The 11 Most Awkward Gymnastics Moments of 2011

11. You know that moment when you all show up to prom and you’re wearing the same dress as 3 other girls?

(All Photos Property of USA Gymnastics)

10. Worley Misses the High Bar (@thesplitleap)

Shayla Worley was supposed to be the star of Georgia. Unfortunately, no gymnast since Kristie Phillips failed to meet expectations so severely. This one takes the cake though, as Worley fails to mount the high bar. Last time I was in a gym, even Icould do that.

9. Peña’s Pan Ams Mishaps

After Peña struggled on her Handspring Double Front Vault at Worlds, most people in the gymnastics community thought one of two things: Either her struggles were a fluke or she’ll water down her vault. Nope. In both AA & EF Peña kept on falling/kind of landing and looks surprised when she does. I think she’s the only one who’s surprised at this point. Everyone is waiting for her to get severely injured; I hope she waters down before she does.

8.  Anna accepts Alicia’s Medal

This is only number 8 because Anna handled it so well. When Alicia Sacramone tore her Achilles, Marta oddly didn’t call her in as a bar worker. She DID however, call her in to accept Alicia’s Medal on the podium. If it would have been me, I’d have punched a bitch. Too bad Anna Li seems like the nicest, most gracious person on earth.

7. Wieber wins SCAM and Afan wins Floor at Worlds (Omelianchik100)

While both Wieber and Afansayeva had great performances in their respective competitions, something’s just plain uncomfortable about a gymnast winning a competition that she didn’t qualify for in the first place. No rules were broken, but the whole situation is a little awkward.

6. Nastia’s Inside Gymnastics Interview

While I'm sure that Nastia meant well, telling the press that she gave the girls a “pep talk” that brought the “spark back in their eyes” was really uncomfortable, even if it was true. Many fans also argued that it was INCREDIBLY bad timing for her to officially announce her comeback just after the US Team competed amazingly. 

5. Al Fong claims that his gymnasts will make the Olympic Team

(Property of GAGE Gymnastics)

And just when I started to think Al Fong was mellowing out… In an interview after Championships, Gymnastike asked him how he thought his gymnasts would fit into the picture of 2012. A NORMAL coach might said, “We’re gearing up for 2012 and I’m hoping that my gymnasts can do well next year.” But Al Fong is no normal coach. He said: “Two of my athletes are Olympic Eligible, and we intent to make the Olympic Team.” That’s just something you don’t say in the USA. John Geddert hasn’t said it, so Al Fong who has two good (but not great) Juniors should probably keep his mouth shut.

4. Announcer calls Aja-Monet Sims “Hallie Mossett” at Classics

(Property of Gym-Style)

This moment was incredibly awkward because everybody KNEW how awkward it was at the time. As Aja-Monet Sims prepared to salute the judges on uneven bars, (she has a really great Weiler-Comaneci combo, by the way) the announcer called Aja Monet Sims, Hallie Mossett. Aja looked awkwardly at the judges in a “Am I supposed to be here?” way, and then the judges looked back realizing how awkward the mistake was. (These were 2/3 African American Girls in the Senior Division.) The judges waited for a second before giving her the green flag, but the announcer never corrected himself.

3. Chinese wear the 2012 Champion Shirts at Worlds

(Property of Brigid McCarthy, The Couch Gymnast)

(Photo Property of SI)

2. NBC’s coverage of Bross’s injury (@Tsukthepain)

As if severe injuries aren’t traumatic enough for everyone involved, after Bross dislocated her kneecap, unsure of what to do, NBC played nearly 3 minutes of reaction shots. From Nastia covering her face, Chellsie shaking her head and Carly Patterson saying, “It hurts me”, this was possibly the most uncomfortable 3 minutes of television I’ve ever seen. Maybe this raw coverage of Bross crying will help wake us up to the dangers of the sport? It was still awkward and uncomfortable.

