: LA Cup Trophy will be awarded to the top 3 highest scores in each level without regard of age. Individual routine and all-around medals will be awarded to the top 3 highest scores per level and age classification. Ribbons and achievement certificates will be awarded up to 8 places.

Host Hotel:

Airtel Plaza Hotel and Conference Centre (10 mile from the competition site)
7277 Valjean Ave. Van Nuys, CA, US, 91406
Tel: 818 997-7676
http://ift.tt/1zllAPl

Special Group Rate: w/rate code Rhythmic Academy (Deadline February 28th 2017)

We are also are setting up group rates with other top local hotels, please check the competition Web site for more information.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing everyone at the competition.

Serge Mezheritsky
Club Director – Rhythmic Academy of Los Angeles
818 571-9175 (cell)
2017 LA Cup Invitational

2017 national qualifiers

December 9-11, 2016 - Sports & Beyond Inc./Terry & Don’s Gymnastics
Myrtle Beach Convention Center

January 13, 2017 - Cincinnati Gymnastics
Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy

January 13-15, 2017 - Brestyan’s Gymnastics
Tufts University

January 19-22, 2017 - Sports & Beyond Inc.
Palm Springs Convention Center

January 26, 2017 - Parkettes Invitational
Parkettes National Gymnastics Center

Feb. 10-12 - Brestyan’s Las Vegas Invite
Westgate Hotel & Events Center, Las Vegas, NV.


Feb. 25-26 - City of Lights / Orlando Metro
Osceola Heritage Park Exhibition Hall, Kissimmee, FL

March 9-12 - Kristie Phillips Cup
Grady Cole Arena, Charlotte, NC
Ranch qualifier june or july
2017 national qualifiers

US Olympian Files Sexual Assault Lawsuit Against US Team Trainer/Physician

It was a 2000 Olympian who filed the suit.

http://ift.tt/2clI6Uy
US Olympian Files Sexual Assault Lawsuit Against US Team Trainer/Physician

samedi 10 septembre 2016

BBC coverage

Does anyone know where I can find the BBC coverage of the 2008 AA? The urge just hit me to re-watch it.
BBC coverage

Is Simone Biles the best of all time? (Yes or No poll)

I've been reading threads about medal counts and if it's more impressive to gain medals over one quad or multiple quads and wanted to do a strictly yes/no poll to see how people feel about Simone being the GOAT.

I know a lot of people agree that the best gymnast needs to be divided in eras, this is a poll that takes that off the table. It's sort of a gun-to-your-head is Simone the best ever? Or not?

I haven't made up my mind so won't vote yet.
Is Simone Biles the best of all time? (Yes or No poll)

vendredi 9 septembre 2016

Individual event World and Olympic Medal Records since 1950

I was bored, so I decided to spend several hours making a list of all the individual event Olympic and World Championship artistic gymnastics medalists since 1950 and then rank them (gymnasts that have won 10 or more). There were a couple of surprises (Nadia didn't make the list; how dominate Vitaly Scherbo was). Some of the current gymnasts are keeping pace with the former ones despite the harder code of points and advent of specialists. Gymnasts post 1992 had the advantage of yearly World Championships though.

Here's the list: (tie-breakers went to those with more gold/silver medals).


MEN
1. Vitaly Scherbo 31
2. Nikolai Andrianov 22
3. Boris Shakhlin 20
4. Alexei Nemov 20
5. Kohei Uchimura 19
6. Akimori Nakayama 18
7. Alexander Dityatin 17
8. Eizo Kenmotsu 17
9. Yordan Yovchev 17
10. Takashi Ono 15
11. Dmitri Bilozerchev 13
12. Vladimir Artemov 13
13. Mikhail Voronin 13
14. Yuri Titov 13
15. Marian Dragulescu 12
16. Viktor Chukarin 12
17. Grigori Misuitin 12
18. Li Ning 12
19. Yukio Endo 12
20. Andreas Wecker 12
21. Li Xiaopeng 11
22. Koji Gushiken 11
23. Li Jing 10
24. Fabian Hambuchen 10
24. Masao Takemoto 10


