So guys, I have a new series of articles for you guys, I will tell you guys why I like gymnasts, skills, events, teams, pretty much everything in gymnastics. For my first post, I am starting out with Romania's Ana Progras.
I love Ana because her gymnastics is Classic Romanian, beautiful grace and artistry, just the right amount of power. If Ana struggles anywhere, its vault and bars, but her beam and floor mesmerize you. Ana's beam is amazingly difficult. Like her teammate, Catalina Ponor, Ana shines under the coaching of Octavian Bellu. I love watching Ana's Gymnastics. It is so beautiful. I am disappointed that she retired, but word around the gymternet is that she will be returning before Rio to do what she couldn't in 2012, make the Olympic Team. She is training her events and is looking forward to getting back into the all around battle. Also, she wants to try to get a beam gold medal. Ana loves beam, and she would like to medal in floor finals as well, but beam is the only one that she wants, she wants beam gold. I am looking forward to seeing Ana at Romanian Nationals.
Sunday, June 29, 2014
2012: Recalling Gymnasts at the Trials
Since I started my blog in 2014, I totally missed the opportunity to blog on the trials, So I am going to tell you about the gymnasts who competed there. So I will tell you why each gymnast should make the team, and why they shouldn't, just because I want to. And the fact that I missed blogging during 2012 killed me.
Why Nastia Should Make the Team: Nastia has an amazing bar set, which is the weakest apparatus for the Americans.. She could totally bring in a high score for the Americans during team Final, and she also has a very solid beam set that is hard from mount to dismount.
Why Not: Ever since Nastia came back, she's been inconsistent, struggling on beam and bars, and since these are the only events Nastia is competing nowadays, it will be very hard for her to prove herself to the great Marta Karoyli.
Nastia Liukin
Why Nastia Should Make the Team: Nastia has an amazing bar set, which is the weakest apparatus for the Americans.. She could totally bring in a high score for the Americans during team Final, and she also has a very solid beam set that is hard from mount to dismount.
Why Not: Ever since Nastia came back, she's been inconsistent, struggling on beam and bars, and since these are the only events Nastia is competing nowadays, it will be very hard for her to prove herself to the great Marta Karoyli.
Aly Raisman
Why: We all know that Aly is a great gymnast, great on beam and floor, okay on vault. She can definitely bring in some great scores for Team USA. Not to mention all the experience she has as a gymnast, starting her senior career in 2010, and making the Worlds Team.
Why Not: Aly is a amazing gymnast, but if she struggles anywhere, its on the bars, she has issues hitting handstands and pretty much any other area on the uneven bars, like teammate Jordyn Wieber, she is a power gymnast.
Kyla Ross
Why: Kyla has amazing potential. She is a great three event gymnast, with the exception of vault, she has the potential to be a great all around gymnast, if she gets vault underway. She is a great gymnast, and did great at the 2012 Pacific Rims. And, at the 2012 Nationals, she placed in the most devastating place in gymnastics, or any sport: 4th. And 2nd and 5th on bars and beam, respectibely
Why Not: Kyla is a first year senior, and she has a lot less International Experience than the rest of the contenders out there. So, she could crack under pressure of the seriousness of the Games.
Alicia Sacramone
Why: Alicia has a ton of experience. She can help on vault, and pretty much the rest of the all around, she is a great athlete who can bring in massive scores on all events (Maybe not bars). But if Alicia makes the team, she will rally the troops going into the last event
Why Not: I am concerned about Alicia's mount on beam, she has been wobbling lately, and it might spell disaster for the Team like Beijing. There is a 70% of her hitting the mount, and she can also struggle with her punch out pass on floor, as we saw at 2011 Nationals, and of course, Beijing.
Anna Li
Why: She is a great bar worker, and was on the Tokyo Team. But didn't compete because of injury, but she has great potential on the uneven bars.
Why Not: Besides uneven bars, Anna isn't amazing on any other events, sure her beam is solid, but that is pretty much it, she never gets anywhere close to perfect execution on beam. If she messes up at Trials on bars, and aces beam, she will not get in.
