Editing Apps-

   So in addition to being a blogger, another part of being an avid gymnastics fan, for me at least, is gymnastics editing. I LOVE EDITING!!!!!!!!!!!! Its such a fun activity to do on your off time. All these apps are for BOTH for the iPad and iPhone! So if you want to start editing, I will list some apps as well as some edit helpers on Instagram, people who make great edits and can help beginners. So here you are

APPS:

Phonto- Used for fonts/captioning, great app. Many different fonts. You can even download some yourself.

PhotoStudioHD- Great app for filters. It does cost $5 dollars, but it is so worth it. My personal favorite filter is colored pencil. It actually makes it look artistic.

IT

Afterlight- A SUPER APP FOR FILTERING. But what I use is what they call "Instant Film" it does cost cash, 99 cents exactly, but if you like to round up, or if your parents do, then yah, its a buck, but its a buck welll spent.

SuperImpose- A great app for blending! It is a little complicated at first, but once you get the hang of it, you just soar. I willl list some Instagram accounts that can help you.

Line Brush- Just a really fun app for blurring stuff, and making the edits cartoon.

Space Effect- A great app for filters

PS  Express- A great app to sharpen your edits and  this has some filters as well.

Sketch- Makes your edits seem like they were hand-drawn

Edit Help Accounts on Instagram

@doubletwistingdoublelayout

@chalkytigerpaws

@editseminars

@comeneci.salto

@5567a

The 2014-15 Senior National Team

Hi guys, as you know the senior team has been announced! I will also be doing a post on the Junior Team, but this senior team is just so exciting I had to do them first! In case you've had your head in a box for the last month or so......... I'll give you the team in full!

Alyssa Baumann

Club: WOGA

Simone Biles

Club: World Champions Centre

Madison Desch

Club: Great American Gymn. Express

Gabby Douglas

Club: Buckeye Gymnastics

Brenna Dowell

Club: Great American Gymn. Express

Rachel Gowey

Club: Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute

Felicia Hano

Club: Gym-Max Gymnastics

Amelia Hundley

Club: Cincinatti Gymnastics

Madison Kocian

Club: WOGA Gymnastics

Ashton Locklear

Club: Everest Gymnastics

Maggie Nichols

Club: Twin City Twisters 

Aly  Raisman

Club: Brestyan's American Gymnastics

Kyla Ross

Club: Gym-Max Gymnastics

MyKayla Skinner

Club: Desert Lights Gymnastics

   So, didn't I tell you that the team is amazing? I mean just look at the depth! You got Aly Baumann, who is great on bars and beam, two of the hardest events! Then you have 9-Time World Medalist Simone Biles (6 of which, I may add, are gold medals!) Next you have Madison Desch, who is solid AA. And then there's Gabby Douglas. THE OLYMPIC ALL AROUND CHAMPION. Then Brenna Dowell who has the most insane bar routine in the entire world, who reminds you of British Great, Beth Tweddle. Then you have Rachel Gowey, fresh back, ready to attack. Did you see her podium training beam at Nats before she broke her ankle? Two syllables: Ep-Ic! Not to mention her performance at Classics after vault..... But she did perform an AMANAR! Then you have Felicia, one of my personal favorites, great all around, under the tutelege of Kyla Ross! And not to mention one of my favorite coaches in the World, right there next to Chow and Geddert, Jenny and Howie Liang! Then you have Amelia Hundley, who has been on the map since 2012. Olympic Year, and was therefore, one of the contenders. You also have Madison Kocian solid all-arounder, who unfortunately we have not seen in the all around because of an injury....... but she is a great all arounder, and an even greater bars and beam worker! Speaking of amazing bar workers, you have Ashton Locklear, the girl who placed 4th in the bars finals last year at Nanning Worlds! Doing so, she's placed higher at Worlds Bars Finals than anyone I've known in the last quadrinium...... (Nastia Liukin in 05,06, and 07, but like I said, last quadrinium.)  Then You have Maggie Nichols, a solid gymnast who I have considered a contender for a while now. What A dynamic floor! And now I am getting excited..... ALY RAISMAN IS BACK Y'ALL AND SHE'S ON THE NATIONAL TEAM! THREE TIME OLYMPIC MEDALIST, TWO OF THEM GOLD! With her dynamic floor, Aly is sure to contribute and scoop up a bunch of International assignments. Aly's back and I am so excited!!!! YAY! Aly is a true team captain and a team player. She can totally rock this comeback, and she can totally be the team captain of any team she's on. National Competition or International, Aly's always solid. I fully expect Aly to make the Worlds Team. Then you have the THIRD Olympian on the National Team. Thats right, Marta has stacked her National Team with Olympians! Kyla Ross, the gil who never quit after London is still holding steady. She grabbed the bronze medal in the all around in Nanning along with the gold with the team. You also have MyKayla Skinner, team gold medalist and brozne medalist in vault at the Nanning Worlds. MyKayla has solid routines on beam and bars, bars being the weaker of the two for her. But MyKayla has a Cheng Vault! And a dynamic floor routien chock-full of hard tumbling to match the beautiful Cheng!

  So see why I was so excited about this National Team? So much depth. You have 10 girls who have been to a Worlds competition at one point. Then you also have 3 Olympians, and some great new girls who are craving Worlds! I fully expect Rachel to be a significant contender for Worlds in 2015. This team totally excites me and I cant wait to see them at competitions!

Is ABC's show "Make It Or Break It" totally unrealistic?

So the first time I saw ABC's "Make It Or Break It" I was only first getting into gymanstics. I watched it back in 2010, and I didn't get into gymanstics until 2011, but now, as I watch this, and as I have watched gymnastics competitions dating back to 1992, I have discovered how totally unrealistic the show is. Don't get me wrong, it is a great show. In seasons one and two, you got 4 girls on the road to Olympic success, with a few others. Your four main characters are:

Kaylie Cruz- Rich girl who is known for the personality she puts in her routines, considered a girl who plays to the crowd, her father and mother always get her endorsements

Lauren Tanner- The girl who always comes in third, and is threatened by new girl Emily.

