Chellsie Memmel speaks out on Classics and a denied petition...

Property of Gym Examiner

I'm not going to catch you up on the whole Chellsie Memmel situation, but if you've been under a rock, you can read my post from earlier this week. A few days ago, I realized that we had heard from just about everyone in the gymnastics community on this issue with the exception of Chellsie Memmel, herself. I wondered what she had to say on the issue.

"Classics for me was going to be a tune up meet. We decided to just do one event so I could petition to do all around at Championships, " Memmel said, "No one actually said to me that I needed a 14 in order to be considered for a petition."

Was a score of 14 arbitrarily made up in order to keep the "princesses" in and keep Chellsie out? Many fans think so and are understandably outraged. In under a week, a petition published on Change.org has received over 2500 signatures asking USA Gymnastics to reconsider Chellsie's petition.

"I am so grateful to have this amount of support. It honestly took me by surprise how quickly people jumped into action. It's so nice to have such amazing fans," Memmel told Get a Grip.

USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny however, didn't feel as positive about the support, calling her fans "not very cordial or nice" to Andy Memmel according to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article published Thursday. Penny also asked Chellsie to retire outright.

"He just suggested that I retire right away. I'm not ready to shut the door completely; I need some more time." But whether or not we'll see Chellsie on the floor next year is still to be determined.

"Right now, I am taking things one day at a time.  I don't know if I will continue, I was planning on being done after this year no matter how things turned out.  I just thought that I would have at least been given the chance to compete at Championships.  My first one was in St. Louis, it would have been cool to be able to have my last one there as well. Since I did take the judges course, that is definitely a path that I can take.  I am also thinking about college," Chellsie said.   

I'm sure that nearly all of Chellsie's fans would love to see her continue, successfully pursuing her 4th quadrennium in elite gymnastics. But I think that it's worth mentioning that few fans are surprised with the exceptional amount of class and professionalism Chellsie exhibited throughout this entire ordeal. When I asked if she thought that she was given a fair chance she simply responded, "I'm just going to say 'no comment'."

Inconsistencies keep Chellsie out of Nationals.

Property of Heather Maynez

I don't mean Chellsie being inconsistent, I mean the selection committee.

I originally thought that being a Pan Ams Team member wouldn't put you through to Visas. It's not mentioned on the Elite Qualification Chart whatsoever. But then, in the Olympic Selection procedures, I discovered this listed as a way to qualify.

"By being one of the seven (7) members of the 2011 World Championships or one of the six (6) members of the 2011 Pan American Team."  


If you remember, Chellsie was named to the team and after sustaining an injury and was replaced by Grace McLaughlin.

But she was replaced by an alternate, so she must not be considered a team member, right?! WRONG.

Gabrielle Douglas was supposedly originally the alternate for the Worlds Team. Thus, Anna Li & Alicia Sacramone both sustained injuries and were replaced. Yet, they are still being allowed to proceed to Championships even though they did not compete as part of the World Championships team.

This is a blatant inconsistency. It's not okay in the slightest. I don't know why the rules are different for Chellsie and Alicia, 2 wonderful gymnasts who have given a combined 20+ years to USAG, but it is downright wrong. It's not okay.

EDIT 5/28/12:  I just found out that Juniors Lacy Dagen and Ashley Foss were put through to Championships without receiving the qualifying score of 52.5. Neither of the two have ever qualified to Championships before. Although the two are beautiful gymnasts, please, tell me why the selection committee will bend the official rules for 2 juniors, but not bend the unofficial rules (meaning getting a 14.0) for a former World Champion.

10 Insiders' Opinions of Camp and Marta's System

The premise of the feature was to find out what the coaches, gymnasts and USA Gymnastics staff really think about the National Team Training camp. Of course, no one would say their true feelings if their names were released along with their opinions so each respondent was promised anonymity. 

All of these are straight out of the mouths of Elite Gymnasts, Coaches and Other Staff Members. Answers have only been edited for spelling, grammar and to ensure anonymity. 

“I think the results speak for themselves. The camps serve a very valuable purpose and are instrumental to the success of the USA program.”

“I look forward to the training camps and so do my athletes. It is an incredible learning environment and it is where we bond as a team.”

“All good. [The person I coach with and I] are both supportive of the camps and their obvious results. The ‘rumors’ are so hyperbolic.” 