Jordyn Wieber
Why: Jordyn is a phenomenal athlete. She is a great all arounder, she can even contribute a good bar set into the mix, I can see Marta using Jo in the all around in team finals, she is that great, Marta will put her on every single event in London to get the USA to win gold
Why Not: Ok, this is sooooooo awkward, I have nothing to say, so I guess thats it for Jo's Why or Why not. Heh heh, sorry guys
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Gymnast of the Day: Yao Jinnan
Yao, 2012 Olympic Team Member, 2013 World Team Member, 2011 Team Member. Like any Chinese athlete, she is super artistic. But unlike any Chinese Gymnasts ever, Yao had power. She is the only one who can pull off the vault, the Double Twisting Yurchenko. Sure, that isn't the hardest vault, especially since hearing about Mac's Triple Twisting Yurchenko. But, Yao has an amazing floor routine with amazing tumbling, she is a really good gymnast, I loved seeing her in London as Well as Tokyo and Antwerp. And in addition to being a great beam worker, floor worker, and vaulter. Guess who has a Mo? She just reinvented her bars routine, and it is AH-MAZE-ING. It is the best uneven bars routine on the planet. To prove my point, I found a video of right now, is the hardest routine on the planet. Hey Hey, That Mo Skill? A G DIFFICULTY VALUE! THAT IS AMAZING! HARDEST SKILL.
Yao Jinnan UB 2013 (Worlds AA) (CoP 2013-16, D-Score)
Yao Jinnan UB 2013 (Worlds AA) (CoP 2013-16, D-Score)
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Gymnast of the Day: McKayla Maroney
McKayla is an amazing gymnast. She does the all around at Nationals to better her chances of making a Worlds Team, but when she gets named, she works it out with Marta to only do vault and floor, the events that involve power, which she excels at. I love McKayla as a gymnast, and I am excited to see where Mac's career takes her, and I am on for the ride. After her fall in vault finals, McKayla decided: Rio. She's been trying to impress Marta so she could have Marta think about her for Rio, and I think she is succeeding. I think McKayla will get to Rio, and will snatch the vaulting gold from everyone in the World. She is a great gymnast, and she is even trying to become an actress if the whole gymnastics thing doesn't pan out (Which won't happen because it will, she will get to Rio) Anyway, I am looking to see how Macky redeems herself over the course of the 1 1/2 years remaining till Rio.
My Top 20 Gymnasts.
So guys, as you know, I am a gymnastics mega fan. And no gymnastics Mega fan, would be complete without her top twenty favorite gymnasts, So I will provide you a list with my top 20 and why I like them. I will also do a video of each of my top twenty
20. Olga Korbut of the Soviet Union.
Olga Korbut Uneven Bars with Korbut Flip slow ... - YouTube
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| Olga Korbut, Legendary Athlete |
We can all agree that Beth was an amazing talent before she retired after the London Games. Although my nineteenth favorite gymnast, Beth Tweddle was never a great all arounder, she excelled at bars and floor. She always was in the medals in uneven bars finals, with dynamic bar sets, most of her uneven bar medals were gold. And with this day and age in gymnastics, since you need to have at least two events to get you far, Beth is great on floor exercise too. I loved her routine in team Finals! It was truly amazing. I always am memorized with Beth's floor and bars routines. Bars was never my favorite apparatus to watch until I first saw Beth Tweddle. She always threw skills that would make me fall off my chair But now, I am always watching because I was inspired by Beth, and I am always watching competitions where Great Britain's athletes compete to see if any of her fellow countrywomen are following in her footsteps to become the next big Great Britain bar worker. Even though Beth's retirement was a devastating blow for Great Britain gymnastics. Who am I kidding? The entire world, I must try and spot the next big thing. We all must.
Beth Tweddle Uneven Bar Performance - Olympics 2012 |
| Beth Tweddle Bars Double Double Dismount, Qualifications. |
18. Vasiliki Millousi of Greece
Why: Vasiliki Millousi of Greece is a great gymnast, she is Greece's greatest hope of greatness. She made history for her country Greece as she brought home the gold medal on beam at the Test Event in 2012, sure, she tied with Italy's Carlotta Ferlito, but who cares? One word: HISTORY. Vasiliki is an amazing all arounder, and, being the sole competitor for Greece in London, gave her the courage to move on and make even more history for her home country. I love Vasiliki because she is a solid all around athlete, her bars are clean, her beam amazing., her floor neat, and her vault crisp. She doesn't bring in the hardest routines (With the exception of her beam routine) But Vasiliki relies on execution, she relies on having perfect form on vault, hitting every handstand on bars, connecting all her combos on beam, and sticking all her tumbling passes on floor. Thats why I love Vasiliki. She is a gymnast of precision. And I almost forgot to mention her AMAZING AMAZING mount. It is a roundoff step-on. If you don't have any idea what that is, have fun watching this routine.
Vasiliki Millousi GRE Beam Final London 2012 Test Event
Why: Tatiana is one of my favorite Russian Gymnasts. She has great power. She is great on the uneven bars, and solid on beam and floor. Nabieva can combine the amplitude and the power for the release moves, and the grace for the handstand on bars. She even has her own release on bars. She is a great talent and a great gymnast. She has a lot of raw potential, and is coming back to the Worlds stage soon.
