Live Blogging Men's Olympic Trials

-There's no way Orozco and Leyva won't make it.
-Why did Tim say the scores from nationals carry over to the trials??
-Is John Orozco adopted? Anyway it was very sweet that he worked at the gym and then gave his parents the money he earned to pay the mortgage. Soooooooo sad but I'm glad he is probably going to the Olympics and getting out of poverty.
-Jonathan Horton in third. I hope he makes it back to the Olympics! I think he's the only gymnast from '08 going for London 2012.
-Andrea says Jonathan got all the guys to wear the same uniform so they can show unity and be a "proud team."
-Impressive skills but Bart Conner was better and also hotter than all these guys. And remember his press to handstand with both his hands on one of the parallel bars? They don't do stuff like that anymore.
-Good pom routine from Sam, except for one very struggled handstand
-Steve's triple back dismount is amazing! Remember when they very badly edited Jordyn Randall doing a triple back dismount off uneven bars for Make It Or Break It? Haha #notpossible
Tim: "This kid, I don't know how he does this, he's just got special ninja powers" Okay Tim.
-Tim just said Jake's fall from the horse "doesn't mean anything" WRONG if someone gets hurt they might have to use him! So while he's not planning on competing horse, he may end up having to, so it still factors in a bit.
-Leyva was absolutely hilarious sitting completely under his towel.
-I DO NOT understand this new scoring system. If someone does a practically flawless routine they usually receive AT LEAST 8 tenths in deductions! WTF! In the old scoring system, a routine like that would get only one or two tenths off.
-Mistake from Horton on high bar kills his score. I hope he still makes the team! His flips are amazing.
-I cannot wait to see who makes this team!

Most Useful Gymnasts

Based on the Secret Classic, Visa Champs, and tonight's competition, I have made a list of the 3 most useful gymnasts in my opinion on each event, keeping in mind the way international judges usually score. I know only 5 can make the team, but these are IMO the 3 most useful on each event:

Vault: McKayla Maroney, Elizabeth Price, Jordyn Wieber

Bars: Gabby Douglas, Kyla Ross, Anna Li

Beam: Jordyn Wieber, Gabby Douglas, Sarah Finnegan

Floor: Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Jordyn Wieber

AA: Jordyn Wieber, Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas

I am predicting only one of Finnegan or Ross makes it, and only one of Maroney or Price makes it. Jordyn, Aly, and Gabby are locks. Li's bars is great, but only being good for that one event Marta won't take her.

Olympic Trials Women Night 1 Results

Gymnast: V, UB, BB, FX, AA (In order of Olympic chances, IN MY OPINION)

Jordyn Wieber: 15.9, 15.35, 15.05, 15.4, 61.7

Gabby Douglas: 15.8, 15.25, 14.9, 15.45, 61.4

Aly Raisman: 15.55, 14.2, 14.95, 15.6, 60.3

Elizabeth Price: 16.05, 14.5, 14.15, 14.9, 59.6


Kyla Ross: 14.5, 15.5, 14.9, 14.5, 59.4

McKayla Maroney: 16.1, 13.35, 13.65, 15.2, 58.3

Nastia Liukin: _, 14.5, 14.15, _

Anna Li: _, 15.5, 13.1, _

Sarah Finnegan: 15, 14.4. 15.1, 14.55, 59.05

Sacramone: 15.7, _, 15, _

Rebecca Bross: _, 15.3, 12.05, _

Brenna Dowell: 14.9, 14.25, 14, 14.1, 57.25

Sabrina Vega: 14.25, 13.15, 14.25, 14.35, 56

Kennedy Baker: 14.65, 13.9, 13, 14.6, 56.15

*Bridget Sloan withdrew from the Trials with a shoulder injury

U.S. Olympic Trials: Quick Recap Night 1

-Nastia bent her knees to avoid a fall on bars, and then sat down a double front dismt for a 14.05
-Jordyn Wieber in first with Gabby trailing by 3 tenths, and Aly in third with a 60.3 for third. I think these three are still locks for the team.
-As usual McKayla had the best individual score of the night with a 16.1 for her Amanar on vault, but she was otherwise shaky, with a fall on both beam and bars. Her mistakes have opened the door for Elizabeth Price, another great vaulter, to possibly make the team.
-Bridget Sloan fell on a release while training bars a little before the competition started, and ended up at the hospital with an injured elbow. She withdrew from the trials.
-Kyla Ross did well tonight with the exception of a few missed beam connections. This didn't hurt her much though because I don't think anyone had a clean beam routine tonight! Wobbles and missed connections were all over the place.
-Rebecca only scored a 15.3 for her bars, and then fell on the Patterson. Sad to see a gymnast who started out as the star of this quad fizzle out after that terrible vault injury at the 2010 Visa Champs.

