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
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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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