10 Things your Favorite Gymnasts (may) be doing this Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

 

If you're not from The USA, this is the day when we celebrate killing hundreds of indigenous people... Okay, not really, but that's how it originated. We typically just eat a ton of turkey, get together with family and give thanks for the things that we have.

Here are 10 things that I think some of our favorite gymnasts may be doing this Thanksgiving: 

10. Miss Val & Rhonda Faehn give thanks for the fact that they won't even have to recruit soon; gymnasts will just come running to their teams.

9. Nastia Liukin makes a "handprint turkey" with no paint; she uses the blood from her newly formed rips.

8. Chris Burdette and Kim Zmeskal Burdette spend their day feeding an entire school of 150 displaced children. How nice! Oh wait, that's just their elite group.

(Property of Karolyi Camp Website) 

7. National Team Doctor Larry Nassar gives thanks that he won't have to set any broken bones until the next Training Camp in Early 2012.

6. Chellsie Memmel cheats her meal plan (as she stated on HBO) and eats Turkey and Fruit. 

5. Jordyn Wieber gives thanks for her spot on the 2012 Olympic Team. 

4. When Anna Liukin asks Valeri to pass the Mashed Potatoes, he becomes oddly overly protective of them and exclaims, "THESE ARE MY POTATOES, I MAKE WORLD CHAMPION POTATOES, DO NOT TAKE MY POTATOES LIKE BITCH TATIANA SCHEGOLKOVA!" 

3. Bela Karolyi attempts to "fit in with the American Traditions" and serves a thanksgiving dinner to Marta & Andrea. Bela says he never knew that stuffing paired so well with roasted camel. 

2. Jen Sey gives a press conference on how Elite Gymnastics caused Indian Turmoil, and how if the Parkettes Coaches weren't so mean, the pilgrims wouldn't have had to move to North America. 

1. Mustafina, Yao,  Komova, Iordache, Qiushang, Afanasyeva, Mitchell, Whelan, Ferrari & Grishina train, while the Americans eat turkey and stuffing!  

Of course these are jokes, thus the "(may)" disclaimer in the title. Don't take anything to heart. It's all good Thanksgiving fun. 

What happened to Madison Kocian?

Over the past few days (during camp in particular), everyone's been asking "Where is Madison Kocian?!"

(Property of USA Gymnastics) 

The WOGA Gymnast and former national team member was missing from the 2011 Elite Season and missed both Classics & Championships. I've heard all kinds of rumors including that she quit the sport, broke her foot, and changed gyms. None of those are true! 

After Madison won the Silver medal at the Jesolo competition she told USA Gymnastics that she planned to compete at Visa Championships, hoped to place in the Top 3 and receive an international assignment in the fall. 

After Classics, coach Valeri Liukin claimed he was still hopeful that she'd be attending Championships, but according to insiders, it was already apparent that Madison wouldn't be attending. There was no falling out or major injury; Madison was just tired. At that time she was listed on WOGA's website as a Level 10. While she never stopped training, she took the season to decide whether or not she and her family wanted to continue down the elite path.

As of today, both her official website and the WOGA site list Madison as an Elite Gymnast. 

Hopefully there will be more of that beautiful artistry for years to come.

Edit: Although WOGA & her official website state that Madison has gone back to elite, I was told the following by an ongoing source I have-

"Madison dropped to level 10, but all WOGA staff trying to hide the fact she did and making it look like she is changing her mind and going back, all politics, which makes WOGA look bad."

Sunday Funday - "Totally Looks Like"

In honor of the most fun, and best day of the weekend (Okay... maybe not...), I wanted to start a blog tradition of adding aspects of humor having to do with gymnastics each week. This week I've assembled and created some Totally Looks Like Memes having to do with gymnastics. 

 (^Created by Lindsay K)

 (^Created by Chelsea-N-Grant)

(^Created by lincolnwashere)

Do you have an idea for a gymnastics "Totally Looks Like"? Leave it in the comments section and you may see it here in the future!