“I definitely feel the camps are beneficial. Without them, I don't think the U.S. Would be as great at gymnastics as we are today. The trainer that is there does a very good job with helping everybody stay healthy.”

“I feel like the gymnasts getting injured is not because of Marta or her Training Camps, but because of the gymnasts own destiny. Plus that's the name of the game sadly, it's keeping your body healthy, and training very hard at the same time. I wouldn't blame anybody because that's just mean.”

“Of course the sport of gymnastics will always have injuries and all of coaches and athletes are aware of this. The US team is by far one of the strictest, if not the strictest team, out of all the countries, which can take a tough toll on all of the gymnasts bodies during a big competition time. Not only physically, but the mental aspect of it is what is exhausting. With Marta's system, it is extremely tough, but that's what it takes to be the best athlete and the best team in the World. Being prepared physically and mentally to become the best that you are capable of being. Having the confidence of knowing you've pushed through the worst of workouts and can still make your routines, you're mentally prepared for the routine at a competition. The training camps are intense, but if you don’t train and practice with that intensity, how can one feel fully prepared and confident going into a competition with any circumstances that may come about. People got injured, but it didn't matter because every girl on the Worlds team was prepared in every even that they trained. It's the nature of our sport to have injuries. We train and compete on broken bones, torn muscles, or ligaments, but its all the hard work and dedication that we've put into it Every single day, that makes no one want to give up when you're finally reaching your life long dream and goal. The National Team Training Camps and Marta's system is brutal but I know it's her ways and opinion on reaching success and it has proven to do so. She tries to do what's best for the team and USA always ends up on top, regardless of injuries.”

"Well, I think that having two selection camps was probably not necessary. Maybe one would have been better. ...  But it was definitely interesting hearing Martha say that having the mock competitions at the camps helped decide whether or not to put Gabby Douglas on the team, and she clearly benefited from that. I mean I don't have an answer to what would be better, but I feel like there has to be other options. ... Most people tend to do better when they're enjoying what they're doing. Why not make them a little more fun and semi-enjoyable? It's still possible to work hard and get things accomplished in that setting. I mean, that may not be the answer either but that's just my take on it. At least that's my personal preference.

I will add though, that obviously something worked, since we just won Gold even after losing  Alicia two days before and the other injuries and circumstances." 

“From all my experience, it's no one's fault anyone gets injured. Its the nature of the sport and sure there are smarter ways to train and less smart ways to train but everyone has a personal coach who ultimately makes their training decisions and knows their body. It just stinks that the human body isn’t made to with stand the numbers and training required to succeed at that level. Its brutal but its what it takes and we are all so willing to do it!!”

“I don't think it has to do with training camps, or Martha. I think it just has to do with the numbers you put in your body and what you do when you train at home. At the training camps your body does get sore but it's just because you try different things. Injuries just happen sometimes.”

“Personally I don’t think has anything to do with Marta and the training camps I think sometimes injuries just happen. It may be because of all the hard hits you take while training at home. Even though we do have many camps I know that does make our bodies hurt a little, but not a ton, at least not for me.”

So what I understand from these responses: Camps are a necessary evil of being an elite. They help the team as a whole, but the girls often leave sore.


This can also be found on the International Gymnast Forum here.

A Sneak Peek for an IGF Feature!

I'm currently working on a really cool feature to post on the International Gymnast Forum but I wanted to give everyone who's been kind enough to follow my blog a sneak peek! 

The premise of the feature was to find out what the coaches, gymnasts and USA Gymnastics staff really think about the National Team Training camp. Of course, no one would say their true feelings if their names were released along with their opinions so each respondent was promised anonymity. 


While I haven't finished compiling and formatting all of the responses, I wanted to give you all a sneak peek of one of my favorite responses. 


The following is the opinion of one US Elite Gymnast: 


"Well, I think that having two selection camps was probably not necessary. Maybe one would have been better. ... 


But it was definitely interesting hearing Martha say that having the mock competitions at the camps helped decide whether or not to put Gabby Douglas on the team, and she clearly benefited from that. I mean I don't have an answer to what would be better, but I feel like there has to be other options. ... Most people tend to do better when they're enjoying what they're doing. Why not make them a little more fun and semi-enjoyable? It's still possible to work hard and get things accomplished in that setting. I mean, that may not be the answer either but that's just my take on it. At least that's my personal preference.