Emily Kmetko- New girl, threatens status quo, and is not  a rule follower

Payson Keeler- Perhaps the most determined girl, wont let anything get in her way.

   And then you have Jordan in season 3, the runt, but has great tumbling.

     But like it says in the post title, I will be writing about how unrealistic Make it Or Break It is.

1. The beam is like 10 inches wide

2. They go floor, beam,vault, bars. Even if you don't start on vault in a real gymnastics competition, there is no way that you cann rotate like that.

3. Jordan in Season 3 does a triple flip off bars.

4. The tumbling is way to easy for senior elite gymnastics

   I know this sounds stingy........ but its true, Make It Or Break It isnt that accurate, but besides that, tis a great show.

Who has a Shot of turning the top four, into the top five?

As long as we can remember, it has been the Top Four. USA, Russia, Romania, and China. But, could there be a fifth? A fifth top dog in the sport? After reading a few articles, I stumbled on a poll. Which said:

Which country do you think has the best chance of turning the big four into the big five? 

I took a screenshot of the poll and these are the results as of 2:02 today.

   As you can see, the canidates are Italy with 7 votes, France withU  0 (Poor France), Spain with 3, Belgium with 0, Brazil with 0, Canada with 9, Australia with 0, Great Britain with 20, Japan with 0, Netherlands with 0, and Germany with 1. As I have some extra time in 5 period, and lunch afterwards, allow me to evaluate each of these teams.

Italy- Honestly, I am surprised that Italy got this many votes. I do think that Italy is capable of being in every team finals at International Competitions, and are capable of getting gymnasts in every event final,  but I don't think that Italy is capable of being the country that turns the Big Four into the Big Five. Not yet anyway. 

   France- I was astounded that France is on the list........... They are great, artistic gymnasts, but they haven't had a winning competition for as long as I can remember. Although looking at French competitions, they do have a promising batch of juniors, as well as some great seniors. But right now, with their low difficulty, I just dont see how they can compete with the Big Four.

  

  Spain-  Honestly, I don't know why Spain is on here. They haven't sent a full team to the Worlds/Olympics in ages. Although some of their athletes are promising, such as Roxana Popa Nedelcu who qualified into the 2nd seated group at the Antwerp Worlds back in 2013 and did quite well. But like I said, they haven't sent a full team in ages, and I dont think they can before Rio, or even Tokyo.

   Canada- I can actually see Canada becoming a threat for turning the top four into the top five, they have girls who can contribute to all four events. They even have a few all-around athletes, such as Victoria Moors, and a few specialists. Canada's Victoria Moors brought pride to Canada at the 2013 Worlds when she got the double twisting double layout named after her. If Victoria retires before Rio, I think that Canada would have to work pretty hard to stay the way they are. After all, Victoria Moors was a detromental part of getting Canada  into the team finals back in 2012, and having Canada place 5th over all.

   Australia- Australia does have a few promising athletes, but with Lauren Mitchell retired, it will be difficult for Australia to be considered a significant threat come the time for the Big Four into the Big Five. But, it could happen.

Great Britain- Great Britain. As you see on the photo, 20 people think that GB is the team to beat. And I have to agree. Great Britain placed in the second seated group at the Nanning Worlds back in October! WOW! Great Britain is the team to beat. Great Britain is a dynamic team, and I think with all the gymnasts they have right now, and all the gymnasts who will turn senior before the Olympics, they will be a HUGE HUGE HUGE threat. 

Japan- Japan has some great athletes coming into this, such as Koko Tsurumi, and my personal favorite Japanese athlete, Natsumi Sasada

Netherlands- I've only seen one athlete come out from Netherlands on the Worlds- Stage, and she blew her knee out in 2013 in the vault finals. I've only ever seen one gymnast from the Netherlrands, I doubt they will send a team in full.

Germany- Some promising athletes from Germany. Such as Elizabeth Seitz. I would love to see them in Team Finals at a Worlds/Olympics, but I don't think they can transform the top four into the top Five.

    After breaking down the teams, I think that GB has the best shot. Their program has improved so much, and they are getting tons of amazing new gymnasts every year. This is a great team, and I think that they could make amazing strides come Rio, and will be considered part of the soon to be 'Big Five"

Thanks to http://wagymnastics.wikia.com/wiki/Gymnastics_Wiki for the poll

   

Grading Simone Biles' Performance at the 2014 Worlds

Well as you know if you watched Qualfying, Simone didn't have her best routines, falling on the beam, which reminded me of the 2013 Classics. But I am still giving her an A+ because Simone was a HUGE part of the team gold, and she also won gold in AA (Even though she had great gymnastics, the "Bee Incident" was my favorite part of AA), beam finals, and floor finals. Which meant she defended two of her titles from the previous Worlds, and added two more (Team and Beam), and Simone also medaled silver in the vault finals (I think that was unfair, feel free to comment below). So because Simone WON FIVE MEDALS FOUR OF THEM GOLD! Despite a fall or mistake or two in qualifications, she gets an A+

Simone Biles vs. the bee during the medal ceremony. Thought to be the funniest moment of the World Chammpionships.