No other major suprises. I can't wait to see if Nastia finally hits a bar routine (tomorrow night will be her last chance), and to see what Elizabeth Price will do. She actually has a real shot at the team right now.

Olympic Trials TONIGHT! OMG

The Olympic trials start tonight and I will be LIVE TWEETING here: https://twitter.com/

I cannot wait for this! Unfortunately I may have a conflict on Sunday for the finals because I am going to the Braves, but hopefully I will be home in time to watch live. Maybe someone can post it on youtube (doubtful) or send it to me????

Anyway, here are a few more thoughts about what I've seen from podium training and my predictions:

-First off, I think there are a few people who should even be here. The obvious team is Wieber, Maroney, Douglas, Ross, and Raisman. Nastia, Anna Li, or Rebecca could possibly throw a wrench into things if their bars are SPECTACULAR, and Alicia I think has a it of a shot as well. Other than them though and mayyyybe Finnegan, nobody else here in my opinion has any chance at the team SO WHY ARE THEY HERE??? I don't know why USA Gymnastics felt the need to invite the ENTIRE national team but whatever.

-Nastia's bars looks fine in podium training, she has made it through whole routines with the dismount. Daddy's helping a lot on the pak and Geinger though, so I still think Nastia's bars could go either way.

-I don't know what Sloan is thinking. Her start values are very low and I honestly don't think she has a shot. How is she thinking she's going to make this team??

-Li's bars are looking exceptionally good in podium training but I doubt she'll make it. Her execution is not consistent.

-Bross's Patterson looks good! Seems like she has worked through the issues in the two weeks following Visas. Valeri has obviously had a plan and I have funny feeling that she miigghht just slip in there and make the team.

SWIMMING TRIALS are also tonight, starting at 7:00 ET on NBC! I will be watching this as well to see the hot Phelps and Lochte. Then WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS TRIALS NIGHT 1 starts at 9:00!

2012 US Olympic Trials! THOUGHTS

Alright so I am sitting here watching these podium training vids, and Jordyn looks as solid as ever. Besides, she could fall on her ass and still make the team I think. I saw John making her do situps during Kyla's floor; I hope she doesn't push too hard and then not be 100% for the Olympics.

Rebecca Bross hasn't gone for a dismount, but the rest of her beam looks solid as usual. Can't wait to see how her dismount goes. She is the same old Rebecca on bars, but I have noticed she starts turning her pirouettes before she hits the handstand, is that a deduction? Nastia's beam looks fine, her double and a half layout off actually looks better than it has lately. She also did a few very high dismounts on bars that looked great, I just hope she can hold it together for the rest of her routine so she's not too tired to do it!

Kyla looks good on bars and beam as well, and her floor is pretty, although only a 5.5 D score. She and Nastia are the ones I think are really on the fence of making it or not. Things could go either way, but I am rooting for both!

After missing half of nationals after she crashed on a triple full on floor in training, McKayla's beam and bars look fine. The only event she really wows on though is vault, and I'm wondering whether that will be enough to get her onto the team. We shall see.

Marta BETTER NOT put Alicia Sacramone on this team! Her beam looks pretty average and I feel that with so many Amanars we don't need her vault. She's certainly not in contention for an individual medal. And is she doing floor or not? I also just watched Bridget's beam and there's no chance she makes this team. Not that there's anything wrong with her routines, there's just nothing we particularly need her for.

Aly's routines are difficult but I don't think the international judges will like her look. I think the only way she will win any individual medals is if someone else messes up. It will be interesting to see whether Martha lets her go for the all-around.

More later.

Gym Body Part 2: Height

So tallness is obviously considered a very bad thing for a gymnast most of the time. I am 5'3 now, and during gymnastics both during my older and younger years I was always criticized for being too tall, legs being too long, etcetera. I actually started believing that I was tall even just for an average person!

However, a few gymnasts have busted through this stereotype, especially Nastia Liukin and Svetlana Khorkina.