I will add though, that obviously something worked, since we just won Gold even after losing  Alicia two days before and the other injuries and circumstances." 

This is just one of the many responses that will be coming soon!

Join the  International Gymnast Forum if you haven't yet. It's free and open to everyone! 

Pan Ams Preview - The US Team

While waiting for The Pan American Games to begin Monday,  I realized how bizarre of a team this is. This is the first international assignment for 3 of the girls, 1 girl has been to some big yet low stakes meets, while 2 more have taken the title of World All Around Champion and were on the 2008 Olympic Team. Wow. This is weirder than the 2008 Pacific Rim Competition when Rebecca Clark and Darling Hill shared the stage with Nastia Liukin. 


Now, information is limited  due to the fact that the competitors are without internet and few bloggers are there so far. We do know, thanks to a picture taken by Amanda Lauren (@amandalaurenrob), that the girls are in the icky bubblegum pink leo for podium training and that they will be competing on Gymnova equipment. 

So who ARE these girls? 


Newest to the elite scene is Jessie DeZiel, 2011 Senior C JO National Champ, Freshman at Nebraska and fabulous vaulter. She only competes 3 events, but she actually had a a pretty decent JO Bar Set. She'll more than likely compete on Vault and Floor. She may compete Beam, but who knows?

Grace McLaughlin from WOGA wasn't even supposed to be on the team. After Chellsie Memmel had shoulder surgery, she was named to it. Most likely, Grace will compete on every event but Vault, on which she only has a 1.5. She's a great bar worker and has a strong beam routine but has problems with consistency. She's also had quite a few injuries. She was out for 2010 due to what I believe was a foot injury and she rolled her ankle keeping her out of the AA at 2011 Classics. Regardless, her leaps and artistry are FABULOUS making her totally fierce.

Next is Brandie Jay who has been an elite for 2 years now and is known as "that random girl with 2 vaults". Seriously, I've heard people refer to her that way several times at meets. She's also known for her cute little haircut. What she ISN'T known for is how good her bars actually are. In addition to placing 3rd on Vault in 2011 (Behind McKayla & A-Sac) she placed 7th on Bars. She most likely will go up on all four events, possibly skipping Beam if the delegation chooses to put DeZiel up instead. I'm certain that barring disaster, she'll make Vault finals and likely even earn a medal to hang in her dorm at Georgia next year. 

Likely to medal on Bars is Bridgette "Bridgey" Caquatto. Bridgey, who competed on the European Tour and Jr. Pan Ams in 2009 and at Jesolo in 2011, has a strong DTY and will almost certainly go up on all four events. You can't help but love her "Jai Ho" Floor routine and overall confidence throughout her meets. I'd be surprised if she did not make the All Around Final. 

And finally, we come to Shawn and Bridget. Shawn's openly said that she will not be competing all four events. She'll be an asset to the team on every event but floor. If she can hit, hopefully she can make beam finals and successfully show that she has returned to the international stage. Meanwhile many fans and journalists are pinning Sloan as the favorite for All Around Champion. I'm not sure if I agree. Sloan, who hasn't competed All Around since she won the World title in 2009, hasn't been healthy in a very long time. If she can return to a good condition, I think she has a shot, but we have no idea what kind of routines she'll be competing. 

(Photo by Grace Chiu, USA Gymnastics) 

I think that everyone's in agreement that unless literally everyone falls, the US will win. The last time that the US did not win the team title at the Pan Am Champs, Games or Jr. Champs was in 1999, one of the deepest darkest years of American Gymnastics. Even this hodgepodge team has strong basics and good form; I just hope they hit. Go USA! 

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.

Goings on

I'm currently away from home in Newcastle for a family wedding with a wounded laptop in tow - still feel it is right to update on the recent sports happenings when I get a moment.


A few miles from here the GB gymnasts beat the Swiss girls in their latest friendly international. Some of the bigger names were competing here than at the recent GB vs Romania meet. GB (Rebecca Downie, Jenni Pinches, Danusia Francis, Nicole Hibbert, and Hannah Whelan) scored 168.700 in the team competition to convincingly beat Switzerland (Ariella Kaeslin, Jennifer Senn, Jennifer Rutz, Linda Stampfli, Minu Krasniqi) with 152.850.