1. Komova thinks that she won, Mom freaks
I loved the 2011 Worlds AA Competition. It’s been a while since we saw such a close competition where we knew it could go either way. However, if the whole .033 difference was awkward enough, Komova was a REALLY sore loser about it. There are cultural differences, but in my opinion, no Silver medal winner was this unsportsmanlike since Khorkina in 2004. I understand that being 16 is hard, and that missing gold by only .033 is even harder. But, Mama Komova didn’t have to call foul with the judges. The situation seemed really awkward for everybody! 

You all gave me great ideas! Thank you! Keep sharing your story ideas in the future! 

World Championships Wrap Up

So here it is! The blog I've been talking about for 2 years now. I'm just going to go ahead and jump in here.

The World Championships: USA was obviously the big winner, with China & Russia right behind.  
The team competition went as everyone expected after seeing how well the newcomers did in Prelims. The big surprise to everyone was Komova's fall (I wasn't surprised, seeing as she looks like she's dying), and the fact that Vega was as fierce as she was. 

The All Around, of course, caused ALL kinds of drama. Here's what I don't get. Everyone on every blog and twitter wanted a really close competition that came down to the last event. Apparently things got too close for comfort because now about 50% of Fans are just endlessly bitching about it. This is the premise of the sport. A bunch of gymnasts get up and perform their routines and then the judges decide which one had the best execution & difficulty based on the code. Isn't that exactly what happened? Yeah, it was by .033 but isn't that the point? Isn't it exciting to see someone win by such a small margin rather than the 6 Points Wieber won by at Championships? 
Anyway, Raisman needs to be acknowledged for her AA Performance. Now, I've never been a big Raisman fan (She sat in front of me at 2009 Classics and made fun of Olivia Courtney), but I'm over it. She made a MAJOR mistake and still placed fourth in the World. She also really stepped it up in TF, becoming the leader when A-Sac was injured. Aly Raisman is now officially Fierce in my book. 

Vault finals were so much fun to watch. Up and comers, chucked Double Fronts and Phan from Vietnam falling in the medals! Oksana & McKayla medaled, which was great. 


There weren't any huge surprises on bars, other than the list of qualifiers. Only one girl qualified from China and she wasn't He Kexin. I was super sad for Douglas, who hit every routine at Worlds EXCEPT for her EF Bars Routine. She was totally capable of medaling but she smacked her legs on the bar, so no medal for her. I wasn't shocked with the bar medals of Komova, Nabieva & Qiushuang. 


Sui Lu is the most wonderful beam worker on earth. Hands down. I was so utterly impressed with her routine; I almost cried. No, I'm not kidding. Komova fell, but this time, I wasn't anticipating it. She looked fairly solid through the rest of her routine. Sui, Yao & Wieber medalled. What kind of world is this where the Russians go 1-2 on Bars and the Chinese go 1-2 on Beam? Weird. 

And then, we come to the hot mess of floor. What the HELL was that? There were 3 replacements, 2 of which were made the day of. Bulimar, Ferrari & Komova all didn't compete. Now, I know that the rules say that a country can replace an athlete for no reason for EF, but I'm still not a fan of this. Would I feel different if Afan wouldn't have won? Probably. But still, how are you going to replace this poor girl you've been running down all competition on the very last event? I do not approve. (Unfortunately, It's not up to me.) Also, am I the only one that HATES Lauren Mitchell's floor? All this hype with a 6.4 and "It's gonna be amazing!" and THAT'S what we get? Ew. I felt like I was watching a lemur flip around on speed. I'm really glad she didn't medal. Finally, HOORAY FOR ALY! I was getting scared for her there. Getting 4th place in the All Around, on Beam and on 2010 Worlds would suck if you never ended up getting a medal. Hello Pavlova. 

Overall, I'm excited for the next year to unfold and to see Bross & Mustafina healthy again and I can't wait for Ross, Grishina and others to be Seniors.

Event finals - day 2 (finally!)

Unfortunately my Sunday was rather busy (as was my Monday!) So it wasn't until last night that I managed to finally watch the event finals from Sunday.

Still there were a few happy- makers to be had.

1) Ana Porgras finally some gold around her neck after beautiful performances and graceful composure all week.