WOMEN
1. Larisa Latynina 24
2. Svetlana Khorkina 20
3. Simone Biles 16
4. Vera Caslavaska 15
5. Ludmilla Tourischeva 15
6. Gina Gogean 15
7. Lavinia Milosovici 14
8. Aliya Mustafina 14
9. Daniela Silivas 12
10. Nelli Kim 12
11. Yelena Shushunova 12
12. Shannon Miller 11
13. Nastia Liukin 11
14. Simona Amanar 11
14. Ecaterina Szabo 11
16. Oksana Chusovitina 11
17. Eva Bosakova 10
Individual event World and Olympic Medal Records since 1950

jeudi 8 septembre 2016

Romanian Appreciation Thread - After Rio

I thought it was about time for a new thread. The other one is over three years old!

Will Romania ever be a gymnastics power again? Or will they go the way of Ukraine?

Some newer articles on recent developments:

From IG:

Forminte Returns as Romanian Head Coach


Romania's Nicolae Vieru Dies at 84


From The Couch Gymnast:

On Romania, Lessons Missed

and a brand new one:

On Romania: Reform or Inertia?

and a new article from The Gymternet:

The Future of Romania is with Forminte
Romanian Appreciation Thread - After Rio

musings time: can it, will it ever happen again?

Forgive if this has been discussed here before (and it probably has), but the recent passing of Vera Caslavska got me wondering if will there ever again be a two-time AA winner? My all-time idol, Ludmilla Tourischeva, couldn't do it, Nadia couldn't do it, and I wonder if the very advanced, very hard gymnastics now might have something to do with this? I realize that the beam and floor have changed since the "old days," but all that hard tumbling and hard landings must have negative effects on the joints, etc. The body must give way sooner or later. And the clock doesn't stop ticking, but it was wonderful to see "older" gymnasts in the recent Olympics performing at such a high level. Any thoughts?
musings time: can it, will it ever happen again?

lundi 5 septembre 2016

Post Olympics: The New Journey Begins

It seems to me that there are more countries are in a transition mode than in recent memory.

Russia: the veterans that have been carrying the load are burned out. Will the younger generation be able to step up to the plate?

US: post Marta. She and USAG appear to have done a good job paving the way for her successor. A strong system is in place for the next person.

Romania: where do I even begin? It would be better to gut the system they have and rebuild from the ground up. Just like the US did in going to the Level system and adding TOPS. While B&B were great coaches, the program was too dependent on them. It appears that not enough effort was put into developing younger talent.

China: Rio is viewed as a failure but one which they will learn from. A poster on WWGym said they filed a letter of inquiry about scoring and received feedback and will make changes accordingly. They were crushed by the early draw. On the bright side, they are regaining their consistency. I hope this continues.

Will the Dutch be able to continue their rise?

Will the Japanese women rise to the occasion for Tokyo?
Post Olympics: The New Journey Begins

dimanche 4 septembre 2016

Will World Champions Center survive without Aimee Boorman?

Do you think World Champions Center will survive without Aimee Boorman? Do you think if Simone trains again will they hire a new coach or will she move to Florida? Is this another Dominique Moceanu family catastrophe?
Will World Champions Center survive without Aimee Boorman?

samedi 3 septembre 2016

Classiest Gymnasts

Just watched a Shannon Miller Oklahoma Up Close interview in which she was so well spoken. I think Nadia, Shannon and Simone just come off as really nice and classy ladies. Any other ones I'm missing?
Classiest Gymnasts

jeudi 1 septembre 2016

Greatest event specialists?

Seeing the post about Simone Biles' place in the history of gymnasts, I wonder how we should rank the EF specialists.

And who is the greatest EF specialist in the history of this sport?

I can immediately think of them:
* Ponor
* Cheng Fei
* Sacramone
* Chusovitina (but she did quite well in Beijing AA)

More recent examples are Sanne Wevers.

Should I regard Oleysia Dudnik as an AA gymnast or EF specialist?
Greatest event specialists?

mercredi 31 août 2016

Vera Čáslavská dies aged 74 :(

I didn't put this in the Random Thread, because it surely deserves its own thread.