Nastia

At the time of the Beijing Olympics, Nastia was 5'3, and I think the tallest on the team. While small people like Shawn Johnson and the Chinese were very successful, Nastia beat them all! Being small and compact is obviously an aid, and Nastia did have to take out her double layout flyaway and make other adjustments because of her height, but it is amazing that someone her height was able to win gold in the AA and beat even the tiniest girls. 

Khorkina

Khorkina is even more amazing. She was 5'5 when she placed second in the AA at Athens in the 2004. So obviously you don't have to be extra short to compete successfully.

While Liukin and Khorkina obviously learned their difficult skills while their bodies were smaller, the fact that they were still able to perform so well and be competitive with midgets like Carly and Shawn is amazing and proves that when it comes to gymnastics, height is not everything. What do you think?

Gym Body Debate Part 1: Puberty

My observations and also personal thoughts on some heavily debated issues regarding the ideal gymnastics body.

The first thing I want to talk about is the ridiculous idea many people have that the onset of puberty ends or at least lessens a gymnast's chances of success. I personally was told at the age of 14 by my coach that another girl deserved to be on a higher level than me because she hadn't started puberty. Let me say that I think anyone with common sense can agree that surplus body fat and sometimes extra inches of height negatively impact performance. But a healthy gymnastics body weight can most certainly be maintained by someone past puberty with the proper training and nutrition. Granted a favorable BMI is much more easily achieved and maintained in prepubescent gymnasts, but just look at Nadia Comaneci and Svetlana Khorkina. Comaneci peaked at her first Olympics well before puberty, while Khorkina did not achieve her greatest success until much later. Two of the greatest gymnasts of all time who had their highest achievements at dramatically different stages in their physical development.

 Comaneci, age 14, All-Around Gold 1976.

Khorkina, age 25, All-Around Silver 2004.

At 25, Khorkina was obviously well past puberty during the 2004 Olympics. It's very disappointing that so many coaches senselessly give up on girls and make them feel worthless as soon as they even start to approach it. This is not to say that the typical weight gain experienced by most teens during puberty should be allowed to occur. But for a seriously training gymnast this should not even be a concern. The rigorous physical activity should be enough to keep a gymnast's BMI down while she continues to grow and build muscle. 

Another example of a very successful but very obviously post-pubescent gymnast is Alicia Sacramone. Please look at her boobs for goodness sake and then tell me that no one past puberty can succeed in gymnastics. 

Yet another example that puberty does not have to mean an end to gymnastics success is 27 year old Beth Tweddle, who has a very likely shot of making the British team for London 2012.

The 27 year old Tweddle performs her world-class uneven bars routine.

My list of very successful and capable post-pubescent modern-day gymnasts could go on. The point I want to make is that a gymnast's success is determined by how well she maintains her BMI through training and nutrition rather than by her stage of development.

I Officially HATE Martha Karolyi

Several of Martha Karolyi's decisions and things she has done have upset me, but as a fan of gymnastics I have always assumed that she knows best. After all, she is a legendary success who has coached gymnasts to Olympic gold.

When Martha left two-time world champion Hollie Vise off the 2004 Olympic team after Hollie fell at a selection camp, I was upset. When Martha made Alicia Sacramone, who fell twice in Beijing and cost the U.S. the gold, team captain, I was very upset. Alicia should not even have made this team, much less been named team captain. Martha's camps are supposed to let her see he is showing readiness, and Alicia was most definitely not ready. But what made me absolutely furious is what she did to Anna Li at the 2011 Worlds in Tokyo.

The Couch Gymnast

Let me explain: The team of six was chosen, which included Alicia Sacramone. Anna Li was brought along as an alternate because of her superior bars. Even though Anna had the potential to greatly help the team score and stop them from having to use 3 quite bad bar routines (Jordyn Wieber scored the best on the team for goodness sake!) Martha chose to put Alicia on this team. Who promptly showed up to Podium Training, ruptured her Achilles's tendon, and flew straight home. I understand she was hurt but if she wasn't even able to stick around long enough to support the team and watch then Anna Li should have been added immediately! She should have been added even if Alicia was able to stay and cheer! But Martha chose not to add Anna to the team so that useless Alicia could keep the spot. Martha risked the team gold, which the girls managed to win by some miracle, by competing 3 struggled bar routines rather than putting Anna Li in a perfectly available spot. Ridiculous! What would Martha have done if one or two of the five remaining gymnasts had gotten injured during the competition? And then, to rub salt in Anna's wounds, Martha forced her to go onto the podium and accept the sixth medal on behalf of Alicia. 