Grading Kyla Ross' Performance at the 2014 Worlds

   We always knew Kyla as the girl who had perfect form, and was known for getting near perfect execution every time. But as I watched the 2014 Worlds, I noticed some of that slipping away, Kyla has form mistakes, balance checks, which was unexpected. I quickly got on Instagram on my gymnastics account (Gym lovers, please follow me on Instagram! Its @doubletwistingdoublelayout). And then I finally discovered that it said that Kyla has come down with injury, a back injury. It was devastating because Kyla couldn't do the beautiful things we were accotomed to. And with her watered-down routines, she needs execution. But Kyla did the best she could, which is why I am giving her a B for her performance in Nanning. It wasnt the best routines from Kyla. and she knew it. But she went out there and tried her hardest. And as we saw in team finals, Kyla duplicated what she did in London, and in her own way, helped her team towards gold. Lets admit that Kyla's work in Nanning wasn't close to what she did in Antwerp, or London, but she got a B, she did good with her injuries

Team Talk: Spain

  Well as you know...... Spain is not a full team, they have never sent full women's teams to the Olympics as long as I can remember. But they have a few promising gymnasts who they have sent individually. Such as Roxana Popa Nedelcu. She is a truly promising gymnast. Did you know that Roxana placed in the second ranked group in the 2013-2014 Worlds AA? Also, did you know that a Spanish Female gymnast has never placed as high as Roxana? As you and I both know, Spain does not have a strong gymnastics program, at least for the women. But Roxana, Roxana placed in the second seated group people! If Spain keeps breeding gymnasts like Roxana, I can gurantee you that they will send a full team to the Worlds/Olympics. And I can definitely tell you that Roxana will make it to this 2015 Worlds, and she will be one of the two Spanish gymnasts sent to Rio.

Team Talk: Japan

   So my brother and my mother are making fun of me JUST BECAUSE I like eating at Taco Bell, and since I can't jump out of a car that is going roughly 50 miles per hour, I decided that I need to talk about what I love, gymnastics, to get my mind of this insanity thats going on right now. So lets talk about Team Japan. I will be talking about how they are doing as a team. 

   Japan may not be the best gymnastics program, but I think they have one of the most unique. You see that olden style of gymnastics. And when I say olden-style, I mean that they have amazing artistry in everything they do, they make sure to point their toes, extend every part of their bodies. They do this because they know that they don't have the most difficult routines and they need to rely on execution. This reminds me of Kyla Ross. After a series of injuries, she has had to water down her routines, and had to rely on execution. I think that Japan is on the rise, and right now, is one of the most interesting countries in terms of gymnastics style.

Grading Yang Yilin's Performance At: The 2008 All-Around

So, since I am starting a bunch of new segments nowadays, why not start another called "Grading The Performance" for the first post, I will be grading the performance of China's Yang Yilin at the 2008 all around.

   For the 2008 all-around, I would have to give Yang an A-. The only reason why I did not give her an A, or even an A plus is because of little errors, such as her full turn on beam. I was glad that she could win the bronze in the all-around in '08, but, now I hate to say this because I am an American, but if Yan had not made those tiny errors, she could have bested USA's Shawn Johnson for the silver medal.

Memorable Competitions: 2008 All-Around

Hey guys, I decided to do a new segment called "Memorable Competitions, in which I will write about the competition listed in the header, and for the inaugural post of this segment, I will write about the 2008 Olympic All-Around. one of my favorite, and in my opinion, one of the most thrilling, competitions. In this particular post of "Memorable Competitions, I will be giving you, my readers, a rotation by rotation summary.

   Even though Shawn and Nastia still thought about the disappointment of team finals, they were able to focus on the biggest competition of their lives: the all-around. This is where the Queen of gymnastics would be crowned, and really, they knew that they were going to go one and two, but the question was, "At the end of the competition, who would be holding the gold medal, and who would be holding the silver?" Well, they would find out at the end of the night. Going into vault, Nastia knew that Shawn would have the lead, because Shawn was performing a vault that is worth 16.500, the 2 1/2 twist, otherwise known as te Amanar, while she was performing a substantially easier vault, a single twist, coming in at a small 15.400. Now even though Shawn had a cross-over step on her landing, she still scored higher than Nastia Liukin, who stuck her less-difficult vault. And then, Yang Yilin, who scored a 15.175, coming ahead of Nastia Liukin, but behind Amanar-Performing Shawn Johnson.

   Coming into bars, Nastia had the advantage. She had an extremely packed routine, with the most difficult, releases, transitions, and of course, pirouettes and handstands. Shawn had a lot less difficult routine, but in hindsight, her difficult dismount helped her. But still, no gymnastics fan anywhere was surprised that Nastia had a lead over copatriot, Shawn Johnson, going into rotation 3, the beam, and after rotation three, Chinese gymnast, had slid into second place, with a bar routine better than Nastia's, then again, what is to be expected? The Chinese are the masters of the uneven bars. 

   Then it was Beam, Nastia got a 16.125 while her copatriot Shawn Johnson was right behind her (more or less) with a 16.050. And of course, Yang Yilin, coming in with a 15.750. 

  It was the final event, floor, and Nastia had just delivered the best routine of her life, scoring a WHOPPING 15.525, and in order to take the gold medal from Nastia, Shawn needed to perform a routine that would get her a little bit over a 16.000, but as we know, she failed to do this, but do you know why? Two reasons: 

1. Getting a 16 on floor is pratically unheard of

2. Shawn didn't have the D score.

So because of those two reasons, Shawn Johnson didn't have a chance of winning the all around, and Yang Yilin also missed out not only on the gold, but on the silver, finishing her night with the floor score of 15.000. 

   So at the end of the night, Nastia placed first with an overall score of 63.325, Shawn coming behind her with an overall score of 62.725, and Yang Yilin coming in 3rd with an overall score of 62.650. I also copied the table that  http://www.gymnasticsresults.com/2008/olympics2008wagaa.html provided.

