Well, well, well. it looks as if the US is sending Gabby and Maggie to the American Cup and not Simone. Simone is being sent to the Pac Rim in April. Very interesting . . .
Deciding to retire from elite gymnastics has been one of the most difficult decisions I have made in my life, but I feel my time as an elite gymnast has come to an end. I truly love the sport of gymnastics and I am so fortunate to have been able to accomplish my dreams with the help of USA Gymnastics and all of its staff.
"Having the opportunity to represent the U.S. through gymnastics has been an experience I will always cherish. I hope to still inspire young gymnasts as I transition to collegiate gymnastics and this next chapter in my life."
This bodes well for Laurie and Aly, but I still think Raisman is pretty useless these days.
My current US Oly team is Biles, Douglas, Nichols, Hernandez, Kocian (Skinner, alternate)
Best of luck in your future endeavors, Kyla. You had an enviable elite career!
I've been so out of the loop... Can someone update me on Team Russia, please?
Well, Grishina retired. A-fan was treated for ankle problems in Germany. Sprio’s working on upgrades for bars. Ailya is still on the mend after her knee surgery in Nov. Vika says she hopes to make the rounds at all the big meets before Rio and plans to retire after the Olympics. Maria Kharenkova is competing next month at Glasgow World Cup.
Douglas Wins the American Cup . . . Officially this time. Some of you may remember the first time she "won" it four years ago. Gabby competed the American Cup in 2012, but not as an official competitor. Though she got to perform in front of the international judges, her scores did not count because she was entered as an alternate. When all was said and done, Gabby's scores were the highest AA, but since she was not officially competing, the title went to Jordyn Wieber.
Feast your eyes on this beam routine! She was absolutely solid!
For the first time since, maybe 2012, Gabby broke 60 in the AA. The nickname for the American Cup is the Scam Cup, because it's kind of like a homecoming game where Americans usually dominate. So, what I'm hoping is that Gabby will compete abroad soon to see if she can get an AA total that high when she's not on US soil. In post meet interviews, Gabby said that she was improving, despite not showing any ugraded routines at this meet, and yet still scored a 60. So, if she's got upgrades planned like getting her Amanar vault back . . . Look out!
Now, there's an old fable in American gymnastics, which says that if an American is going to win the Olympic AA, she must first win the American Cup in the Olympic year. Mary Lou won it before she won the Olympic AA in 1984. Carly Patterson won it before she won the Olympic AA in 2004. Nastia Liukin won it before she won the Olympic AA in 2008, and technically (albeit unofficially), Gabby Douglas won the American Cup before she won the Olympic AA in 2012.
I said in a previous post that Simone not being sent to the American Cup was "very interesting" and the Olympic AA/American Cup connection was why. It is a rarity for the top ranked American in the Olympic year to not open her season at the American Cup, but Simone seems to be bucking that trend.
This meet will likely be webcast on the Italian gymnastics federation's youtube page this Saturday at around . . . I don't know. I think it was like noon-ish last year. I'll update when I know for certain.
That girl standing next to Gabby is Ashton Locklear. She and the girl who got the most face time in the Under Armour commercial (Uneven Bars World Champ, Madison Kocian) are battling for the same spot on the Olympic team. So, everyone's going to be on pins and needles seeing if Ashton has upgraded her bars set since coming back from her most recent surgery.
This will also likely be the senior international debut of, New Jersey's finest, the reigning Junior National Champion, Miss Laurie Hernandez. She is extremely entertaining and one of my picks for the Olympic team. Her beam is exquisite, and no one works it out on floor exercise quite like she does.
Too bad Gabby's back leg isn't bent enough and she doesn't show enough ring shape to get credit if she was a no name gymnast from a non-powerhouse country, but since it's Gabby they'll give her credit no matter how she performs it
I'm interested in how Locklear, Raisman, and Hernandez score though. It's possible that those three could all make the Rio team, or that none of those will make it at all.
So, a lot has transpired over the last two weeks for Team USA:
Many an eyebrow was raised when the team for last weekend's Pacific Rim Championships was announced, with Brenna Dowell making the cut. For those who don't know, Dowell made the last World Championship team, after having counted falls at all of the major summer competitions leading up to Worlds. Then, when she got to World's, she fell off the uneven bars again.
Dowell did well in competition on Saturday night, only to fall off the bars again on Sunday during the event finals. I'm really hoping that Marta Karolyi is finally done with her. There are too many other girls who have way better track records.