I can only imagine what a horrible feeling that must have been to go up onto the podium and accept that medal for Alicia, AFTER sitting through the competition watching Jordyn's and everyone else's horrible bars.  I cannot believe that Martha would stop this poor girl from earning her first and very likely ONLY world medal so that Alicia can have her TENTH!

If this is not how it went down at worlds then let me know, but to the best of my knowledge this is exactly what happened and even though it happened last October it still makes me fume. I would like to hope that Alicia at least let Anna keep the physical medal but I doubt that happened.

Supposedly the reason Martha did this was because she hates Shannon Miller for being better than Kim Zmeskal, and she wanted someone, who just happened to be Sacramone, to beat Shannon's record of the most world medals.

If all this makes you as angry as it does me, here's a picture of Nadia and Bart both looking sexy AF to make you feel better.

My Olympic Team

Alright so Nationals are over, and the following girls made the new National Team (and also qualified to Trials):

• Jordyn Wieber, DeWitt, Mich., Gedderts’ Twistars USA
• Gabby Douglas, Virginia Beach, Va., Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute
• Aly Raisman, Needham, Mass., Brestyan's American Gymnastics
• Kyla Ross, Aliso Viejo, Calif., Gym-Max Gymnastics
• Elizabeth Price, Coopersburg, Pa., Parkettes National Gymnastics Center
• Sarah Finnegan, St. Louis, Mo., Great American Gymnastics Express
• Sabrina Vega, Carmel, NY, Dynamic Gymnastics
• Kennedy Baker, Flower Mound, Texas, Texas Dreams Gymnastics
• Brenna Dowell, Odessa, Mo., Great American Gymnastics Express
• Bridget Sloan, Pittsboro, Ind., Sharp’s Gymnastics
• McKayla Maroney, Long Beach, Calif., All Olympia Gymnastics Center
• Alicia Sacramone, Winchester, Mass., Brestyan's American Gymnastics
• Rebecca Bross, Plano, Texas, WOGA
• Anna Li, Naperville, Ill., Legacy Elite
• Nastia Liukin, Parker, Texas, WOGA

I must say I'm a little surprised with almost all the spots going to the previous National team. Is Brenna the only new girl to make it? Also why can there only be like 4 juniors? Whatever. I want to talk about which of these girls I think will make the Olympic team for London 2012:

Jordyn Wieber, the back-to-back National champ, is a lock for sure. A major injury is the only thing that can stop her at this point. Which I am afraid will happen, I have to admit. And since her worst is bars, which is the easiest event to do while injured (except for shoulders of course), she won't make the team at all if an injury does happen. 

 

Obviously Martha will put the "flying squirrel" on the team. While Gabby's a great gymnast and invaluable on bars, she gets a little more credit than she deserves. Her inconsistency on beam scares me; she seems like the type of gymnast to crumble under the pressure of the Olympic stage. I can see her pulling a McCool at the games. And she was ridiculously overscored at nationals. But yes, no doubt that she will be on this team.

Raisman was the the U.S.'s second all-arounder along with Jordyn at worlds, and I predict she will be our second all-arounder in London. Gabby, while placing second to Jordyn at Visas, was grossly overscored and like I said she's too inconsistent. Like Jordyn, only a major disaster will stop this girl being on that team. Even with her bad (by an int'l elite standards) bars, her consistency makes her invaluable. Martha knows she can count on Aly to hit.

Kyla Ross, while she doesn't get much attention, is just what I think Martha will realize the team needs: someone capable of the all-around with decent bars. These two qualities plus her impressive performances lately should be enough to get her onto the team.

Yes I am predicting that Nastia makes the team. I have estimated McKayla and Nastia, who are both really only useful for one event, to be eachother's biggest competition throughout the process, and probably would have predicted this last spot going to Maroney if it wasn't for her injury. Not that it will actually interfere with her performance, but because her crash on a triple full (even though it was just during podium training) showed Martha that she has consistency issues. That paired with how much faith Martha has professed to have in Nastia makes me think the spot will go to her. In spite of her struggled bars at nationals, I think Martha will give Nastia right up until the Olympics to ready her routine.