2008 Olympic Games Beijing Women’s Individual All-Around Final			VT	UB	BB	FX	Total
1	LIUKIN Nastia	USA	15.025	16.650	16.125	15.525	63.325
2	JOHNSON Shawn	USA	15.875	15.275	16.050	15.525	62.725
3	YANG Yilin	CHN	15.175	16.725	15.750	15.000	62.650
4	SEMENOVA Ksenia	RUS	14.750	16.475	15.925	14.775	61.925
5	NISTOR Steliana	ROU	15.025	15.975	15.550	14.500	61.050
6	JIANG Yuyuan	CHN	14.825	15.875	15.425	14.775	60.900
7	PAVLOVA Anna	RUS	15.275	14.525	15.975	15.050	60.825
8	IZBASA Sandra	ROU	15.075	14.300	15.875	15.500	60.750
9	CHUSOVITINA Oksana	GER	15.750	14.900	14.875	14.600	60.125
10	BARBOSA Jade	BRA	15.025	15.075	15.500	13.950	59.550
11	FERRARI Vanessa	ITA	14.700	15.200	15.600	13.950	59.450
12	DOWNIE Becky	GBR	15.025	15.625	14.700	14.100	59.450
13	BONORA Georgia	AUS	14.850	14.625	15.100	14.375	58.950
14	PAROLARI Lia	ITA	13.950	15.350	15.125	14.500	58.925
15	MORGAN Shona	AUS	14.650	14.625	15.100	14.425	58.800
16	HOPFNER-HIBBS Elyse	CAN	14.875	15.425	14.150	13.925	58.375
17	TSURUMI Koko	JPN	14.075	14.950	15.400	13.675	58.100
18	KASLIN Ariella	SUI	15.350	14.275	14.425	13.950	58.000
19	PETIT Marine	FRA	14.725	14.400	14.275	14.575	57.975
20	OSHIMA Kyoko	JPN	14.575	14.675	13.975	14.400	57.625
21	PALESOVA Kristyna	CZE	14.075	15.350	14.650	12.900	56.975
22	SILVA Ana	BRA	14.175	14.175	14.175	14.350	56.875
23	DUGAIN Laetitia	FRA	14.275	14.275	15.225	13.000	56.775
24	MYS Gaelle	BEL	14.000	12.875	13.100	13.975	53.950
Underlined score indicate starting apparatus
Official Results

  So, the 2008 AA was a memorable competition, No?

Who Had the Worst Olympics on Team USA

So, I've only done this with one team, which is Russia. And I loved doing it. That was almost a year ago, and as I do this one, I will write about USA's, who had the worst Olympics.

   Now even though Alexandra Raisman missed out on medaling in the all around, she cannot be nominated for this, because she won two golds, and a bronze, to me, that is a very successful Olympics. And someone else who cannot be nominated is Gabby Douglas, sure she missed out on medaling in bars, and of course she fell in beam finals, but she also has team gold, and ALL AROUND GOLD! So lets just say that Gabby had a very successful Olympics

   I also don't like to consider Kyla Ross for this position because of the fact that she was a first year senior, and the experience was enough, not to mention winning the team gold medal. So now, I believe its down to McKayla Maroney, who fell in the vault finals, McKayla was the number one girl coming into the competition, the favorite, and Jordyn Wieber, who was eliminated from the all around, after teammates Aly Raisman and Gabrielle Douglas, made it in before her, and much like McKayla, she was favored to win, and Jordyn was also in the floor finals, and had the chance to win there, but thanks to a pesky injury, did not. Lets talk about both McKayla Maroney, and Jordyn Wieber's disappointing Olympics, and then lets decide, ok?

   McKayla Maroney...... best vaulter in the world, was expected to win the event finals. I take you to the magical world of 2012 London Vault Finals, where Mac delivered a Yurchenko 2 1/2, that resembled the one that she performed in the Team Finals, just nights before. After an amazing vault, McKayla Maroney walked to the end of the vaulting runway, with a smile, she told herself "You need to stick your next vault", and she went for it. The first vault, that was performed, the Amanar, some around the World said that it should be renamed "The Maroney" because she does it even better than the inventoo of the vault, Simona Amanar. But after falling on her second vault, still scoring a  14.300, with only Izbasa left to go, she waited in eager participation. She watched as Izbasa hit both her vaults. During the medal ceremony, she held the "McKayla Maroney not Impressed" but it is told, 30 minutes later, it hit Maroney like a full-speeding train, that she hadn't won the gold, and tears started streaming down her cheeks.

Ok, lets talk about Jordyn next......... She won gold at the 2011 Tokyo Worlds in the all around, but as she came to London, and performed in the Qualifiers, she had tiny mistakes, like balance checks, out of bounds, and form deductions. This all added up in the end, and thanks to the two per country rule, it knocked her out of the all around, falling behind teammate, Gabby Douglas. This was a devastating blow for Wieber fans everywhere. Thanks to the two per country rule, Jordyn was not able to particiapte in the all around.  And by the time floor finals rolled around, Jordyn had a stress fracture in her leg, and she was not able to perform to the best of her abilities, and placed 7th, devastating.

  Even though Jordyn and McKayla were ecstatic to win the team gold medals, they wanted to prove something individually, which both of them fell short of doing. But I believe, since Jordyn's devastation forced her to quit, and that McKayla's is fueling her to keep going, that Jordyn had the most devastating Olympics out of the USA Team.

Team Focus: Team USA

So in this segment, I will be writing about specific teams as mentioned in the title section above. Anyway, this is about team USA, where I will be doing a combonation of "Their Events" which is basically "Her Events", but talking about how the event goes for the whole team, and I will also be grading their performances in competitions I saw them in. Ok, right now I am pretty much confusing myself as I write this, and I am probably confusing you as well, so I"ll just write it now

 USA's Events

Vault: 

This is where the USA shines. Team USA has the hardest vaults, including a couple perfect Amanars, A Rudi, A Cheng, and a couple of Yurchenko Doubles. USA is great on this event, we have the hardest vaults in the World, and often, some of the best executed.

Bars: 

   This, is definitely our weakest events, we often have issues with hitting handstands, and nailing those transitions, although we have had a few greats on this event, such as Nastia Liukin, Rebecca Bross, Kyla Ross,, Gabrielle Douglas, Ashton Locklear, and Madison Kocian......... our uneven bars, as a team, is not perfect.