Gymnastics legend Vera Čáslavská died after a long battle with cancer.

http://ift.tt/2bRAiv6

May she rest in peace

Vera Čáslavská dies aged 74 :(

mardi 30 août 2016

Aly Raisman documentary-siblings

I know the title is somewhat weird but couldn't think of anything better.

I saw an older documentary about Aly and her preparation for the 2012 Olympics. It was a really good piece, deep insight on what really means to be an elite gymnast on the daily level.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjVqzPQ5lfo

And I couldn't help thinking that this young lady has 3 siblings. How do they cope with all the fame and attention their sister is getting? It's not just Aly of course but any other kid who has to live off spotlight. I still recall a sentence in Joan Ryan's book that some siblings had to give up a new bike or piano lessons so that they had money and of course time for gymnastics.

Sometimes I also think if these gymnasts, like Aly did, prepare for yet another Olympics> is the price not too high for the family? I mean it pays off for the gymnast of course but if you would be a sibling would you step in and say, it's enough, I want to spend more time with my parents and my dreams are important, too?

I know that almost all parents are loving and supportive...but as everyone has 24 hours a day, I do think that siblings have to be in the background a lot when having an elite athlete in the family. Do you think it can be balanced out in a fair way, so everybody else's dreams come true with the same support (though I'm sure, not all people want to do something so hard and demanding at a young age)?
Aly Raisman documentary-siblings

National qualifiers

Feb. 10-12 - Brestyan’s Las Vegas Invite
Westgate Hotel & Events Center, Las Vegas, NV.

Feb. 25-26 - City of Lights / Orlando Metro
Osceola Heritage Park Exhibition Hall, Kissimmee, FL

March 9-12 - Kristie Phillips Cup
Grady Cole Arena, Charlotte, NC
There probably be more national qualifiers and compulsory qualifiers. Ranch qualifier and Hopes qualifier
National qualifiers

Newly Named Elements from Rio

We now have the Gebeshian, Shirai II (VT), Nguyen, and D-i-ck II. Two other MAG elements were added to the COP but not named since they weren't successfully performed.

http://ift.tt/2c2rgun
Newly Named Elements from Rio

Had Jao not fallen off beam in 2011 and won the AA title would career be different?

Yao Jinnan is one of my favorite gymnasts but she has had a strange and injury plagued career. She would have won the 2011 world AA title over Wieber and Komova without her fall, but due to the fall settled for 3rd. Both had their own errors, but not a fall. She won silver on beam at these worlds behind only Sui's most dominant beam performance of the quad, and very narrowly missed a floor medal. So at this point she wasnt just strong on bars and beam, but very strong on floor (which would later decrease) and had a very good DTY too at this point. There were big expectations for her in London except that she was badly injured and too injured to contend anywhere but bars where she just (controversially to some) missed a medal.

Despite showing an obvious and unexplainable decline on floor, and to a degree vault and beam, she had a good shot to medal in the AA at the 2013 worlds but fell. She should have won the bars title at these worlds but again fell.

In 2014 she again missed a likely AA bronze with a fall, but this time won gold on bars. At this point she still looked like a possible AA contender for Rio, and the early favorite to win bars.

The last 2 years she has been so injured she has barely competed and missed the Chinese Rio Olympic team where the Chinese women had almost no success.

Would her rather enigmatic, up and down, and largely injury plagued career have turned out completely differently had she stayed on beam in the AA finals of the 2011 worlds and won gold?
Had Jao not fallen off beam in 2011 and won the AA title would career be different?

lundi 29 août 2016

Did Yang Wei and Kohei luck out by Paul's injury absence?

Had Paul Hamm not gotten injured and kept out of the 2008 Olympics and 2012 Olympics by injury would Yang Wei and Kohei Uchimura still have been able to win their AA titles?
Did Yang Wei and Kohei luck out by Paul's injury absence?

jeudi 25 août 2016

Mary Lou Retton's double twisting tsuk

From the Karolyi special.

