Internationally Inexperienced doesn't equal Untalented.

Heather Maynez

"It's not a good idea to put a very inexperienced gymnast on the team. That's begging for trouble. Her upgrades won't even help her get an alternate spot."

I read this in a forum after Day 1 of Nationals about Corrie Lothrop in 2008. Corrie was later placed on the 9 person Olympic Squad. And I was like... "Wow, we sure should respect these girls' chances more. You never know who can make the team."

And here we are in 2012... and I read this:
"I can't picture Marta taking a chance on an athlete with such little experience. Also compared to the rest of the field she's pretty weak."  


This was in reference to Kennedy Baker.


I was a little bit taken back. Kennedy's talented. Like, really talented. If you missed the fact that she medaled at the US Classics, she was also the 2009 Bars champion and has been a National Team Member since 2010.

Oh, and then there's this.

(Video by USAG)

She opens with a 1.5 to Double Arabian and then completes a DOS SANTOS for her second pass. 

She also has a host of other big skills that she completes cleanly such as a Patterson which she almost stuck on Day 1 of competition.

Kennedy's AA Start Value is only 3 tenths lower than McKayla Maroney. Kennedy hit 58.05 yesterday. That's a really big score. Bridget Sloan's only hit that once in this scoring system; Sabrina Vega never has. Kennedy could fill in due to injury on literally any event. 

Am I saying that Kennedy's spot is a done deal? To be honest, after last night, I'm starting to wonder if Jordyn's spot is a done deal! (Not really, but you get my point.) Of course it's not a done deal. 

But I will say, a gymnast not having international experience doesn't mean she's untalented. Just because you didn't pay attention to her before this year doesn't mean she hasn't been around. And don't hate on Kennedy (or Elizabeth or Brenna or whoever else), until you've seen them perform.  

For what it's worth, it was less than a year ago when I read this quote about Gabrielle Douglas: 

"A career ended last night."

Anything can happen kids; This is gymnastics. 

Dark Horses for London - McKenzie Wofford

At the 2011 Covergirl Classic, I was in awe after two rotations when first year senior McKenzie Wofford was the leader. I thought to myself, "Wow, how cool would it be if this fairly unknown girl won this competition on national television!" After Wofford competed her two weaker events, she ended up in fourth. Unfortunately, a last minute foot injury kept Wofford out of Championships.

McKenzie's weakest event is vault. At the US Classics, she only competed a Yurchenko full, though she demonstrated last year that she's capable of a 1.5.

In 2009, I remember thinking that bars could be Wofford's ticket onto an international team. Although she hasn't made as huge of an impact as I expected, she still has exceptionally strong bars. She's got a 5.9 Start Value, but her execution is regularly in the high 8s. She placed second last year at Visas behind Katelyn Ohashi. With a few upgrades she has the potential to be amongst the best in the world on this event.

(Property of USAG)

Believe it or not at Classics, McKenzie had the highest senior beam start value in the country. Yes, you read that correctly. McKenzie had a 6.3 start value on Beam at the US Classic, .1 higher than Jordyn Wieber and Aly Raisman had at that meet. When she hits, she is one of the strongest beam workers in the country. She placed 4th at Championships behind Raisman, Wieber & Sacramone, all of whom have made Worlds Beam Finals.

On floor, McKenzie lacks power on her tumbling passes, but dances well. I don't see her really factoring in much on this event, as she only has a 5.1 start value. She placed 10th at Classics out of the 15 girls who competed.

McKenzie's only competed internationally at the Bumpo Cup in South Africa where she won the Bars Title.  After suffering an injury in August, she was an alternate for the Pan American Games. After leaving WOGA in 2010, some have assumed that Marta may be biased against her. But at the end of the day, Marta's got to put politics aside if someone can truly help the team win an Olympic gold.

As I've said with the other "Dark Horses", it would take an unexpected hole or amazing upgrades for McKenzie to be one of the five girls to make it to London. She could, however, make a phenomenal alternate.

Dark Horses for London - Kennedy Baker

(Property of USA Gymnastics)

In an interview earlier this year, Kennedy Baker said that she'd love to go through the Olympic Selection process. Not only do I anticipate her doing this, but I think she'll make to the other side.

It may be because of her lack of presence in online media, or maybe it's because she's one of twelve elites at Texas Dreams, but people seem to forget just how good Kennedy is. She WON bars in 2009. Did you forget about that? Yeah, unfortunately, so did just everybody else. Which is awful, because she's just so good!