Tatiana NABIEVA (RUS) 2010 WORLDS - AA UB - YouTube
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16. Jana Bieger of USA
Why: Jana is an amazing talent who started to compete for the USA in 2003. Jana had a fairly successful career as a elite gymnast, she has grace and artistry, and can mix a little bit of power in there as well. She is a great gymnast, she was named the alternate to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Team, despite two gymnasts on the team being injured, Jana was not given the opportunity to compete, and was deeply disappointed. I think if Marta took Chellsie Memmel out, who had a broken foot and couldn't compete the all around, and replaced her with Jana, they could've won the gold. Jana also made appearances in 2009 at the Covergirl Classic and the Visa Nationals, but retired after that. Sources say that she is competing collegiate. Anyway, she has a very unique skill where she will kneel down on the beam I could only find the skill wrapped in a vid at the 2005 Nationals. So here it goes.
Jana Bieger - Balance Beam - 2005 Visa Championships - Women - Day 1
15. Dasha Joura of Australia
Why: Dasha Joura is an amazing athlete. Even from the start of her routine, the salute, she is adorable. She has great difficulty on every single event, and I was devastated when she retired after 2009. Dasha did make it to Beijing, but injured her ankle in qualifiers. She struggled through the rest of the Olympics, but at the 2008 Pacific Rims, which I just watched, she was a phenomenal athlete. I love Dasha, and wish she was still competing today. Because thats the kind of athlete that Australia needs, as well as her teammate, Lauren Mitchell, who is also retired. She retired after not making the London team. But word around the gymternet is that she is planning a comeback. I hope she is.
Dasha Joura - Floor Exercise - 2008 Pacific Rim Championships
14. Jade Barbosa of Brazil
Jade Fernandes Barbosa - Vault - 2011 World Championships - Event Final
13. Oksana Chusovitina of Soviet Union/Germany/Uzbekistan.
Why: Seriously, why am I asking myself why I love Chuso? She has so much experience, she is competing as strong as the younger girls can, and she's 39 Years old! She has way more medals than I can count, so I am including her medal table along with her video and picture. She's represented three different countries over the course of her elite career. She first represented the Soviet Union, after her son Allistair got diagnosed with leukemia, Oksana found a treatment that could only be done in Germany, so she and Allistair moved there, and Oksana competed for Germany to make ends meet, she would pay for Allistair's treatment through endorsements. After Allistaire got all better just last year, Oksana started competing for the country she was born in, Uzbekistan. So I love Oksana for all these things and more, here is her medal table plus the usual video and pic. Oh and also, in Chuso's younger days, she did dabble in the all around! What an amazing gymnast!
Medal record
Oksana Chusovitina - Vault - 2011 World Championships ...
12. Natsumi Sasada of Japan
Why: Have you seen this girl's beam mount, not to mention all around performance? She is a steady rock. She is the best that Japan has had in awhile, with the exception of KoKo Tsurumi, Japan's record setter. She is a great fresh gymnast, who just exploded into the Japanese senior rankings in 2013. She is the newest, and by far the best, first year senior gymnast in Japan. Don't believe that her beam mount is awesome? Really? Well if you don't, check this out. The landing on the mount may be rocky, but its an F Value Mount. It is amazing.
All Around 2013 Worlds NATSUMI SASADA (JPN) BB
11. Elizabeth Seitz of Germany
Why: Elizabeth has an amazing bar set. She is a great gymnast on bars, she has a full twisting Gienger/Maloney! She is currently the only girl in the World who can do the full twisting Gienger. It is a huge difficulty. She is solid on all four events, but is mainly a bars specialist. Elizabeth is the best German Gymnast, and maybe the most experienced since Oksana left Germany.
Elisabeth Seitz (GER) Uneven Bars
My Top Ten
10. Larisa Iordache of Romania
Why: Larisa is a real Romanian talent. Larisa is the newest thing. She was on the London team. Larisa is a great all around gymnast, and she competed on all events for Romania in the team final, and was a huge part of the bronze medal effort for team Romania. Some of us bloggers around the gymternet thought that Larisa would retire after not making the team, but luckily, Larisa decided she wants to do it all over again. In my opinion, Larisa is the newest Nadia Comeneci. She shares Nadia's artistry, and even a little bit of my twentieth favorite gymnast's, Olga Korbut's power. Did I say a little bit? I mean a lot of her power. Larisa is a true talent. and I am looking forward to see where her career takes her.