Mary Lou Retton's double twisting tsuk

How many of these men will make the U.S Tokyo Olympic team

Pick as many as you want. If you think only 1 or 2, or perhaps 0, of these make the 2020 team, it is fine.
How many of these men will make the U.S Tokyo Olympic team

How many of the Final Five will be on the 2020 Tokyo team. Multiple choice

Pick the ones you think will make it. There is an option for nobody if you think nobody.
How many of the Final Five will be on the 2020 Tokyo team. Multiple choice

mercredi 24 août 2016

How to rewatch the Olympics

Hey there! Sorry if this is an ignorant question. I was out of the country during the Olympics and was able to watch only tiny snippets of it. Now that I'm home (US), how do I watch it? I'd even be ok with the NBC broadcast :)
How to rewatch the Olympics

Simone is now best American gymnast ever but only 5th best gymnast of all time

Here it is.

1. Vera Casvlaska
2. Nadia Commaneci
3. Mo Huilan (since her gymnastics is truly the best ever, even if her medals arent even top 50)
4. Daniela Silivas
5. Simone Biles
6. Elena Shushunova
7. Olga Korbut
8. Lilia Podkopayeva
9. Svetlana Khorkina
10. Karin Janz
11. Aliya Mustafina
12. Lavinia Milosovici
13. Shannon Miller
14. Simona Amanar
15. Larisa Latynina (only since I am forced to include her somewhere due to being #1 in medals, way overrated)
16. Svetlana Boginskaya
17. Nastia Liukin
18. Olga Mostepanova
19. Natalia Kuchinskaya
20. Natalie Shaposhnikova (on sheer talent alone)

So as you can see she only ranks 5th,and needs to climb atleast 4 people to be #1. She is now clearly the #1 American, but not even close to the #1 of all time yet.
Simone is now best American gymnast ever but only 5th best gymnast of all time

mardi 23 août 2016

1988/89 USSR vs. 2015/16 USA

All four teams were very talented. I would say the '89 Soviets are first followed by the '16 USA. The Soviets outdid themselves that year with their choreo. Haven't decided between the other two though.
1988/89 USSR vs. 2015/16 USA

dimanche 21 août 2016

Japan 2020

I know there is generally a build up in the team for host countries and we have been saying Japan WAG is a team on the rise...

Do we think Japan WAG will finally bring it in 2020 on the same level as MAG?
Japan 2020

What Happens After the Olympics?

Im just curious if anyone has insight into this.

What is it like for the US and other teams after the olympics end?

Does anyone know if they continue training? Do they stop immediately and have at very least the rest of the time at the olympics off?

I mean Laurie is a 16 year old. Melka is 16. They're not exactly making their own decisions as they're still under parental/adult control. The rest are full grown adults.

Just curious!

Also HOLY ABS!
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What Happens After the Olympics?

vendredi 19 août 2016

10 early mens and womens predictions for the 2020 Olympics

I am going to go out on a limb and make 5 early predictions for the 2020 Tokyo Games. I am going to bookmark the thread and see how many I get right. Others who want to make their own bold early predictions for 2020, be it only 1, 3, 5, 8, or even 10 like me are free to in this thread as well. It will be a fun thread to look back on in 4 years.

MEN

1. Japan will win the mens team gold again. In fact I predict they will go undefeated in world and Olympic team competition until and including then.

2. Vernaiev will win the mens AA gold.

3. Kohei will be right off the podium in the mens AA (if he even competes in it).

4. Paul Ruggeri will make the U.S Olympic team. I know it seems unlikely but just a feeling I have, and part of it is I dont see Dalton sticking around to 2020, despite being younger than Paul. I sense the drain of competition is getting to Jake, particularly with continous dissapointments of injuries and missed medal chances both for himself and the U.S.

5. Donnell will heartbreakingly miss the U.S Olympic team a 2nd time somehow (I hope I am wrong, just a weird gut feeling I have).

6. Kohei will win gold on high bar at the Olympics finally.

7. Max Whitlock will not be around for these Games. I see his motivation dreaming after reaching his likely apex in Rio, and the British men are deep as well.

8. The U.S men will win a team bronze in 2020.

9. Sam will no longer be U.S #1 by 2020 (will probably still be on the team, but no longer top American).

10. The U.S men will again win individual medals in 2020, just as they did at these Games.



WOMEN

1. Simone Biles will make a comeback and win her 2nd Olympic AA title.

2. Despite winning 1 or more world AA title between now and Tokyo, Laurie will settle for silver in the Olympic AA in Tokyo behind Simone. She might come in as the favorite this time, but will lose anyway.

