Gymnastics News #21 - Tumbling on to Tokyo

[Artistic Skaters]

*** U.S. Gymnasts Worry That Program’s Chaos Will Ruin Their Chances :
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/27/sports/usa-gymnastics-team.html

The United States women’s gymnastics team has no coordinator. It has no training center. It has lost its biggest sponsors. Its governing body is under investigation by multiple congressional committees and recently jettisoned its entire board of directors.

But there are still gymnasts training 30 to 40 hours a week in pursuit of lifelong dreams: National team membership. World titles. The 2020 Olympics. They are distinct from their governing body. And they are worried that this reckoning, essential though it is, will hold them back in a sport whose window for success can be painfully short.

“We don’t have a year or two to settle down,” Margzetta Frazier, 18, a member of the national team, wrote this month in a tweet liked more than 1,200 times. “We cannot put our bodies on hold. Time is not on our side.”

 

[Fridge_Break]

@HeatherC and I are in Hoffman Estates! We just got back from the Nastia Cup, it was so fun to watch the youngsters and see where a lot of them have committed to college programs. We were sitting next to the parent of one of the gymnasts, and she shares the same coach as Laurie Hernandez. She was one of the few tumbling four passes and easily had the most difficult bars routine that I saw. Fun night!

American Cup tomorrow morning!

 

[Aceon6]

Kill me now! NBC is using the traffic lights for American Cup.

 

[NoStefaniaNo]

Kill me now! NBC is using the traffic lights for American Cup.

I feel like they started using them during the lead up to 2012.

It's interesting that they got rid of Trautwig.

 

[Aceon6]

It's interesting that they got rid of Trautwig.

Baby steps.
Spoke too soon, Schlanger is there. Not much better.
And USAG is running an endless stream of SafeSport and mea culpa spots.

 

[Aceon6]

Horrible injury for Mao Yi on vault. She’s one of the Chinese athletes who can handle vault and floor. Not good news for their team.

 

[Erin]

Baby steps.
Spoke too soon, Schlanger is there. Not much better.

I don't mind Schlanger. He at least seems interested in the sport and respectful of it and isn't insulting the gymnasts. It's a low bar I realize, but I'll take it.

 

[Aceon6]

Did Brito get injured in the warmup for bars? The score tracker has her line filled with zeroes.

 

[4rkidz]

Horrible injury for Mao Yi on vault. She’s one of the Chinese athletes who can handle vault and floor. Not good news for their team.

Hope she is ok, looked like the Dr was supporting her leg.

 

[Aceon6]

Hope she is ok, looked like the Dr was supporting her leg.

I thought I heard that sound that you don’t want to hear.

 

[Debbie S]

Listening to the commentary has made me appreciate the skating commentators more. Especially Tanith. Can she just commentate all Oly sports?

ETA: Was Seitz's floor music the same music S/M used for their SP?

 

[Aceon6]

Moors’ floor shows that it is possible to control your arms and hands. I wish more of the women would at least try.

 

[Aceon6]

Well, for a sloppy, early season meet, all of the Americans look to be in decent shape. I hope they can keep the injury bug away.

 

[4rkidz]

Moors’ floor shows that it is possible to control your arms and hands. I wish more of the women would at least try.

I really enjoyed her floor routine proving that artistry can still be included in the floor. I also loved Morgan Hurds program she is a lovely gymnast.

 

[Fridge_Break]

I thought I heard that sound that you don’t want to hear.

Yes. I was in the opposite corner of the arena and heard it loud and clear. I read on twitter that there was definitely a broken leg bone of some sort. Poor girl was down on the mat being tended to for a good 10 minutes before she was wheeled off on the stretcher.

Brooklyn Moors' floor was worth the price of admission. She has a lot of unique skills on all of the events, I wish the other 3 had gone a lot better for her.

 

[Aceon6]

@Fridge_Break Do you know what happened to Brito?

 

[HeatherC]

@HeatherC and I are in Hoffman Estates! We just got back from the Nastia Cup, it was so fun to watch the youngsters and see where a lot of them have committed to college programs. We were sitting next to the parent of one of the gymnasts, and she shares the same coach as Laurie Hernandez. She was one of the few tumbling four passes and easily had the most difficult bars routine that I saw. Fun night!

American Cup tomorrow morning!