Maggie Nichols, who is considered to be the third best AA gymnast in the US, and a fairly safe bet to make the Rio team has suffered a torn meniscus. She should be out of surgery by now and is expected to resume full training in 4-6 weeks. This injury sounds serious, but 08' Olympian, Bridget Sloan, underwent the same procedure and bounced back in time to make the team.
Team USA women took gold on all events, except vault.
Simone Biles won the AA, per usual, but instead of competing in the event finals that she qualified for and could have easily won, Biles withdrew after the AA.
2012 Olympian, Aly Raisman had a splendid showing, and will probably punch a ticket to her second Olympics, if Maggie doesn't bounce back.
My girl, Laurie, did the damn thing, especially on bars and beam, which are where she would likely be utilized when/should she make the Olympic team.
The scoring for the meet was really high, a bit inflated for the US girls, if you ask me. It's almost like you can't trust the US scores unless they are competing abroad.
As of now, the US team for Rio looks like . . .
Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, (Aly Raisman or Maggie Nichols), (Ashton Locklear or Madison Kocian), Laurie Hernandez.
Now, all eyes move to Rio for the Olympic Test event, going down this weekend, as the Romanian team tries to dodge a bullet and qualify a team to the Games. Stay tuned . . .
Simone withdrew? Is she tired of winning everything?
I saw her new floor routine. I don't know. I think I like her old one better but it could be the new music that is throwing me.
Simone withdrew? Is she tired of winning everything?
I saw her new floor routine. I don't know. I think I like her old one better but it could be the new music that is throwing me.
Personally, I think Simone sat out event finals because it was Sunday, and Sunday is usually her day off. Laurie sat out Sunday's beam final, as well. I think Maggie's injury has everyone shook. She got hurt training her Amanar vault, and Maggie is probably going to need to get that vault back to make the team. The scoring was really inflated, tho. Simone scored a 16 on floor. Aly, 15.6 on floor. I thought American Cup scoring was bad.
Personally, I think Simone sat out event finals because it was Sunday, and Sunday is usually her day off. Laurie sat out Sunday's beam final, as well. I think Maggie's injury has everyone shook. She got hurt training her Amanar vault, and Maggie is probably going to need to get that vault back to make the team. The scoring was really inflated, tho. Simone scored a 16 on floor. Aly, 15.6 on floor. I thought American Cup scoring was bad.
I didn't watch the whole thing just caught some highlights on YouTube. Marta was looking and talking to Simone like she's the Chosen One. I hope that she will be able to deal with the pressure in Rio.
Do you really think that Mart will take Gabby AND Aly to Rio? I mean their experience is a plus and they've been very good but I don't know...
I didn't watch the whole thing just caught some highlights on YouTube. Marta was looking and talking to Simone like she's the Chosen One. I hope that she will be able to deal with the pressure in Rio.
Do you really think that Mart will take Gabby AND Aly to Rio? I mean their experience is a plus and they've been very good but I don't know...
If Maggie doesn't recover, Marta most likely will take Gabby and Aly. As of now, Gabby has really earned her place. She won American Cup and Jesolo. The only event that the US didn't win in the team competition at worlds was UB. So, Gabby would help there and likely make the event final, like she did last year. Aly's place is a little less certain. She and Maggie are essentially competing for the same spot, and up until recently, it looked like Maggie had the advantage because she was more consistent. The only event where either one them truly shines is floor exercise. I think Maggie's scores would have been just as inflated, had she not gotten hurt and competed last weekend. So, it would have been nice to see both Aly and Maggie compete under the same judging to settle the floor rivalry. Maggie's better than Aly AA and can medal in a floor EF alongside Simone. I think that if Maggie heals and gets her skills back that she will get the nod.
It's going down! Podium Training is in progress for the Rio Test event! Normally, this would be a snooze of an event, but there's real interest this time because of Team Romania. Unfortunately, the FIG is not live streaming. They're only posting highlights on their youtube page. And look at the podium! It's green! Catalina Ponor is there. This grainy footage is of her beam during podium training. I can't imagine an Olympics without a Romanian team. I might cry if they don't qualify .
Going to be 20 years since Keri ha vault made the country hold its breath then erupt in a victorious cheer
The last two times we hosted we did excellent:
1984 - First American (male or female to get gymnastics gold)
1984 - First American team to get gold
1996 - First female US team to get the gold.
We can't really do any "firsts" anymore, but perched for having good luck on homeground again if LA gets it
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