Becky Downie returned from her recent injury to claim the all around with a score of 55.950.
Becky said: “It feels really great to put in a performance like I have today. I was really happy with Beam and excited to be able to show off my new Floor routine, so overall I’m very happy.” GB also took the top 4 spots in the all-around with Kaeslin in 5th, scoring 53.100.

At the Russian Cup, Aliya Mustafina showed she is back on form after collecting a number of medals at Europeans then looking lacklustre performance at the Japan Cup. Mustafina took the all-around with 62.271 (The scores here were inflated as the judges gave extra marks for originality). The Ksenias, Afansyeva and Semenova took silver and bronze respectively. I would love to see all 3 of these girls at Worlds, although I suspect Semenova will miss out on the AA final.

In the skating world, as I predicted the Russian's made a comeback in the ladies event at JGP France. Polina Shelepen completed a 7-triplr jump programme to take gold ahead of Yasmin Siraj (USA) and Rosa Sheveleva (Russia). France's Yretha Silete was 4th and Jiang of the USA 5th. Andrei Rogozine (Canada) held onto the Men's title. Stepanova and Bukin of Russia decisively won the ice dance event.

Stateside- one of the USA's international bar workers, Cassie Whitcombe has a broken leg. This will likely take her out of the World's race. What this means is that either Bridget Sloan needs to get healthy and fast - or Mackenzie Caquatto (who I had dismissed for being inconsitent) may get the call. For such a strong team USA has a big weakness in the bars department- Where's a healthy Liukin when you need her!

And finally - on the other side of the World, Sui Lu won the all around at the Chinese Nationals. Her score of 56.900 bettering Jiang Yuyuan (56.35) and Huang Qiushuang (55.600). Deng Linlin missed the competition with a pulled thigh muscle.

Where do we go from here?

I was pondering this evening where 'Queen Yu-Na' will go if she chooses (or is forced) to leave the Cricket Club.


I could think of only two places that would do for her.

The Granite Club in Toronto is another exclusive private club and the base (for at least some of the time) of Lori Nichol, Kurt Browning and Patrick Chan. I'm sure Yu-Na could get plenty of first rate coacing and ice time here and would not have to sever all ties with Toronto. But with Canada skaters so loyal to Brian - would she really get a warm welcome?


However- if Yu-Na wants more of a change of scene she might consider moving to Michelle Kwan's family rink, the East West Ice Palace in Artesia, California. This place is busy with californinian skaters (Caroline Zhang being one of them) but I'm sure Yu-Na would be welcomed. I'm sure the biggest star in Korea would suit LA rather well.

I can't see Yu-Na going to Russia as however big a star you are you must slog it there. And life in Korea would still be just to crazy if she still wants to train and compete.

Meanwhile

French Skater Yrethra Silete has surprised many and won the short program at JGP france. The skater who's best finish on the JGP to date was 6th place at the event in Dresden last week scored 48.67. This put her narrowly ahead of Polina Shelepen (RUS, 48.11) and Nina Jiang (USA, 48.06). I have a feeling the russian will take it in the free skate but is would be great to see this french unknown hold on for a medal at home.

(Photo of Silete by David Carmichael)


In the men's competition Canada's Andrei Rogozine topped the short programme (64.52) ahead of the two americans Max Aaron (64.31) and Jason Brown (58.00).

All the US skaters competing in the Senior Grand Prix this season are in Colorado Springs for Champs Camp- which this year includes a monitoring competition.

I'm sure all the interviewers will be wanting a few words from Adam Rippon on the situation back at the Cricket Club!

Mirai Nagasu won't be skating at the camp as she has a stress fracture in her foot (this girl has ROTTEN luck!) She is due to be back on the ice September 1st. However it seems to be lucky she made it to the camp at all given these tweets:
Woke up today...at 10...got ready to go to the mall....and then...

I checked my email and realized I've got a plane to catch!! Hello Champs
camp!!:)

Gotta love that girl!

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!

Yep - still happy!

Congrats go out again to Rebecca Bross and Mattie Larson. 1-2 at the US championships after both completing 2 clean all around competitions in a row.