Beam:

USA's beam is pretty great! We can hit sequences, and we have difficult tumbling skills on beam, which can give us the edge in case of tiebreakers. But, we do have difficulties on our dance sometimes, as we see with the more powerful athletes. But as we saw with Jordyn Wieber, who had a one handed backhandspring layout, and Shawn Johnson, who had a GORGEOUS layout on beam, we can bring power to the table. And lets not forget Carly Patterson, who got one of the hardest dismounts ever named after her, the Double Arabian

Floor: 

Much like vault, team USA has the hardest tumbling passes, and while US athletes struggle with teh artistry, we make it up with the legendary tumbling passes such as Asac's Double Arabian, or Aly's 1 1/2 twist to double arabian punch layout. This is a great event for Team USA, and in my opinion, it will continue to be.

Viktoria Komova: Her Events

Hey guys, lets do a "Her Events" post on Russian Great, Viktoria Komova. Now, as both you and I know, Viktoria is a great gymnast, and those mistakes in London and Tokyo were just that, mistakes. I know that Viktoria is way better than London and Tokyo. Lets analyze her gymnastics, to prove it.

Vault: This is a weak event for Viktoria, weak being the operative word. Like McKayla and all the other American girls competing right now,  Viktoria is capable of performing the Amanar vault, but did not do so in Tokyo or London. But as I tell gym-nots that, they are all like, "Well why didn't Viktoria or whatever her name is, do the harder vault?" and this discussion took nearly an hour and a half, but I know all of you have lives, and can't read this ALL DAY.  And I can't write all day, so I'll give you the Cliff-Notes version. "Basically, gym-not, its because the coaches and Viktoria did not want to risk it. So anyway, all the gymnastics superfans out there know that Viktoria wanted to play it safe so that the team, and herself, would medal. Sure, Viktoria only performs two twists usually, but I have a feeling when she comes back from injuries, she'll be doing an Amanar. But, even if she does a easier vault, you'll see an extended body, perfectly pointed toes, and a stuck landing. The only reason why Viktoria can be perceived as "weak" on this event, is because of the fact that she does not to an Amanar. Yet


Bars: This is an event you will want to watch Viki on. Viktoria extends every limb of her body. She hits every handstands, and has the typical gorgeous, and difficult, Russian bars routine. Now, Vika did make the finals in this event, and she performed great, but thanks to the depth of the field, she was out of the podium. While Viktoria is great on bars, she had to beat her own teammate, Aliya Mustafina, who was  fine-tuning and doing nothing but bars while she was recovering from her injury, and then you have 2008 uneven bars champion,  He Kexin, and then legend Beth Tweddle, who has like a Kajillion connections in her routine, and then in fourth, you have Yao Jinnan, who is another Chinese athlete who only had one mistake in her routine. Now I understand why Viktoria was crushed, but after she examined the extreme depth of the field, I hope that she was proud of herself for placing so high!!!!

Beam: Viktoria is good here too, let me just tell you that she doesn't struggle with form/connection, although I found it interesting that Vika fell on a sheep jump, which is one of her greatest performed skills, Viktoria is great on beam, but she fell in 2011 on a back handspring step out combo in team finals, and then in 2012 she fell on the sheep jump in beam finals, as I mentioned earlier, and on her Patterson dismount.


Floor: Viktoria may not have the greatest tumbling, but having years of ballet training, she has the greatest dance, which is a great part of the routine. Viktoria's floor music in 2011-2012 was Swan Lake, and it was beautiful, and lets not fail to mention the upbeat-pop tune that came in about halfway in the routine. Viktoria has the style on this event, that all Russian greats are known for, that style that you can see, and if you dont know who that gymnast is, or what country she's from, you cacn tell she's Russian, and that ladies and gents, is the balletic style, its just simply beautiful.

   So...... after reading this article, are you still thinking that 2011 Worlds Viki and 2012 Olympics Viki, is actually Viki 365 days a year? No? Thats what I thought

Highlights of London 2012 (And the lowlights)

Hey guys, I just decided to blog today! Anyway, with Rio less than two years away, once again, we begin to think about the highlights (and lowlights) of London 2012.



1. McKayla Maroney Vaults Her Way into history


     Remember that perfect vault that we saw from McKayla Maroney? That sky-high, perfect form, stuck landing vault, I am getting just as excited as Tim Dagget was in London, ok taking a minute to cool down, settle. Ok, So. Where was I? Ok, so the reason why Mac successfully stuck this vault, is because of the air she gets, she finished that final 1/2 twist so early, that Mac was just flying in a pencil down-position, So she had plenty of time to stick it! Ok, the reason why Mac went down in history is because few people can do the Amanar in the World, and Nobody can do it as well as Mac, and certainly no one can stick it! Mac is truly the best vaulter in the World, and with that stuck landing in London, she received a massive 16.233, some believed, including me, that Mac should have gotten a perfect 10 e-score, which would have been a 16.500 score, but as we know,  in today's world of gymnastics, nobody gets a perfect 10, that was so 1900. But Mac received pretty close to it, earning a near-perfect 9.733 E Score.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNG0QJw7-4A

2. Jordyn Wieber loses out on the all around


Like I said, there were some downsides to London. And this, by far, was one of them. Jordyn won the All-Around competition in 2011, in Tokyo, but after some out-of-bounds, some steps on landings, some missed handstands, some wobbles, Jordyn was knocked out of the all around, thanks to the two per country rule, by her own teammates, Alexandra Raisman, and Gabrielle Douglas. Jordyn was devastated. She missed out on her true dream, Olympic All-Around Champion. I cried as Jordyn cried. It was definitely one of the most devastating moments of the Olympic Games.



3. Aliya Mustafina comes home as the most decorated Gymnast, after dealing with a giant ACL injury the year before.

   When I did not see Aliya in the 2011 Worlds, I was devastated. Aliya dominated at the Worlds the year before, I actually wanted to see her dominate in Tokyo as well. I was searching frantically by the Russian team. There's Nabieva, Komova, dah dah dah, and then I heard over my computer, that Aliya had injured herself just months before Worlds. She was competing an Amanar, and she had torn her ACL. As I heard this news, I was freaking out. Would Aliya be able to make it to London. I guess I would find out about 7 months later. And when I saw Aliya greeting the judges I was giddy. And later on, Aliya would win Silver with the Russian Team, Bronze in the all around, bronze in the floor finals, and most importantly, she beat legendary bar worker He Kexin, and won the uneven bars gold. My girl, Aliya, had become the most decorated gymnast ever, less than a year after a potentially-career-ending injury.