3. Seda and Melnikova will both be on the Russian Olympic team, although I dont know what their roles will be by that point.

4. Mustafina will make a comeback and win the uneven bars gold for the 3rd straight Olympics. Russia will have enough depth she will come back to only compete bars and beam (and train vault just in case she is needed). Will not even train floor by then.

5. Aly will either not make a comeback, or even if she does will not make the team this time around.

6. Gabby will continue in world competition, and might even stick around to try for the 2020 team, but while I see her finally winning some individual medals in worlds the next couple years, I dont see her making the 2020 U.S team, atleast not the main 4 member team.

7. The Netherlands and Germany will continue to rise.

8. Andrade will win a medal on something in Toyko, no idea what, but she will somewhere.

9. Laurie will win the balance beam gold at the next Olympics.

10. Ferrari will compete again, although I wont predict any of her results.
10 early mens and womens predictions for the 2020 Olympics

jeudi 18 août 2016

What Are Your Favorite Routines of the Quad?

We do this thread every four years, I think. Everyone should post their top five favorite routines on every event! Theoretically five different vaults from Biles should complete the list for vault, but we gotta spread the wealth! I'll be posting mine soon. Excited to see others'.
What Are Your Favorite Routines of the Quad?

mercredi 17 août 2016

The new Olympic gymnastics format starting in 2020

I am a bit confused about the next Olympics format. Is know the Team event will only be 2 gymnasts per team but will it be a 4-4-3 or 4-3-3. I am pretty sure it wont be a 4-4-4.

Also are the 2 specialists that compete but dont compete in the Team event selected by the Teams selection committees or by some kind of FIG rules where people like for instance Marta or Kevin have no say in who goes.
The new Olympic gymnastics format starting in 2020

I came to see Irina Viner ...but stayed for Rhythmic Gymnastics

This is probably more appropriate for the RG Forum, but no one ever visits there. Plus, this may help introduce more AG fans to RG here.

Rhythmic Gymnastics at the Olympics start Friday. I was hoping some of the more knowledgeable fans could make posts here to help guide those (like me) with considerably less knowledge about the sport. I occasionally watch RG, but it is usually just a few rounds of Worlds and occasional clips often posted on forums and other gymnastics groups.

Feel free to post any links to articles, social media posts, videos, etc. Predictions and gymnasts/groups to look out for also welcomed.

Yes, yes I know. Something, something, something, Russia.
I came to see Irina Viner ...but stayed for Rhythmic Gymnastics

womens teams- 96, 04, 08, 2012, 2016- most talented, most style, most accomplished

This is an extension of the thread from a few years ago that just compared to the 96, 2008, and 2012 teams as far as more talented, most style, and most accomplished. 2016 should obviously now be added to this discussion, but I would like to throw in 2004 which I believe is an excellent and highly underrated team, who just had things screwed up by injuries and Marta. So how would you rate these 5 against each other in most talented, most stylish, and most accomplished. Here would be my picks.

Most accomplished- For me the winner in this is now the 2016 team. They have 27 individual world and Olympic medals, which ties the 2008 team with 27 individual world and Olympic medals. I give one edge to the 2008 team in being less dominated by one gymnast here, with Nastia having 11 of their 27, but Simone 16 of the 2016 team's 27. However that is overcome by the 2016 team holding 5 straight world/Olympic AA titles, including both Olympic AA titles. They also hold 5 straight world/Olympic floor titles, including the 2012 and 2016 Olympic floor titles. They had 2 gymnasts return to the team and win Olympic Team Gold again, and each be part of the pre Olympic World title winning teams this in 2 straight quads too. Overall they just best the 2008 team in overall achievements already and they probably arent even done with Laurie likely to add to the haul.

2008 obviously is 2nd best here.