More on the Chellsie Thing

Alright so I don't want to upset anyone and I respect Chellsie's past accomplishments and see her for the great gymnast she is. However, everyone keeps comparing Chellsie and Nastia and they shouldn't. What happened with Chellsie is totally different.

To recap: Chellsie Memmel, because of a hurt shoulder, attempts to petition through to Visa Nationals. After competing only on beam where she fell twice and received an 11.95, Martha and the cop deny her petition. Chellsie's fans are livid and blow up the internet for a couple of days. Chellsie accepts a role in the Kellog's Tour of Champions.

So Friday Chellsie shows up to time beam at Nationals, complaining on twitter about how weird it feels wearing a suit instead of a leotard. She later posts on twitter "Disappointed", probably in response to the news that Nastia has made it through to Trials after having her petition to Nationals accepted. Well guess what Chellsie?! Nastia is a) capable of staying on the apparatus and scoring above an 11.95 on her events, and b) the REIGNING OLYMPIC CHAMPION for goodness sake! She has already showed that her mental focus and ability to rise up in the biggest pressure moments is invaluable.

No one is saying Nastia deserves to automatically be placed on the team, but she certainly has more right to be in the running than Chellsie. If Chellsie was honestly that commited to her comeback she would have at least showed up to Classics looking somewhat fit.

Yeah she's in great shape of a person, but for a gymnast she looks heavier and nowhere near her former shape.

And 2 falls? PLEASE. Everyone comparing this to the Nastia thing should take a look at Nastia's scores and compare them to Chellise's ELEVEN. Nastia did her job, stayed on the beam, and scored over a 14. Chellsie did not.

Simple as that.

-Valeri and Nastia look seriously distressed and sad. And I bet the whole thing is stressful for Rebecca as well. I'm starting to think WOGA might not have any Olympian this year.
-Sacramone looks okay but again I don't see a spot for her to be used on this team.
-I want Bart and Nadia commentating instead of these idiots. Even Nadia with her accent would be better than these fools.
-Jordyn wins as I thought Nastia might not go to trials but I bet she probably will Valeri can't stand the thought of not having an Olympian why are Martha and Terin like hugging so much lol okay I don't get what is so special about the cop. I will write more later.

Third Quarter of Visa Champs

-Interesting watching these moms talk!
-Tim and Elfie's Olympic team predictions board is a chaotic mess and I'm not paying attention. They're wrong anyway, LOL. "McKayla Maroney went down on vault" no she didn't it was floor Tim you idiot.
-LOL Al to Tim: "Did you just say that?" LMFAO!
-Aly "I looked up and saw my mom" um not an excuse.
-Good floor from Kyla except for that horrible leap. Dance on floor is going downhill and start to look like men's routines.
-"It'll be just a tenth" Oh Tim you are a judge now?
-Sloan almost fell off the floor.
-I think there's no way Bridget or Alicia makes this team.

Visa Championships: Hits at Halftime

-Loving this fluff of Kyla Ross and wanting her on the team more and more, but did she hit her feet on the dismount Elfie just called "great"?
-Raisman will never get that close to Wieber internationally. Remember when Shawn trailed Nastia by SIX whole tenths in the Beijing all-around, all because of Nastia's prettier look? Aly with worse form as well as lower difficulty, which was never even an issue for Shawn, will not make it that close to Wieber at all. Jordyn's no Nastia but she's more than two tenths better than Aly.
-OMG Gabby's weave is killing me lol. But I love the American wannabe music
-Wishing Aly would point her dang toes! She's flexing almost like she's scared of hitting her heels
-Kyla misses her first connection on beam, pretty uncharacteristic.
-Jordyn missing beam connections. Stays on though. I think she might have the best beam of the night. I love how Geddert stays so calm.
-Sarah Finnegan's so good, but if I had to call it I say she won't make this team, mainly because of her lacking international experience. She's so similar to Kyla. I'm hoping she sticks it out for another quad. OMG that comment about "she says that she would like to win the AA at the OLYMPIC GAMES." Whattabitch.
-Ouch and Sarah's off the bars.Btw Al's black gloves are back. I'd call that dismount stuck. What a shame.
-I HATE how Tim always says "I don't know why she didn't hold on, her hands look like they're around, I've watched it over and over, etc." anytime anyone's hands slip off bars. IT'S BECAUSE THEY GRABBED BY THE TIP OF THEIR GRIPS SO THE DOWEL IS BARELY AROUND INSTEAD OF THE GRIP WRAPPING AROUND THE BAR AT THE CENTER OF THE PALM. Tim you are dumb.
-It's Shawn! I predicted she'd show up!
-Not sure but looked like Nastia had tears as the gymnasts marched to their next event.
-For some reason I hate they always announce Shawn as "Olympic gold medalist". Not sure what I'm expecting them to call her LOL but I'm pretty sure it leads most of the population to believe that Shawn was AA champion.

