Gymnastics News #15

Coco said:
She is a born winner.
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That line made me watch the podcast, because it surprised me. I am only a casual gymnastics fan and had the impression Maroney was drifting since the last Olympics. After watching, I completely agreed with you. What a strong, mature young woman. Super impressive. I wonder if the skating world is any better than gymnastics in its tolerance of injury and obsession with thinness. Scary.

Loves_Shizuka said:
Who was the interviewer?
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Jessica O'Beirne. http://gymcastic.com/about/#.Vs9KpfA8KrU. I thought she was great. I dont know what her background is, but she comes across as both a gymnastics uber and a total professional. I dont like the genre of podcasts (I would rather read a transcript in 1/50th the time) but honestly, if Dave and Jenny were like this I would watch. I'll take professionalism over silliness and snark any day.
 
StitchMonkey said:
I have to say it is refreshing to see someone a little more middle road that we usually see.

It seems athletes either condemn their sport as evil... kiss its ass endlessly with little in the middle. See Maroney being critical of the issues, but not totally vilifying it was a nice change of pace.
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This. Life is nuanced...it's rarely black or white. Having someone be able to speak out about the part that needs fixing WHILE also acknowledging the benefits and parts that they loved, makes their opinion that much more valid in my eyes. For instance, Maroney was able to point out where she felt Arthur had issues and how it affected her, while also acknowledging that his perspective was also a valid one. Very mature, nuanced response.

I also really liked her response to being asked how she felt about some people thinking sports should just be for learning life lessons...Maroney was like, "you can learn life lessons anywhere; if you're doing elite gymnastics this is your job!".
 
I am glad for Kyla that she grew out of elite gymnastics and was not broken by them. She is the perfect age to be a Team Olympic Gold Medalist and two-time Individual All-Around World Medalist that is ready to take college seriously but still have fun. Good for her.
 
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danafan said:
Food for thought on the current state of the sport, from IG online:

Stretching Out: The State of the Sport
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What an interesting article. Thank you, Danafan. (Every gymnastic today should be forced to watch Silivas, Clockwork Orange-style, strapped into chairs with their eyes wired open for hours on end! ;))

I find it difficult to watch gymnastics now. It's all effort and very little art. The last competition I saw (this was a couple of years ago), no-one stuck a landing; no-one really looked secure doing very difficult elements etc. I haven't tuned in since.

Skating and Gymnastics both changed their scoring structures due to controversies at Olympics. IJS has it's flaws, but I think overall it has been good for skating, especially regarding the difficulty performed.

Gym has gone the other way. Too much difficulty has sucked the "soul" out of the sport.
 
I'm sorry to hear that Kyla Ross is retiring, but happy to hear that she'll be attending university and competing for a top NCAA. She was always the strong beauty of USA gymnastics. She had an amazing post-London career.

Loved her bars routines. She made the event look like sky ballet.
 
It looks like Laurie Hernandez is being added to the American Cup roster as an exhibition performer (like Gabby was in 2012), or maybe an alternate:

https://mobile.twitter.com/GetAGripGym/status/705096504311066628

That's a huge deal for her, she must look pretty amazing in training to be considered. :cheer2: I can't help thinking she's going to be on the team when everything's said and done. I'm really excited to see what she's got planned on bars, beam, and floor - she could very well bump Aly, Madison, or Maggie off the team IMO.
 
USAgymnastics has podium training vids up on their YouTube (no Laurie so she's the alternate):

http://youtu.be/pBpfDBvZRZo

This is a really nice UB routine construction for Gabby, a few tenths in upgrades overall. She's got the best routine construction as far as variety goes IMO, if she cleans this up I can see her winning the UB gold in Rio.

I'm a bit underwhelmed with Maggie.
 
To, me, Gabby's bar routine looks incredible. Karpenko - you are much more knowledgable; what are your thought?
 