3rd best I would give narrowly to the 2012 team over the 1996 team now. The 2012 has 17 individual world and Olympic medals- 6 for Raisman , 4 for Ross, 3 for Maroney, 2 for Douglas, and 2 for Wieber. Team 1996 has 17 with 11 for Miller, 4 for Dawes, 1 for Chow, 1 for Moceanu. The 2012 team did this with only 5 gymnasts though, the 1996 team managed this with 7. Quite likely on a 7 women team in 2012 you have Alicia Sacramone who bumps the medal total way up beyond the 96 Mag 7. Furthermore the 96 team is too Miller heavy, which I mentioned in comparing the 2016 to 2008 teams as well, but this case ever more severely as you have only 2 gymnasts (Miller and Dawes) with multiple individual medals, and the other (Dawes) has no world/Olympic AA medals or individual golds. The 2012 team has both an Olympic and World AA Champion on it, an Olympic floor champion and Olympic AA medalist (albeit later on), a 2 time World AA medalist, and the sports dominant vaulter for a few years. The one narrow edge I see the 96 team having is 6 individual World/Olympic golds (all Miller's) vs only 5 for the 2012 team. I think overall the 2012 team soundly trumps the 96 team in sheer accomplishments, despite both having 17 individual World/Olympic medals.

2004 is obviously last here.

So in achievements:

1. 2016 U.S team
2. 2008 U.S team
3. 2012 U.S team
4. 1996 U.S team
5. 2004 U.S team

I will post my thoughts on the other 2 categories later.
womens teams- 96, 04, 08, 2012, 2016- most talented, most style, most accomplished

Thoughts on Vault

Two different things, but both relate to vault.

1. I don't know if this has been suggested before, but what would you think of doing 2 rounds for vault finals. Everybody does 1 vault, then everybody does their second vault- kind of like diving. Unless it would for some reason cause more injury, I think it would be both more interesting and actually more fair. I think it would be exciting to see gymnasts decide what to do for their 2nd vault based on how everyone did on their 1st.

2. Vaulting tie-breaks. I couldn't tell for sure from the livestream commentary, but was taking the higher vault score the first tie-break, or were other tiebreaks used first, but they remained tied so they had to go to this one?

I think if you have to break ties, taking the highest score is one of the absolute worst ways to do it as it rewards the gymast who had the lowest score (similar to 2012 AA finals). Particularly on vault because lots of gymnasts can do one great vault. The point in vault finals is to show proficiency on more than one style of vault so to cut one vault out entirely to break a tie goes against what the event final is asking for.
Thoughts on Vault

Bruno's Golden Nuggets

Apologies if these have already been posted!

"The only thing with which I don't agree with the judges, and it's a personal opinion and not a criticism -- for me the gymnastics of the second American (Raisman) is more artistic than the first (Simone Biles). The first, it's acrobatics"

"Artistic sense is related to personality but also to the morphology of the body. She (Biles) is almost like a bomb, with amazing height. Whenever she tries to make artistic movements, they seem a bit forced. But she won, and she didn't steal it."

http://ift.tt/2bB7qYF

On the Chinese-

"They've remained trapped in a robotic style of training," Grandi told AFP on Tuesday. "They're beginning to change a bit now. Those who have kept pace with the changes are the Japanese.

"They (Japan) have improved the construction of their exercises, leaving behind Eastern-style choreographies to move towards the West, that is to say more harmony, imagination, creativity. I'm not criticising Japanese culture, which is huge, but they have built a nice crowd-pleasing routine for the spectators.

"They've moved away from tradition, and the Chinese should do the same. If they stay like they are, they are robots. They are perfect on geometric lines, but eurythmy does not exist."

"I fought to raise the age (16 for women and 18 men) - the Chinese held it against me - for finishing with this form of slavery. Imagine a boy of seven or eight working seven, eight hours a day."

http://ift.tt/2bscxar
Bruno's Golden Nuggets

New Quad - Road to Tokyo 2020

With today, it is the end of one and start of a new quad. Perhaps we can discuss changes and news

1) End of the Karolyi Era

Who will replace her? Will we see drastic changes? Karolyi didn't have much say in the style of gymnastics but did have an influential role among the individual coaches. With her absence, will we see individual coaches reverting back to the old ways? Do folks think Valeri will replace her?

2) Team composition and individual qualifiers

What are the changes that will be in effect for 2020? I thought it was decided that gymnasts could qualify directly into event finals without being part of the official team of four?