Hit-by-Hit Blog of the Visa Champs Day 2! First Quarter

-Why is McKayla not competing?
-Nastia in a split looking anxious. LET'S GOOOO!
-Nastia's gorgeous sparkly warmups and leo>>>>>>>>>>>>
-99% sure Nastia won't do her dismount
-Pretty good vault from Alicia but no chance for the team without an Amanar when there are already 3 good ones
-LOL at Bridget squirting the water in her mouth. Good luck ritual?
-Glad Rebecca at least didn't crash on the Patterson. Theory about why she keeps doing this scary dismount: Valeri knows she won't make the team crashing on it, but that she probably won't make it without the points from this difficult dismount either so he figures she might as well go for it.
-Kyla nails bars and Martha likes it. I don't see Terin the Cop yet.
-Gabby off beam. Yikes. And international judges won't take those connections. I'm actually a little glad she fell  just for Nastia's sake. And watching it back I think she could have saved that.
-Good bars from Jordyn, stick her double layout but misses a few handstands. I love her bow.
-Nastia nearly sticks the dismount and makes it in time, but so sad for her hand on the beam:( LOL sorry gymtruthteller.)
-Wow Valeri looks stressed tonight. Probably worrying he might not have any Olympians this time around. WHERE is Yevgeny Marchenko during all this?
-WTF is the huge brown splotch on Terin's face.
-OMG McKayla scary crash to her back while tumbling in warmups and taken to the hospital with signs of concussion! Hoping she's okay. Yikes.
-Alright so Nastia does NOT deserve such a low score as Gabby for Goodness sake. Gabby fell all the way OFF. And her lines are just plain ugly. Whatever Nastia will wow on bars. Fingers crossed!

Shawn Johnson Retirement Montage

Because of Shawn Johnson's sudden retirement I have decided to make this video about her. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uyd7w-XPRN8&feature=plcp

Visa Champs Day 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=Fo-R4VXUZek One of my favorite youtubers, NastiaFan101take6 has kindly uploaded night 1 of the competition in its entirety. Watch it here and get ready for the finals at 4pm EASTERN TIME.

Dominique Moceanu Has a Secret Sister? (Really?)

So Dominique Moceanu claimed revealed on 20/20 last night that she has a  younger sister who was given up for adoption after parents Dmitru and Camilla discovered that she had no legs. No disrespect but this story is simply too difficult for me to believe. The reporter says this mystery sister was born the day after Dominique's sixth birthday, and yet Dominique never knew that her mother was expecting a baby, or noticed her enormous pregnant belly maybe? And that the fact that it is coming out perfectly timed for the release of Dominique's new book Off Balance makes it even shadier. Here's a picture of Dominique Moceanu, her sister Christina, and hired lookalike their long lost sister Jennifer.

I'll admit this story isn't totally impossible but it's quite a longshot. And with Dominique's history of making false claims (such as the Amy Chow lesbian seduction allegations) I just can't quite believe this is true. This long-lost sister thing is turning into a trend! Remember this?  http://www.tmz.com/2011/01/24/oprah-winfrey-show-secret-sister-adoption-foster-home-mother/ And for the record, I never believed Oprah either.

VISA CHAMPS THOUGHTS: NIGHT 1

So Night 1 Nationals just wrapped up, and it was a big disappointment for 08 Olympic AA champs Nastia Liukin. She faltered on bars but then redeemed herself on beam to post a 15.1, the third best score of the night. I'm also kinda wondering why WOGA repeated the same hot pink leos from Classics?

Gabby in the meantime I think surprised everyone but me. Ever since I saw her beat Jordyn in Madison Square Garden (even if it was at the Scam Cup) I've known she has something special. She and Jordyn are all tied up for night 1. Could things get anymore exciting!? I was happy to see Jordyn hit bars, and heard her coach John Geddert say "freaking finally!" LOL love him.