@Fridge_Break and I (along with my mom) had SOOOO much fun this weekend! We didn't have seats near each other but were able to sit together for the Nastia Cup and the Elite Team Cup (which was terrifying at times with young male gymnasts trying really hard things, LOL). The tumbling passes are SO much bigger when you're sitting right in front of the FX mat!

I thought I heard that sound that you don’t want to hear.

Yeah, that sound is still reverberating in my brain from Saturday afternoon. I was so close to just bursting into tears because of that sound and the fact that she was down on the mat for such a long time. My heart hurts so much for Mao but I did see picture of her today from the hospital and she was smiling so she must be doing all right. I wish her a healthy and speedy recovery. I have now been witness to one horrible skating accident (Dube-Davison face slicing) and one horrible gymnastics accident (Mao on vault) so hey sports gods, that's WAY more than enough for me.

I shared a few pictures on my Instagram if you guys want to check them out (HeatherC1275). It really was a fun weekend and I loved how supportive and encouraging the gymansts and coaches all were towards each other in all the competitions. The Nastia Cup girls were all so excited to be there and we saw some fun gymnastics from them. You can tell which juniors are on the elite track for sure! BTW-Going to the American Cup was a sports bucket list item of mine so this was a really big deal to be able to see something I've watched on TV almost my entire life in person. Morgan and Yul were incredible to watch live (Morgan just has IT....something I've thought since I watched the online feed of her competing at the Nastia Cup years ago and Yul is a freaking ball of energy with the highest hair I've ever seen, LOL) and I also really enjoyed Brooklyn Moors and the guys from Ukraine and Great Britain. The Brazilian guy was really fun to watch because you could tell he was so happy to just be there and I LOVED seeing Kenzo in person even though he didn't have the best overall day. His FX routine was and he's quite the presence in person as well even though I think he's barely taller than me.

 

[Rob]

I thought I heard that sound that you don’t want to hear.

I heard that sound on my TV. And her thigh was bent in that place you don't want to see. I read that she broke the femur and had successful surgery. So awful!

 

[Fridge_Break]

@Fridge_Break Do you know what happened to Brito?

I’m honestly not too sure. I believe I read she got some sort of injury during bars warmups, but whatever it may have been was not noticeable to the crowd because nobody gasped and there wasn’t any delays. I thought I saw her before beam warmups lined up with everyone else when they salute the judges, but I might be wrong. I was sitting in the first row above the tunnel where the athletes went in/out of the arena and once I realized she had scratched, I noticed two of the Brazilian coaches standing below and at least one of them was always talking on the phone for the entire rest of the meet. So, not sure if that’s related at all, but I figured it must have been.

 

[Erin]

I read on twitter that Brito injured herself during vault but didn't realize it until later.

 

[Aceon6]

I read on twitter that Brito injured herself during vault but didn't realize it until later.

Bummer. The Brazilian program seems to turn out several good gymnasts every quad. Whatever it was, I hope she heals quickly.

 

[danafan]

Komova is competing in Germany this week-end. Here is her UB from training: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yr2ghBXHDw

Such beautiful execution. I wish her continued success in her comeback.

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

Komova is competing in Germany this week-end. Here is her UB from training: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yr2ghBXHDw

Such beautiful execution. I wish her continued success in her comeback.

Ivana is a world-class gymnast as well as an interviewer? What a woman!

 

[bardtoob]

https://youtu.be/RoB0t4P1e5E

 

[FiveRinger]

My for picked up World Cup coverage. I am already sick of USA Gymnastics apology videos.

 

[Aceon6]

My for picked up World Cup coverage. I am already sick of USA Gymnastics apology videos.

Que?

 

[FiveRinger]

Que?

Sorry.....my dvr recorded World Cup gymnastics coverage from Germany. I guess I should proofread while I'm ranting....anyway....I'm already sick of the apology videos. They are on a constant loop.

 

[Erin]

I was sick of the apology videos about an hour into the American Cup coverage. At least with the Stuttgart World Cup, I watched it after the fact and could fast forward through them all.

All the apology videos in the world aren't going to make any difference until there is a culture change both at USAG and with the coaches. Judging by the conversation going on at the Gymcastic Facebook pages, that culture change is a long way away.

 

[Aceon6]

The videos need to go. Air one at the beginning of the broadcast, then leave it. Having it on endless loop diminishes it.

 

[ilovepaydays]

USA Gymnastics (usagym) is showing Simone Biles’ training today in their Instagram stories.

She’s getting her skills back! I still hate wolf turns, though. Also, I think that’s a new and improved transition from the low to the high bar on her bars.