 4. Aly Raisman loses her chance of bronze in the all around.

One of the most devastating parts of the Olympic Games, Alexandra Raisman loses her bronze medal thanks to a series of tiebreakers, and the bronze was awarded to Aliya Mustafina of Russia.


5. Aly Raisman tumbles and dances her way into history.

     In floor exercise finals, Alexandra Raisman of the USA gave the floor performance of her life and secured the first floor exercise gold medal for the United States. Aly had a massive 15.600 score. Its no 16.233, but it is hugely impossible to get above a score of 15.600. Aly watched as the other 7 competitors, including 2004 champion Catalina Ponor, and 2008 Olympic Champion, Sandra Izbasa, fell short (Sandra actually fell) And before she knew it, Aly was standing at the top of the podium, hearing the United States background playing in the background, her eyes tearing up, and the United States flag raising the highest. She was surrounded by Catalina Ponor, and the person who had beat her for bronze in the all around earlier that week, Aliya Mustafina.


6. Gabby Fails to get two more medals 

After an amazing win in the all around finals, not to mention the team golds, Gabby had two beautiful gold medals in her possession. And she had the opportunity to win two more, in the bars and beam finals. Children, allow me to take you to the great land of the bars finals. Let's see how Gabby Douglas did after amazing performances by Mustafina and Kexin and Tweddle. Douglas mounted the bars by that bland, grab the high bar, kip up mount. yawn. Anyway, the routine then continued as a nervous routine, there were only a few select handstands that were hit. The rest of them either had leg separation, lousy swings, otherwise known as the lower-back-arch, and didn't get high enough. Gabby missed her chance for bars medals, but she still had beam. A few days later, she went to beam finals, with teammate Aly Raisman. She watched as Aly hit a great great great set, and watched as Viktoria Komova, who won silver in the all around days before,fell off the beam, and then on her dismount. It was finally time for our girl Gabby to mount the beam, she came out solid, with teeny-tiny balance checks along the way. Gabby stared at the balance beam and performed her leap, it was looking so beautiful in the air, but Gabby landed with her foot off the beam, and grasped the beam, in a desperate try to stay on, but she ended up grasping the beam, then falling.  After she watched Aly Raisman earn the bronze, she knew her medal race was over, and for the floor finals, she could relax and watch her teammates compete. Even though her medal race was over, Gabs had no reason to be disappointed, she had two golds in her possession, two golds that she would treasure forever, and of course an amazing experience.


7. Jordyn Wieber gets over loss in all-around to push her team to gold
Everyone in the gymnastics world was worried that Jordyn Wieber would have a shaky performance because she would be distraught over not getting in the all around, but those thoughts were immediately dispelled. She vaulted. It was right smack on the middle line, the tiniest hop forward. Beautiful. Bars=beautiful, all events=beautiful. Jo helped the team to the gold medal, and she loved it. She finally had an Olympic gold around her neck, it was better than any other gold, because she won it with her team, with her sisters.

8. Viktoria Komova Does Not Have Planned Olympics

     Viktoria Komova was expected to win the golds in all the Finals she entered. We saw a beautiful performance from Vika in qualifications, she qualified into Team Finals, All-Around Finals, Bars Finals and Beam Finals. The night of qualifications, Viktoria was excited because she had the opportunity to sweep the golds. First was team finals, and during the first rotation of Teams, she saw her dreams cracking for team golds after the USA drilled their vaults, and Russia slightly struggled. Viktoria sighed, smiled, and marched to the next rotation. They began to close the USA's gap, and then beam came, and once again, the gold for Russia began to crumble after the Russian girls made many mistakes, and the USA's lead was widened. Viktoria was not in the last rotation, she watched as Mustafina hit her set, and she smiled and clapped,  and after another routine, it was Grishina's turn, and Grishina's set was horrible, Grishina had fallen on one pass, and had bailed out on another, Viktoria started to sob, because she knew that the USA was super strong on floor and Russia had two fallers (Afaneyseva had fallen on her last pass right after Grishina's routine) Viktoria knew that her chances of team gold had disappeared. So, as she listened to the USA Anthem, and watched as Team USA's flag rose higher than hers.

   Next was all around, Viktoria had a hard first rotation, she stepped off the vaulting mat. She watched as the United States girls, once again drilled the vaults. Going into bars, Viktoria stared at the leaderboards, Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman leading over her. She went to bars, and managed to get to second place. She then went to beam, and struggled, maintaining her second place, then floor, Gabby had delivered a great routine. And Viktoria tried to catch up, but failed to She stood in the silver medal, once again, watching Team USA win



  Next for Vika was bars finals, she delivered an average routine, with some weak-legged form, and managed to secure a fifth place finish. But she did get to watch as Aliya Mustafina of Russia, won a gold. One gold for Russia!


   Next was beam, Viktoria had a horrible beam set, filled with balance checks and form errors, and a fall on a skill, and on her Patterson dismount. She went home with two silver medals, and no gold. That was her last final, she was not in the floor final, and she lost her chance at more Olympic Medals

9.  Canada Makes History by getting into the team Finals, and placing fifth

Canada, until 2012, they were not one of the well known gymnastics teams. Except by me. I know Peng Peng Lee and Victoria Moors, and all the other girls. After subdivision 5, the top 8 teams flashed,, and Canada was in there. I was so amazed, and happy that the 2012 Olympic Canadian Team made it! Yay! Even though they had lost their best gymnast, and team captain, Peng Peng Lee to injury, they still were able to make it into team finals, with their honorary team captain, Peng Peng Lee cheering them on. Some teams gold medals are actual gold medals around their necks, but Canada just wanted to get into team finals. That was their gold medal, just being in team finals. But it seemed as if their luck would keep on going. They then placed fifth! Thats right, only two places away from the podium! I am so looking forward to see Canada in Rio, and to see if they can actually get on the medal podium!