2) After the floor final had begun to look like a bit of a splat-fest, brilliant performances from Ferrari, Chelaru, Raisman , Sui Lu and of course Lauren Mitchell finished the women's competition in style.


3) The Rotterdam home crowd mustering to cheer on their gymnast, the incredible Epke Zonderland. And then with no subtlety at all boo the judges when he was knocked down to silver by Zhang Chenglong of China.


4) No bronzes handed out to the women on Sunday, showing just how close the competition is!

2 Golds, 4 silvers!

So that was Worlds 2010. With only 640 days to go until London 2012 it looks like we still have plenty to look forward to.....

Event Finals - day 1

She's wanted it for so long, now comeback queen Alicia Sacramone is World Champion on Vault.

The new world all-around champ Mustafina took silver and Jade Barbossa of Brazil (also in comeback mode) took the bronze.Full results here.

One question though may be nagging on a few minds - would things have been different if North Korea and Un Jong Hong had been allowed to compete. Most likely not- full credit to Alicia for achieving her goal at last.

Also Eleftherios Kosmidis of Greece took gold in the Men's floor final ahead of Uhemura and GB's Dan Purvis. Results here.

On Pommel Horse the honours went to Kristian Berki of Hungary with silver to Britain's Louis Smith and bronze Sellathurai of Australia.

In the bars final - I'm going on quick hits from Gym examiner here as the BBC coverage hasn't started yet!
first gymnast up - reigning olympic and world champion He Kexin fell on her jeager - there will be a new world champion this year - but who?
Her teammate Huang Quishang also comes off the bars. The door is wide open.
Beth Tweddle hits her routine out of the park - 15.733.
Bridget Sloan - a clean but less difficult routine 14.666
Aliya Mustafina - Also clean but can't quite match Beth. 15.600
Elizabeth Seitz goes for her difficult 'def' skill and misses. It was a risk which didn't pay off today but good on her for trying!
Ana Porgras- a good routine but can't quite challenge on difficulty 14.6
Rebecca Bross - Knocks team-mate Bridget Sloan out of 3rd place

So it's GOLD for Beth Tweddle
A second silver to Mustafina
and a second bronze for Bross.

Congratulations to the GB gymnasts - 3 medals in 1 day.
Right- I've written the results - now I can watch it!

The money shots-
Floor
Bars
Pommel
No prizes for guessing what she's praying for!
Bars
RingsGreat Britain

Another busy day.

After all the gymnastics and skating antics of yesterday there's more to come today. The event finals from worlds are about to start at 2.30pm UK time on BBC1.

Mustafina will be looking to add more gold to her gym bag havign qualified for finals on every event. Her competition includes Alicia Sacramone on vault and He Kexin & Beth Tweddle on bars.


The starting list for todays events is here.

Meanwhile in Japan, the expected winners prevailed in the pairs and dance events

Pairs

1	Qing PANG / Jian TONG	CHN	189.37	1	1
2	Vera BAZAROVA / Yuri LARIONOV	RUS	173.83	2	2
3	Narumi TAKAHASHI / Mervin TRAN	JPN	155.66	3	4

Dance

1	Meryl DAVIS / Charlie WHITE	USA	165.21	1	1
2	Kaitlyn WEAVER / Andrew POJE	CAN	141.57	2	3
3	Maia SHIBUTANI / Alex SHIBUTANI	USA	136.93	5	2

A great outing too for the young teams Takahashi & Tran and the Shibutani siblings, testing the water on the senior level.


The surprises came once again in the ladies event. Not only Mao Asada but also mini Mao (Kanako Murakami) had disasterous outings with 3 falls a piece. Mao will need a strong victory at her second event in Paris, as well as mistakes from others to even make the final now. 2010-11 could see a changing of the guard in ladies figure skating.

1	Carolina KOSTNER	ITA	164.61	1	2
2	Rachael FLATT	USA	161.04	3	1
3	Kanako MURAKAMI	JPN	150.16	2	5

Full NHK results here and a collection of videos here.

Picked for the team.