McKayla Maroney vaulted GREAT as usual but bars was a bit of a disaster. I'm hoping she'll make this team cause she's a sure shot for an individual gold while a team gold isn't guaranteed, but I think with vault being the only place she really shines, her status is still questionable.

All around, everyone did pretty well and there were no more major surprises. Bridget's bar routine was a little shocking and I was happy for her. She absolutely peaked the year after the Olympics which sucks and I"m kinda pulling for her, even though I have so many other favorites I want on this Olympic team!

Nastia vs. Rebecca

So we have two girl in the same gym with the SAME COACH both trying to make this 5 member Olympic team. You have to know there is some drama going on behind the scenes. And what do you think is going through Coach Valeri's head? He knows both these girls, who are BOTH competing only beam and bars, won't both make it. And I'm sure he can't help pulling a little harder for his cash cow and own daughter Nastia.

Even though Rebecca in my opinion is no where near deserving of an Olympic spot (girl can't even land her beam dismount), you have to feel a little bad for her always being in Nastia's shadow. I'm sure she feel a little ignored by Valeri. Look at Valeri watching Rebecca train for this weekend's Visa Champs. He just doesn't seem to care what the hell she's doing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkksxyGxz-g I predict that Nastia will make it over Rebecca and she will be crushed. And I will feel a little bad for her. I just  think trying to get two Olympians on the five person team is too much for one coach to handle. He has to prioritize one gymnast over the other, even if he's doing it subconsciously, and in this case it's Nastia.

I am wondering whatever happened to Yevgeny Marchenko? Why can't he help Rebecca while Valeri helps Nastia? That would seem to level the playing field a little. What do you think?

VISA PREDICTIONS: PART II

MORE THOUGHTS ON MAJOR PLAYERS:

Gabby Douglas: From what I've seen of podium training so far, her vault will be solid. I predict a great bars set but she'll wobble at least once on beam. She'll go through to trials for sure but making that team for London will prove a bit tougher.

Alicia Sacramone: Since dropping floor, vault was the only thing she was really good for. And with no Amanar, she's really not very useful even on that anymore. I think if Alicia is healthy enough to hit, she'll make it to trials but I don't see a spot for her on this team.

McKayla Maroney: Makes everyone else cry with her Amanar, as usual. I predict she'll have an otherwise pretty solid meet; I hope she holds it together on beam. I'm telling you Martha BETTER put her on this team! With the U.S. never taking gold since '96 before Martha was in power, what makes Martha think they can suddenly do it now? McKayla's vault can help the team for sure and her vault is a guaranteed gold.

Bridget Sloan: Can she even really be considered one of the major players in this event? She's been out so long I'm just worried she won't be able to pull it all together for this meet. Hard to believe she was the world AA Champion just a few years ago. Sadly, she just peaked at the wrong time.

VISA CHAMPIONSHIPS PREDICTIONS

MY PREDICTIONS FOR THE MAJOR PLAYERS:

Shawn: Will show up to watch, be swarmed with media and autograph requests, and cause general hype which will take most of the focus off the actual gymnasts.

Nastia: This could go one of two ways. I predict that Nastia will show a solid beam routine a la Secret Classic. Bars will be where she sinks or swims. Nastia will have to blow everyone away to make it to trials and especially Olympics. I think her bars will be either spectacular, or she will crash and burn.

Rebecca Bross: Falls again if she goes for the same ridiculous Patterson dismount. If she makes it to trials, it will be by the skin of her teeth. (The dynamic with her, Nastia, and Valeri in the gym has to be weird. I guarantee only one out of Nastia and Bross makes the team for London. )

Kyla Ross: Stuns everyone. Performs spectacularly. Throws a wrench into Martha's selection process. I think that as of now Kyla 100% deserves to be on this team.

Jordyn Wieber: She'll win it if she can hold it together on bars. I think that barring any disasters, Jordyn's a lock. Same for Aly, as long as Martha doesn't screw her over for someone else.

STAY TUNED: More predictions coming tomorrow!;)

Shawn's Retirement

MY THOUGHTS ON SHAWN'S RETIREMENT


I'm a bit late posting on this, but Shawn's decision to retire actually surprised me a little. While her failure to make the 2011 world team and general struggles during the 2011 meet season showed the detrimental impact of her knee injury, I really thought Shawn had one more Olympics in her.