10.

MyKayla Skinner's Cheng: Terrifying

    MyKayla Skinner has became known for the difficulty level of her vault. MyKayla is one of the only girls in the World to be performing the Cheng vault. It is an incredibly intricate vault, there are many steps to the Cheng. You must do a half turn onto the springboard, half twist onto the vaulting table, and 1 1/2 twists off. So, if I were to describe this vault in two words, it would be intricate, and hard. But just because MyKayla can do the Cheng, doesn't mean she can do it correctly. MyKayla has the nasty  habit of only blocking off with one arm for the Cheng, not only is that a built-in deduction, but is also dangerous. If MyKayla blocks off of only one arm, she can seriously injure her arm. I can not express how many injuries can occur to her because of her blocking, and I do not like it. MyKayla is an athlete who has great potential, but she just needs to be careful. If MyKayla injures her arm on vault, it  could seriously damage her shots at making International Assignments, and Marta, her coaches could make her downgrade her vault. MyKayla needs to properly block off, or this vault will come back and bite her. So MyKayla, if you are reading this, please, please, please, please, please, please try and change your blocking, try blocking with both arms, or else you will break your right arm. So do this for us, MyKayla, not us, do it for yourself. Yourself.  Don't  hurt yourself, and you will get plenty of international assignments

McKayla Maroney: Scandal

    Mac fans ev erywhere you may of heard that she is currently involved in a huge scandal. Gymnasttike, posted nude photos of her on Twitter. I always thought that Gymnastike was a great great gymnastics blog, they, along with Tripletwistgymnastics, inspired me to make this blog that has so many readers. But now? Now I hate them. They have wronged Mac, and let me just tell you, that is not true, this whole scandal, its not true. Absolutely. Not. True. If you are a true McKayla fan, you will be behind her, and post on all Social Media that McKayla Maroney is truly innocent. Many stars have been involved in scandals like this, lets help McKayla's go over smoothly. Gymnastike is responsible. So unfollow Gymnastike on all social media, because it is them that have caused Mac this pain and hardship. We will make Gymnastike unpopular. So if you post a pic of Mac, caption it "Stay Strong Mac" and then hastag it #boycott gymnastike. If you are a true McKayla fan, you will not bash on her. You will support her until this whole thing blows over. So if you want to support her, stand behind her, and don't bash her. McKayla Maroney is truly innocent. It just depends on your fan level to believe her. If you are a minimal fan, you will bash her, but if you are a Mac lover, you will support her until everything blows over. Comment which one you are. a Mac Supporter, or a Mac Basher.








WHAT TO HASHTAG

#staystrongmac

#boycotgymnastike

#Macfan

Claudia Fragapane: Does she have what it takes?

We all know Claudia Fragapane, the four time Commonwealth Games champ from England. She was amazing, winning team gold, vault gold, floor gold, and the all around. She was a great gymnast. And she is on the rise, team England would be insane not to put her on the women's team. Claudia will make it. She will. And she will be one of the two, Brit girls to be in the all around, but as I was watching the CWGs, as a gymnastics aficionado, that her form, was kinda bad, and she was not a power athlete, she was in kind of a void, in between. Claudia did have unique choreo on floor, but that was about it. If Claudia wanted to actually contend for an all-around/event medal, she will need to categorize herself as a gymnast before she can medal at a Worlds or Olympics, dont hate on me for speaking the truth, Claudai Fragapane guys. The CWGs was a weaker field than a World Championships, we don't have any of the top four countries in the field, i.e, USA, Russia, Romania, China, it's just a bunch of mixed groups like Korea, Azerbaijan, Iceland, Israel, and all those other countries that we didn't know had a gymnastics program until now. So, the field isn''t that strong. So even the people with mediocre form, can medal. I do believe Claudia can medal at an International medal, with the top four countries, if  she steps up her form.

Gymnastics News: Aly Raisman

   If you have been a long-time reader of triplewhip, you will know that I am obsessed with Alexandra Raisman, double gold medalist, and one time bronze medalist. Even though Aly didn't have the best bars routine, she was dominant on beam and floor, and could contribute a steady vault. Altogether, Aly was a true all-arounder. After she won her two golds and one bronze, Aly came home and chillaxed. She was originally supposed to come back at Nationals 2014, but Aly, along with her parents, and coach Mihai Brestyan, decided that she needed more time to condition, and train her events. I am sad, that Aly decided to push her comeback back a year, but after getting over the initial sadness, I realized that this really was a great choice by Aly, because, as much as Aly fans hate to admit it, her bars are bad. She lacks proper toe point, and lets face it, she has been out of competition for a year, and she needs to come back with a bang. So, all Aly fans, remember, this is a truly great idea. Aly needs another couple months to continue to train, she can't worry about competitions,  not just yet. She just needs to get back those skills, you know like the Patterson on beam, or the 1 1/2 to double Arabian to punch front layout on floor, you know, all the good stuff. Aly's just not ready for competition, but in 2015, she will be. So look forward to that, Aly Raisman fans, I know I am, and DI may be a little overly-anxious.

Catalina Ponor: Her Events

Lets just say there's some stuff going around at my place, including having a very annoying brother who thinks he has free reign of the place. I'd like to show him something. Instead of retaliating, I decided to calm down and hide. Thats why I'm blogging this afternoon, It might take me awhile to cool down, which is good for you, my fans, because I've been away. So, instead of thinking up new segments, I decided to do one of the classics, Her Events. Today, I will be doing this with Romanian Legend, Catalina Ponor. Catalina was known for her gymnastics, especially those on beam and floor. I will talk about those two events, along with the other two, vault and bars.


Vault: As we saw in London, Cata can do this event very well, but only had a 1 1/5 twisting Yurchenko. But what Cata does, she does well. She could be counted on on this event if Romania was in a pinch.