Thanks to Elaine on the IG forum and Brigid, The Couch Gymnast for this info. More and more world teams are now taking shape. These teams are nominative only and much can (and probably will) change...

Team USA
Rebecca Bross, Mackenzie Caquatto, Alicia Sacramone, Kytra Hunter, Mattie Larson, Alexandra Raisman (Samantha Shapiro -reserve). No mention of reigning world champ Bridget Sloan - she supposedly is too injured to compete. If this team stays the same then Bross will be the only common element with last years team.


Team Russia:
Ksenia Afanasyeva, Ksenia Semyonova, Tatiana Nabieva, Aliya Mustafina, Anna Myzdrikova, Ekaterina Kurbatova (Anna Dementieva -reserve). Sad not to see olympic veteran Anna Pavlova make the cut.


Team Romania:
Sandra Izbasa, Ana Porgras, Diana Chelaru, Raluca Haidu, Cerasela Patrascu, Gabriela Dragoi and Amelia Racea (reserve). This is surprising as Racea is the reigning european champion on beam, again I suspect injuries play the part. Olympic floor champ Izbasa looks in good form.

Team China:
Sui Lu, Huang Qiushuang, Deng Linlin, Jiang Yuyuan, He Kexin, Yang Yilin Wu Liufang (reserve). If all goes well for themChina are certainly capable of stealing the beam and bars golds and possibly upsetting the US or Russia on floor or in the all around. Sui Lu is looking fantastic!

Team Japan:
Koko Tsurumi, Yuko Shintake, Rie Tanaka, Mai Yamagishi, Momoko Ozawa, Kyoko Oshima (Akiko Sato -reserve).

Team North Korea:
Hong Un-jong, Hong Su-jong, Kim Un-hyang, Kang Yong-mi.

Team Ukraine:
Yana Demyanchuk, Alina Fomenko, Angelina Kysla, Yevzhenya Cherniy, Valentina Holenkova, Anastasia Koval and Alyona Kaidalova (reserve). No mention of Daria Zgoba.

Team Belarus:
Alina Sotnikava, Nadezhda Visotskaya, Liliya Khaan, Anastasia Marachkouskaya, Volha Makhautsova, Yevzhenya Zaitseva, no reserve.

Ecuador, Guatemala and Singapore have withdrawn from the event. Several other countries have reduced the number of athletes competing, prompting the FIG to wonder whether the draw for the event should be amended.

Commonwealth Chaos

Excitement for the upcoming commonwealth games in Delhi has been tarnished as the first teams to arrive have found not only filthy conditions in the athletes village, flood waters near the site breeding mosquitoes and even competition venues falling around them.


Several nations have even threatened to pull out if things don't improve and fast. The organising commitee stands fast that everything will be ready in time. The british gymnastics teams are still in training and planning to fly out Monday. I personally want to see all the gymnasts still attend and do well, and for them all to stay healthy (particularly the ozzies, many of whom are also due to compete at Worlds.)

Speaking of Worlds. The GB world team have been training together at the Lilleshall sports hall and posed held a media day. Photos can be seen on the BG facebook page . Several more nations have also announced their world teams this week.

Romania

Sandra Izbasa, Ana Porgras, Diana Chelaru, Raluca Haidu, Ceresela Patrascu, Gabriela Dragoi, Amelia Racea (one will be the alternate)

Argentina Ayelén Tarabini, Lucila Estarli, Aldana Carraro, Delfina Ortuño
Australia

Georgia Bonora, Ashleigh Brennan,Emily Little, Larissa Miller,Lauren Mitchell, Georgia Simpson,Georgia Wheeler

Also in the world of skating. The JGP has headed to Japan this week with several rematches of medallists from some the earlier events this season. The senior international season is also kicking off with the Nebelhorn trophy in Germany.