It's all form issues that'll bring the score down - the piked in-bar work has lots of bent arms and pauses in the swing, kind of a wonky technique on the Shaposhnikova 1/2 transition to high bar (upgrade), hitting all handstands, the dismount form, and the fluidity of the swing comes and goes throughout the routine, but I agree it's an awesome UB. The best one she's had to date. She'll have to clean it up to beat the Chinese and Komova though.
 
I thought all the women on the last USA Olympics gymnastics team filed for pro status before the Olympics, so how is Kayla eligible to compete NCAA?
 
@barbk Kyla was the only one to retain her amateur status. Wise girl as she had the least highest profile of all the 2012 team, and has had a stellar career but sailed under the radar due to Simone dominating the quad. Now she can hopefully be equally as successful in her NCAA career.
 
barbk said:
I thought all the women on the last USA Olympics gymnastics team filed for pro status before the Olympics, so how is Kayla eligible to compete NCAA?
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IIRC, she did not. I remember reading somewhere that her plan all along was to stay eligible for NCAA. I don't believe that she ever accepted money for the post-Olympic tour or did any endorsements.
 
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floskate said:
@barbk Kyla was the only one to retain her amateur status. Wise girl as she had the least highest profile of all the 2012 team, and has had a stellar career but sailed under the radar due to Simone dominating the quad. Now she can hopefully be equally as successful in her NCAA career.
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Can't blame 2012 gymnasts for turning pro to maximize their earnings after a gold medal, but I wish the NCAA would loosen the rules so they could earn money and still be able to get scholarships and compete in college if they wish. It shouldn't have to be all or nothing.
 
mattiecat13 said:
Can't blame 2012 gymnasts for turning pro to maximize their earnings after a gold medal, but I wish the NCAA would loosen the rules so they could earn money and still be able to get scholarships and compete in college if they wish. It shouldn't have to be all or nothing.
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Or at the very least allow them to compete as walk-ons and set a limit for the amount of "professional walkons" a team may have on their roster. I like the idea of saving the scholarships for the girls who need it and don't have the money but in any given year how many gymnasts want to compete NCAA that made a lot of money from gymnastics? Usually it is zero because this sport doesn't make many people money. Just let them compete!
 
And some of the girls who have turned pro have probably made less than their scholarship money would have been...Erica Stokes in the early 90s giving up NCAA eligibility for a $10,000 Minute Maid commercial comes to mind. It makes me especially sad when I know that Carl Lewis made pro money while he was competing in NCAA (he admitted it in his autobiography) and everyone just looked the other way.
 
BigB08822 said:
Or at the very least allow them to compete as walk-ons and set a limit for the amount of "professional walkons" a team may have on their roster. I like the idea of saving the scholarships for the girls who need it and don't have the money but in any given year how many gymnasts want to compete NCAA that made a lot of money from gymnastics? Usually it is zero because this sport doesn't make many people money. Just let them compete!
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Very much agree...particularly in the sports that are dominated by pre-college age athletes (gymnastics) or events like swimming, where an athlete might be at elite level as a teenager - then go to college - and continue as an elite athlete through his or her 20s.

Most sports careers are not lucrative - the NCAA has got to think beyond men's basketball and me n's football and come up with a plan that works for all kinds of student athletes.
 
ARGH, that was SO CLOSE for Donnell!! I was rooting so hard for him to win today but that darned high bar ruined his chances. Seriously, it feels like everyone fell off that thing today. :eek: Sam is obviously still on his way back from injury but looks like he's on the right track to peak when it counts later this year. I'm thrilled for Gabby to win (DUDE, she looked really good today, especially on beam and bars) and Maggie looked pretty good overall. I really enjoyed the Italian girl's FX routine and that girl from GB has crazy potential (her beam was fabulous). It was a rather messy competition overall though with lots of falls and mistakes. :yikes:
 
I just came back from Prudential and I'm glad Newark is hosting it again next year. It was fun to see live. The American women's Leos are crazy sparkly in real life. It looked like LED lights were blinking.
 
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