The fire and spark she has always shown in her performances showed her fighting spirit, and her willingness to do anything to win. While she displayed great sportsmanship throughout the 2008 Olympics, going into the all-around as the favorite to win and coming up 6 tenths short was obviously a major disappointment.

With Shawn's first Olympics occurring the year she turned 16, she was perfectly positioned for a second Olympic cycle. After all, Nastia will be 22 going into her second Olympics (if she makes it), and Svetlana Khorkina was 25 when she won silver in Athens. But of course, I have never had a torn ACL, MCL, or miniscus, so I have no idea what those injuries feel like. The pain and weakness caused by the skiing accident on top of the necessity that she train less, apparently made the Olympic comeback impossible. Which makes me wonder if Shawn knew all along that she wasn't coming back. Her appearance and media summit makes it obvious that she wanted in on the Olympic hype and sponsorship opportunities. This is also why I think she left her retirement announcement so late, waiting right up until the start of Visas to tell everyone. And you can't really blame her for milking a career which was done by age 20 for all it was worth.

Shawn's retirement will definitely make the Visas a lot less exciting. And with Shawn out, I am convinced that Nastia is the only '08 team member with any hope of making a second Olympics.

I Love Nadia Comaneci

Random post for today: WHY I LOVE NADIA COMANECI


Expect lots of my posts on this blog to be about Nadia Comaneci, the greatest gymnast of all time.

If you have been living under a rock, or if you are a child, you might not know that Nadia Comaneci was the first gymnast in Olympic history to achieve a score of 10.0. Since no competitors were expected to receive a perfect score, the scoreboard could not even accommodate the perfect score and flashed a 1.00 which confused everyone, especially Nadia. Nadia went on to score six more 10.0s in those 1976 Olympic games, and won five medals, three of them gold. She won two more gold and 2 silver medals in Moscow, bringing her Olympic medal count to 9.

The reason I love Nadia, besides here remarkable success in gymnastics, is because of her attitude. She seems to be one of the only, if not THE only, elite gymnast who has not gone media crazy after succeeding in major competition. I have never had the honor to meet her personally, but in every interview I have ever watched, Nadia seems completely humble and almost surprised with her success. It is obvious that she never went into a competition expecting anything or thinking she was better than everyone else. She stated in one interview that she felt she received that first 10 not because her performance was the greatest ever, but simply because the judges felt she had performed better than a previous gymnast who they had given a 9.95, and Nadia had performed a bit better. She also mentioned that one of her teammates had also scored a perfect 10, and that she didn't understand why she was the one to receive all of the attention.

The OTHER thing that I think is so great and special about Nadia is she is one of the only elite gymnasts who has stayed fit! So many gymnasts turn into fat pigs almost immediately upon retiring. But Nadia is still looking super fit!

So this is why I am currently obsessing over the best gymnast of all time, Nadia Comaneci.

Here is a picture of the beautiful and perfect Comaneci.

Chellsie Memmel: DENIED!

WHAT I THINK OF THE CHELLSIE MEMMEL FIASCO

I realize that I am a bit late posting on this, but I wanted to share my thoughts on Chellsie Memmel petitioning to Nationals, competing one event and falling twice at Classics, and then being denied to compete at Nationals. 

Well first off, I do not know what Chellsie was even thinking trying to qualify to Visas and Olympic trials in the first place. I guess it is always hard for a gymnast to come to terms with the fact that their elite career, which has been their entire life, is over. Injured Chellsie obviously did not have a prayer of making the Olympic team, and I'm sure she realized that. However, due to the huge sacrifices she has made for the good of Team USA over the years, I believe that she should have been given the chance to compete at Nationals simply as a gesture of goodwill by USA Gymnastics. They should have shown respect to this standout gymnast who has done so much for USAG over the years. 

And I think it might have gone that way, had Chellsie not refused to attend Marta Karolyi's monthly team training camps. I for one am actually a bit surprised that Chellsie was allowed to remain on the nationals team after apparently not having attended a camp in several years. I feel that while what happened to Chellsie is sad and a bit unfair, it is not surprising. People have referenced Shawn Johnson's petition to Nationals in 2011, which was accepted even after she fell twice at Classics just like Chellsie. However, Shawn was attending camps. And in my opinion, that's what made the difference.