Bars:  Every gymnast has her weak spot, and this is Cata's. She, along with the rest of the Romanian squad, had to get through this event. The Romanian Coaches would not put her on this event unless they were really desperate.


Beam: As her 2004 Gold Medal proves, Catalina is state of the art on this event. She can definitely be counted on to give Romania some major points. Sure, Catalina's beam might have gotten a little rusty in 2012, with Aly Raisman winning bronze over her, but in 2004, when Aly was just a wee little tike, Catalina Ponor won the gold. To us older gym fans, Catalina is one of the best on beam.

Floor: Once again, Catalina's Athens gold Medal prvoes how great she is on this event. She had packed tumbling. I was so amazed when she won her third gold medal. Catalina went home with three gold medals: Team, Beam, and Floor. Catalina was truly amazing in 2004, and I loved her floor routine back then, I loved it in London, when she gave her final one in Finals, giving her the silver medal. Aly did have the harder routine, but Cata closed off the silver medal from the other 6 girls, saying: The silver's mine.


So, as we remember the retired Romanian Gymnast that brought so much pride to her country in both 2004 and 2012, we must emphasize how great she actually was.

Devastating News

1. Polina Schennikova's Injury-Polina was injured. She announced that when she came back to train in January, she couldn't even do the simplest move on bars: The Kip. Which was really sad. This would've been an awesome year for Polina, she was going to be one of those first years, the first year senior. 2014 was not a bad year to start as a senior. Aly Raisman turned senior the second year after Beijing and look where it got her! Two golds and a bronze! So if Polina hadn't injured herself, she would be right on target for Rio.


2. Anastasia Grishina's ACL Tear- It was a devastating day for all as we watched as Anastasia Grishina, 2012 Olympian, who just came back from a back injury, tore her ACL at Russian Nationals, her club, Moscow, would have come in first by a comfortable margin if they weren't forced to count Grishina's devastating 13.2 floor routine. But the girls from the club weren't concerned with the fact that they only won silver, they were concerned with the fact that Anastasia Grishina was down for the count. Grishina is having surgery, and like her teammate, Aliya Mustafina was in 2011, will probably be out for the rest of 2014, rehabilitating her knee. But once again, like Aliya Mustafina, be training bars and making the depth of Russia on this apparatus, stronger.

3. Aly Raisman's Comeback Pushed To Next Year- This crushes me so much that I can't say much. Aly decided to push her comeback back until '15.

Looking Forward To Nationals

Hey guys, if you haven't noticed, I have kinda lacked off on blogging. Because of vacationing, summering, swimming, blah blah blah. But with the school year starting soon, as you know, that is when I blog the most. Anyway, with Nationals right around the corner, and Classics wrapping up, its time to blog.



Classics may be wrapped up, but the commotion has not. I saw Classics, and one word for Simone's Floor: Awesome. Maybe this star didn't peak to early, but then again, Rio's two years away, point is, I was amazed by not just Simone's floor routine (even though THAT was pretty amazing) I was just wowed by her performance in general. Here's what I am looking forward to for Nationals in less than 3 weeks



1. Simone Biles and Kyla Ross fighting it out for the National AA Title- Am I the only one who am amped for this? I mean, sure there's the other girls competing at this competition, but the National Gold and Silver Medals are off limits for them, because for the last year, Kyla Ross and Simone Biles have been slugging it out for Titles. Simone winning the AA over Kyla, who recently became a true all arounder. Simone's drive is to defend her National and World AA Titles, and the floor title she claimed at Worlds as well. Not only does Simone want to make the National Team, She wants to make it as the number one girl. Kyla's motivation: To finally get a gold to put on her wall of silver that Kyla won last year, AA silvers (Worlds and Nationals) Bars silver (Worlds) Beam Silver (Worlds) and a whole bunch of others. Kyla did win beam and bars at Nationals last year and Classics this year, and of course Classic AA medals last year, but in the big stage, nobody takes "Classics" seriously. Kyla wants a World Gold Medal.

2. How Simone Fits in On Vault- As we know, McKayla Maroney is truly the queen of the vault. She will always be, but this year, she wouldn't able to prove it to all those first time gymnastics watchers. Thats right, we lost the World's favorite vaulter to injuries. McKayla said that she will be out for the rest of the season. Which saddens us. But as gymnastics experts, we can't think about one sole gymnast, so let me talk about Simone Biles again, she is the silver medalist in the vaulting finals. But with the gold medalist gone, how will Simone fit in? She is trying to get the Yurchenko double back done. Can this be Simone's year to win vault, and get one named after her without having to fight for the spotlight with McKayla? We'll just have to wait and see.


3. The Polina Schennikova Devastation- I have waited forever to see Polina turn senior, but like Mac, she is out. What other New-Year Senior will replace the talent?


4. Gabby Douglas Returns?- I've heard some rumors about Gabby coming back, and even though I am about 22% behind her comeback, it'll be interesting to see how this London AA Champ bounces back.

Rumors Around the Gym: Rebecca Bross possibly planning a return

So I was just cruising around the internet looking for Rebecca Bross photos  to put on Tumblr. And it said that Bross hasn't ruled out coming back to gymnastics. She has a sold coaching job at WOGA, training the littler girls, and occasionally, the elites like Katelyn Ohashi or Maddie Kocian. But mainly the little ones. She then said that she might return and start training for Rio de Janeiro 2016. I love Becca, but I have to admit, she's been an eligible senior for 7 years, and has been competing for longer. Becca might be getting too old for the sport. But then again, Oksana Chusovitina will be 41 in Rio and will probably be competing for Uzbekistan. Bross really struggled at Trials 2012, I dont count that as a takedown, but as a motivation for her return. And also, rumor has it, if she does return, she will train with the coach who trained Gabby Douglas to gold, Liang Chow. If Bross returns, she will start training with Chow, and I would love to see what Chow does with Becca. I cant wait to hear what Bross's official announcement is, but I cant wait to find out. It will be hard, but I think Bross can stick it out.