3) Retirements and rising stars

I never like discussing new "it" gymnasts. How many of us actually predicted Biles, Douglas, etc.? Instead, lets talk about who is likely to remain. Is there any likelihood that Mustafina, Raisman, Douglas, Kocian will stick around for 2020? Biles, Hernandez appear to be willing to continue.
New Quad - Road to Tokyo 2020

mardi 16 août 2016

Simone Biles 2013-2016 Appreciation

I know appreciation for Simone goes without saying, but she deserves to have her own thread. At this point, I think the majority of us are beginning to take her accomplishments for granted. So here are some stats.

In World and Olympic competition, she has earned 19 medals! 14 gold (3 team), 2 silver, and 3 bronze

Her individual total is 16 medals! 11 gold, 2 silver, and 3 bronze

For CAREER achievements, this ranks her 3rd of all time in individual medals, with only Khorkina (20 medals - 11 gold) and Latynina (24 medals - 12 gold) ahead of her. And she achieved this in only 4 years of senior competition.

For the entire quad, she was on the podium for every contested event outside of bar finals, including a complete sweep of AA titles and floor titles. The maximum individual medals you could receive would be 20, and she earned 16!

Congratulations on the best quad ever, Simone Biles!

EDIT: Just saw complete stats for the quad were posted. Let me know if you guys think this thread isnt necessary.
Simone Biles 2013-2016 Appreciation

Kevin Mazeika and the U.S. Men's Program: Report Card

Kevin Mazeika was named the men’s national team coordinator in 2009. Prior to that, Kevin was the men’s team head coach for the 2004 Olympics (2nd – TF, 1st – AA, 2nd – HB) and 2008 Olympics (3rd – TF, 2nd – HB).

Since being team coordinator, the U.S. finishes have been:
2009 Worlds – no medals
2010 Worlds – 3rd AA
2011 Worlds – 3rd TF, 1st PB
2012 Olympics – 3rd AA
2013 Worlds– 2nd FX, 3rd SR, 2nd VT, 3rd PB
2014 Worlds– 3rd TF, 3rd VT, 2nd PB
2015 Worlds – 3rd VT, 2nd HB
2016 Olympics – 3rd PH, 2nd PB, 2nd HB

Kevin and the men’s program have the unbelievable task of trying to live up to Marta and the women’s program. Nonetheless, this doesn’t mean that neither Kevin nor the men’s team is not due criticism. I often spend a lot of time defending the men’s program. In Kevin’s tenure they have won two team World medals—and he led them to two team medals in 2004 and 2008. That is more than any other team in that time period except obviously China and Japan (someone may need to fact check that for me ;)). The American men are often criticized for being inconsistent as a team. I’d still argue that is not unique to them. Many of the top teams are inconsistent. Outside of Japan and China, the bronze usually comes down to who competes most consistently. (Russia really broke through that this year.)

That said, there is a LOT to criticize. For me, much of that usually is directed at Kevin, the selection committee, and the national team staff.

One thing that is often not mentioned as one of the responsibilities for the men’s NTC is that he is also responsible for the technical aspects of junior elite national team development. Along with other staff, Marta seems to do a good job of recognizing talent early and development. I know it is difficult for men because men develop much later and typically have NCAA in between. However, I’d like to see Kevin to a better job of seeking and developing that talent as early as possible and working better along side NCAA programs. I will add, I quite liked the Elite Team Cup (in conjunctions with Am Cup) this year. Great opportunity for juniors from different regions to compete along side seniors.

There is also the issue of team camps, team selection, and team line-ups.

What do you all see as the primary issues for the men’s program not achieving the success they seem more than capable of achieving? Report Card?

Kevin’s Report Card (2009-2016)
Men’s Senior National Team: B-
Men’s Junior National Team Development: C
NCAA Outreach/NCAA talent development: C-
Team selection: C
Team line-ups: B-
Team Camps: B-
Consistency: C-
Worlds Performance: B-
Olympics Performance: C+
Overall: C

I have a lot to say on the topic but trying to keep this one post concise. I'll reveal more of my thoughts as the thread develops.
Kevin Mazeika and the U.S. Men's Program: Report Card