This year she competed a 6.2 SV on Bars. That's two tenths higher than Mackenzie Caquatto. With a little blip on high bar, she scored a 14.75 on the routine below, which would have earned her 4th place in the world in the World Championship Event Finals. I know, you're not supposed to compare scores across competitions, but I just thought it was worth pointing out.

She's got a clean double on Vault. I've never seen her miss it. To say that she could get an Amanar in the next 6 months might be a stretch, but it wouldn't be impossible. She's has added a half twist to her Yurchenko every year since 2009.

I really liked Kennedy's floor routine this year. Her music had pieces of "Ramalama" with Kelli Hill-esque choreography. I thought it worked well for her. However, her mediocre start value (5.6) and messy tumbling may keep her out of really factoring in on this event.

(Property of USA Gymnastics)

And then we come to beam. It's upsetting, because when she hits, she's fantastic. If she would have hit Day 2 as well as she hit Day 1, She would have placed 4th on Beam, rather than tying for 13th. She has a 6.1 Start Value, a fantastic Patterson dismount, and a Straddle Jump that even Dominique Dawes would envy. The trouble comes with consistency. Luckily her double turn in tuck position (A Humphrey minus 1/2) is becoming more consistent, but she's fallen several times in the past year.

What scares many people about Baker is that she literally has ZERO international experience even though this is her 2nd year on the National Team. But in my opinion, if Marta sends Baker to Jesolo, Pac Rims or another international competition early next year and she performs well, Kennedy has a fabulous shot at being an alternate or possibly even making the team.

Is there a "dark horse" who you think that I should cover? Let me know in the comments!

Dark Horses for London - Sarah Finnegan

Shawn Johnson, Carly Patterson, Courtney Kupets and Nastia Liukin all seemed to be shoo-ins for the Olympics. But what about those who you many didn't really expect to see on the Olympic Team (or as an alternate) like Tasha Schwikert, Corrie Lothrop and Mohini Bhardwaj? In the next few weeks, I'm looking to showcase girls other than Jordyn Wieber and Rebecca Bross: The Dark Horses for London.

(USA Gymnastics)

In my opinion, Sarah Finnegan is one of the most underrated gymnasts in America. Based on the Visa Scores of all Olympic eligible gymnasts, Finnegan placed 3rd All Around, behind only Wieber and Ross. While Al Fong's comment about intending to make the Olympic team made me uncomfortable, Finnegan has a good shot at being an alternate, and may even be on the team if some of the expected members (god forbid) become injured.

Vault: Finnegan has a Double Twisting Yurchenko, which usually scores in the high 14s.

Bars: Although Finnegan placed 5th on bars this year, I wouldn't consider it a strong event for her. She has a start value of 5.6 and while she has fairly good form, she sometimes struggles to stay in handstand on pirouettes. Even if she made the team, I couldn't see her factoring in a Team Final setting on this event unless all of the strong bar workers are completely out.

Beam: Finnegan's start value on beam is a 6.4 which rivals many of the girls who competed in Worlds' Event Finals this year. She does struggle on some of her dance elements like her Humphrey and a leap that doesn't ever seem to get anywhere near 180 (Johnson with a half, if I remember correctly). Overall, with some polishing, Finnegan could rival the best in the world on this event.

Floor: Most people, however, recognize Finnegan because of her floor routine which has a 5.8 Start Value. With the wonderful dance skills of the typical GAGE girl, she earned the Junior National bronze this year, as well as the gold at Classics. She connects a Memmel into a full turn which is unbelievably beautiful! Girl can tumble and dance. 

Her coach, Al Fong is known to encourage upgrades in the Olympic year so her D scores will almost surely be higher in 2012. My concern is whether or not she'll be able to perform those upgrades well and exceed expectations like Terin Humphrey, rather than fall short like Ivana Hong.

Sarah Finnegan has only been an Elite for 2 years now, but she's made the National Team both years. In September of 2010, Finnegan was on the Gold Medal Winning Pan American Championships team and she also won the Beam Bronze Medal.

Overall, I think it's a long shot to think that Finnegan will compete on a 5 member team in London, but she'd be a fantastic alternate.

Do you have an idea for a "Dark Horse" feature? Tell us in the comments!