Full results at USA Gymnastics.
1. Rebecca Bross, Plano, Texas, 120.300
2. Mattie Larson, Los Angeles, Calif., 117.000
3. Alexandra Raisman, Needham, Mass., 115.650
4. Kytra Hunter, Frederick, Md., 114.350
5. Mackenzie Caquatto, Naperville, Ill., 113.350
5. Chelsea Davis, Lakeway, Texas, 113.350
7. Samantha Shapiro, Los Angeles, Calif., 112.000
8. Vanessa Zamarripa, Shiloh, Ill., 111.400

New national team family photos


Also on the other side of the pond- Romania narrowly beat GB at the friendly meet in Iswich 165.400pts vs.163.100pts. The big stars (Tweddle and Isbasa) didn't make an appearance after all but Hannah Whelan (GB 55.65) won the all around ahead of Daniela Andrei (ROM 55.60) and Raluca Haidu (ROM 54.900).


And - even further East - the Youth Olympics have started with Gymnastics taking place later this week. It's all go!

Happy Maker

I woke up to some good news this morning.

My 2 favourite US gymnasts hit 4 for 4 last night and are 1-2 at the Visa Championships.


Rebecca Bross started out with her ususal power and better execution than normal on bars (although she couldn't quite stick her dismount for once) she made up for it later by making her beam dismount with room to spare and sticking her vault cold. Bross Finished the night comfortably in first with 60.400.

Mattie Larson reminded us she is well and truely back with a great 4 events. Her floor was beautiful with almost perfect landings on all the tumbling. I would love to see these 2 make the AA final at worlds. Larson finished the night with 58.200.


Alicia Sacramone finished first on vault with an average of 15.350 and second to Bross on beam with 14.850.

I've only been able to watch a few of the hilights on the Universal Sports website, but one person who did not have a great night was Bridget Sloan. Onle competing beam here didn't give her much room to make an impresstion, and she managed to make a poor one with a dismal 13.150. She's going to need some real fight in her to make the world team this year or secure a second olympic spot once the new juniors come up fighting.

Mind you - speaking of Juniors. Shock of the evening was that Jordyn Wieber fell 3 times on beam and appears to have injured her ankles. She may not compete in the finals. With her place on the national team assured and her age keeping her from Worlds, I hope she plays it safe and smart. Kyla Ross leads the junior event

View full results here.

Right - gymnastics break over - back to my vacation!

Meanwhile in the world of Gymnastics

Next week I will be taking a much needed holiday from work, revision and dissertation writing. From a blogging perspective though, I seem to have picked a bad week- it's all happening at the moment.

Youth Olympics kick off in Singapore. A full list of participants is available here. One update is that Jessica Hogg is replacing Laura Mitchell for team GB gymnastics as Mitchell has a fractured ankle.


Other British gymnasts will be facing off against Romania at a friendly event in Ipswich. I'm sad to be missing this one but can't complain as I did see both teams at the Euros recently. IG has reported that olympic floor champ Sandra Izbasa will be returning as part of the romanian team. Hopefully Beth will be there too, giving Izbasa a run for her money on floor.

The Romanian Team has been announced as
Sandra Izbasa, Ana Porgras, Diana Chelaru, Gabriele Dragoi, Ceresela Patrascu Diana Trenca, Dana Andrei
GB has announced their National Squad - but not yet which girls will compete in Ipswich


And the Americans will be fighting it out at the Visa Championships. I'm sure there'll be no shortage of blog reporting on that event, if classic was anything to go by.

The start list for seniors is :-
Georgia Dabritz, Vanessa Zamarippa, Rhaegan Courville, Kytra Hunter,
Lauren Beers, Becca Bross, Samantha Shapiro, Sophina deJesus,
Cassie Whitcomb, Alicia Sacramone, Bridgette Caquatto, Brandie Jay,
Kaitlyn Clark, Sophia Lee, Jaclyn McCartin, Bridget Sloan,
Amanda Jetter, Aly Raisman, Mackenzie Caquatto, Annette Miele,
Morgan Smith, Mattie Larson, Chelsea Davis.

Sam Shapiro is apparently still hoping to compete bars and beam after hyperextending both her knees on her vault at the classic. I haven't heard anything to say Bridget sloan won't be competing all around - she'll be facing stiff competition for her title though, Bross in particular won't want to see another gold slip away.....

Bolt from the Blue

17 year old world vault champion from the US , Kayla Willams has made the surprising decision to stop competing elite gymnastics and focus on getting ready for college gymnastics.

Kayla made the metioric leap from the US junior championships to world champion in a single year. We all predicted she'd be around at least until 2012 if not maybe 2016!