Several of the names to watch at Nebelhorn include-
Ice Dance
Anna Capellini and Luca Lanotte - the italian olympians won the short dance earlier today.
Natalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat- always crowd favourites
Alex and Maia Shibutani - promising US juniors for several seasons now- hoping to make a splash on the senior scene.
Ladies
Kiira Korpi and Jenna McCorkell are the seasoned faces.
Ashley Wagner of the US has withdrawn due to illness and will be replaced by Melissa Bulanhagui.
Mens
Long time favourite of mine Kevin Van-Der-Perren appears to be still putting off retirement. If he's healthy I'd predict a two horse race between him and Michael Brezina for the title.
Pairs
The promising young russian team Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov are the favourites here, although I couldn't like to count out Megan Duhamel of Canada and her new partner Eric Radford.

Also Queen Yu-Na has told the LA times that she has settled in well in California, she is looking for an appartment and will announce her new coach next month. As it is someone based in the LA area some potential names include Rafael Aratunian, John Nicks, Frank Caroll, or maybe even Michelle Kwan (unlikely - but it would be cool!)

Commonwealth Games - Team England

British Gymanstics and English Gymnastics have announced the England team for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

As the Commonwealth and World teams are seperate, we can safely expect a GB world team announcement will follow soon.

The girls headed to Delhi are

Marissa King
Imogen Cairns
Laura Edwards
Rebecca Wing
Jocelyn Hunt
(Alternate - Charlotte Lindsley)


Based on this (and the recent team in Gateshead) we can guess some (fairly) safe bets for the Rotterdam Team

Beth Tweddle
Becky Downie
Danushia Francis
Hannah Whelan
Nicole Hibbert
Jennifer Pinches/Niamh Rippin

The Men's Commonwealth team will be:

Reiss Beckford
Luke Folwell
Danny Lawrence
Max Whitlock
Steven Jehu
(Alternates - Robert Payne, Mathew Firth)

Meanwhile...

Back in the world of gymnastics-

The Chinese nationals are taking place. This will be one of the first stage in selecting the world team for them. Will they be able to stay on top of the world as they were in Beijing?


Olympian Jiang Yuyuan is one of the gymnasts debuting a new floor routine. We all loved her olympic routine- but she had outgrown it somewhat.

Whilst in the USA the newly assembled national team (minus Vanessa Zamarippa- who has been nudged by Marta that her routines lack difficulty) are down in Texas for the first of 2 worlds selection camps.


The US do like to draw out team selection! As I mentioned in my previous post, my picks for the team would be -

Rebecca Bross, Mattie Larson, Alicia Sacramone, Kytra Hunter,
Bridget Sloan - if she can be ready in time (Cassie Witcombe if she can't)

I confess I can't remember if there are teams of 5 or 6 this year. Ali Raisman would be a fairly safe and consistent 6th member and it would be sad to see her miss out to her own gym-mate, Sacramone.

GBR vs ROM event finals

Sunday saw the event finals at the friendly event in Ipswich.

VT
1. Imogen Cairns 13.938
2. Jennifer Pinches 13.938
3. Raluca Haidu 13.638

UB
1. Becky Downie 14.175
2. Danusia Francis 14.100
3. Daniela Andrei 13.600



BB
1. Cerasela Patrascu 14.425
2. Danusia Francis 14.250
3. Diana Trenca 14.200

FX
1. Imogen Cairns 13.975
2. Daniela Andrei 13.925
3. Diana Trenca 13.875



Also as it seems to be the trend at the moment here are my picks for the US world team. This is based on the gymnasts needed for the team final and relies on a healthy and ready Bridget Sloan. If Bridget isn't ready then the US will need another bars worker such as Cassie Whitcome or Mackenzie Caquatto.

Team Members
Rebecca Bross
Mattie Larson
Alicia Sacramone
Kytra Hunter
Bridget Sloan

Team Final Events
VT - Larson, Sacramone, Hunter
UB - Bross, Larson, Sloan
BB- Bross, Sacramone, Sloan/Larson?
FX - Larson, Hunter, Bross/Sloan?

My picks for the AA would be Bross and Larson (but if Sloan is ready it might be cruel to not let her try and defend her title)

Finally - if anyone has been missing it- the Olympic Alphabet will continue from tomorrow!