Larisa Iordache BB Team Final Olympics 2012
'
9. Shawn Johnson of the United States-
Why: Shawn was always a great gymnast, fighting neck to neck with legend, Nastia Liukin. From the first competition Shawn competed in as a senior, I knew she was going to go to the Olympics. Shawn beat Nastia in nearly every all around till Beijing, where she had to settle for the silver medal in the all around, but then captured gold in front of teammate, Nastia. I love Shawn Johns=on, and her beam routine. Especially her routine in the beam final. AH-MAZING
Shawn Johnson 2008 Olympics Balance Beam Event Finals
8. Katelyn Ohashi of the United States
Why: Katelyn is a solid all arounder and is a great gymnast. I love her. She is such a great gymnast with great fluidity and lines. She is a WOGA gymnast after all! I love her gymnastics. She won the 2013 American Cup. She is a great all around gymnast, and I am looking forward to see her in Rio!
Katelyn Ohashi - Balance Beam - 2013 AT&T American Cup
7. Aliya Mustafina of Russia
Why: Its obvious that Aliya is a major talent. She has won multiple medals at the 2012 Games, she is a multiple world champion, and she is a great gymnast, who I respect amazingly. Even after she came back from the almost-career-ending-injury, she came back and was even better. She is a great gymnast, who everyone looks up to. She is a master gymnast, who can get medals in any situation.
Aliya Mustafina Uneven Bars EF -- 2012 London Olympics
6. Kyla Ross, USA
Why: Kyla Ross is a true talent, and she made the 2012 Olympic Team: And it was her first year as a senior! Kyla contributed solidly on both beam, bars, and floor in the qualifiers, and bars and beam in the team finals. Kyla is a true athlete, and I am glad to see that Kyla is continuing with the sport. Here is Kyla's beam.
Kyla Ross (USA) - 2012 Olympics Qual [BB]
5. Peng Peng Lee of Canada
Why: Peng Peng is a great gymnast, I watched her since her junior days, I remember the 2008 Pacific Rims, when she came with Canada, she hit 3 of her events, but had a rough bars rotation when she was transitioning down to the low bar with half twist, came up way too close to the bar, and hit her stomach on the low bar OUCH!!!!!! But Peng Peng never fell off the bar, even though it knocked the wind out of her, she held the bar caught her breath, and finished the routine. Peng Peng was amazing. She even made the London team, but injured herself before she could compete, but she was in the audience cheering her team on. Peng Peng now competes for UCLA, but she is still in gymnastics, which is what truly counts. Want to see the routine that proves Peng Peng's strength? Here it is!!! And did I mention, even at the Pacific Rims in 2008, her routines had high difficulty and were geared for the London Games?
Peng Peng Lee - Uneven Bars - 2008 Pacific Rim Championships
4. Nastia Liukin of USA
Why: What to say about Nastia Liukin? She has been winning since her first meet as a gymnast, except when Shawn came to the scene, but she won the most important title of all. The Olympic all around title. She was a phenomenal gymnast, and I miss her. She was a great gymnast who will leave a legacy in gymnastics. She was a great bar worker, and could've been a big help to her team in London. Here is the part that wowed me. The stuck landing on her weakest event, the vault.
Nastia Liukin - Vault - 2008 Olympics All Around
The Final 3
3. Jordyn Wieber
Why: Jordyn was a solid competitor, she was the World Champion! And even though Gabby won the Olympics, I still think that Jo is the best gymnast ever. She can hit all her events, and can be depended on for team USA. She helped them win their second ever Olympic Gold Medal, she also is coaching at UCLA now, and seriously? With an Olympian's coaching, UCLA has a way better shot at the NCAA Title. I really want Jordyn to come back, but we can't control that, Only Jordyn Can. I love her and wish she will come back. I put in the routine that clutched her victory
Jordyn Wieber 2011 World EF FX Floor Exercise (BBC)
2. McKayla Maroney, USA
Why: Have you seen this girl vault? Her vault in team was epic. She is also great on floor, but her vault in London at Teams, AH-MAZE-ING! It was truly phenomenal to watch. I swear, I nearly fainted when I first saw it. I rewatched it everyday for the next three weeks, and I was always in utter shock. I was amazed that Maroney could do it! She could stick such a hard vault! WAY 2 GO MAC! If you haven't seen Mac's perfection vault, you are going to see it now, here at triplewhip.
THE McKayla Maroney Vault London 2012
(The Fourth one is a really cool image)
My Favorite Gymnast of ALL TIME
1. USA'S Aly Raisman
Why: I love Aly because she is determined. She didn't quit when she lost competitions that she wanted to win, she kept going and made two Worlds Teams! 2010 2011, and won the silver in 2010, but bounced right up with the Members of the Tokyo Team and won the gold in teams. I love Aly she is a phenomenal gymnast, and I want to see her in Rio to defend the team title as well as her bronze medal on beam, and her gold on floor. Maybe even get a peg or two higher on beam. But here is her gold medal winning floor routine.
Alexandra Raisman - Olympics Events Final Floor London 2012
Well, there you have it, those are my top twenty favorite gymnasts!
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