She was due to compete at the Classic last weekend but pulled out after a minor injury ( a torn plantar fascia tendon in her foot.) Her coach, Mary Lee Tracey said Kayla felt this would hinder her chances of making the 2010 world team so decided to start getting ready to College. Kayla committed to joining thr University of Alabama team from next summer.

Whilst I still find this a surprising decision- I wish her luck.

.....It does look then as if comeback-kid Alicia Sacramone's chances of making the world team this year have increased then, with USA minus one strong vaulter- the mighty Marta will have her eyes open!

Classic - Seniors

I have managed to get a video link of the Senior event- makes the late night worthwhile!

I'll be updating as much as I can, probably between rotations.

Rotation 1
Vanessa Zamarippa - started off with a good vault - but with some big steps on landing - 14.5
Mackenzie Caquatto - came out fighting on bars- looking great 15.05
Alicia Sacramone - got the job done on beam- announcing her comeback - 14.8
Kytra Hunter - threw some massive stuff on floor (full twisting dbl layout, piked + tucked dbl arabians) same music as last year.
Ali Raisman- started a bit wobbly on beam but finished with a dbl arrabian dismount 14.3
Cassie Whitcomb - strong on floor- great landings. - It's all going well so far...
Mattie Larson - looked awesome and so sure of herself on beam - until she sat down on the dismount :-( 13.45
Sam Shapiro - solid on beam, over-time on her routine. Still has a cool beam mount, lots of standing on the top of her toes though - ouchy
After rotation 1 - 1 Caquatto, 2 Sacramone, 3 Hunter, 4 Shapiro, 5 Zamarripa

Rotation 2
Amanda Jetter - double twisting yurchenko
(whoever is on floor in the background is using shawn johnson's old music)
Briley Casanova - bars, good handstands, slightly sloppy releases, big fall on dismount though. She has to do well today to qualify for nationals
Kytra Hunter- dbl yurchenko, small step fward
Ali Raisman - good on floor, 2 tumbling passes stuck. dbl arabian pike and tuck.
Rebecca Bross- fast and furious as ever on bars, stuck dismount, business as usual. 15.45
Mattie Larson - means business on floor - stuck almost everything until last pass- o.o.b.
Sam Shapiro - floor- slightly simpler tumbles, beautiful dance.
Mackenzie Caquatto- wobbly on beam- 1 fall and almost another on dismount.
Katelyn Clarke - pretty good on floor, not all that memorable though.
After Rotation 2 - 1 Hunter 29.45, 2 Zamarripa 29.05, 3 Shapiro 28.8, 4 Jetter 28.7, 5 Raisman 28.6, 6 Whitcomb, 7 Lee, 8 Larson

Rotation 3
Rebecca Bross- hard day on beam, sat down her dbl arabian dismount
Bridget Sloan- squeaks it on bars- a few tricky moment but made it
Ali Raisman- went for an amanar vault, under-rotated and fell. not even close.
Kytra Hunter- landed splat on her bars release.
Mattie Larson - good double yurchenko vault, maybe I will get my wish!
Cassie Whitcombe- good and tidy bar routine - a good day for her.
Sam Shapiro- bad landing on vault - likely done herself an injury (again)
Alicia Sacramone - 2 big vaults, handspring 1/2 and only a yurchenko full - but very well done
Vanessa Zamarippa- painful looking fall off beam, otherwise v. pretty
After 3rd rotation: 1 Whitcomb, 2 Jetter(-0.25) 3 Larson (-0.6) 4 Shapiro (even with the vt crash) 5 Raisman, 6 Lee, 7 Zam, 8 Macko

Rotation 4
Sam Shapiro apparantly hyperextended her knee back on vault. Not too serious but definitely the end of her competition today.
ASac says she is like a fine wine 'I get better with age' !!
Ali Raisman- a great bar routine by her standards.
Cassie Whitcomb - lookied like she had it in the bag until a fall on beam- open door.
Mattie Larson- great bar routine - I have my fingers crossed for her :-)
Vanessa Zamarippa- very expressive floor ex, lack difficulty but great to watch.
Amanda Jetter- no fall but some mistakes on beam, gonna be close...... 13.7

Mattie wins- yipee!!
Jetter 2nd, Caquatto 3rd, Whitcomb 4th

However - Larson's winning score was 57.1 - The Jrs wiped the floor with the Srs today

Anyway - its now 3am UK time --> bed time zzz

Classic- news, results, pics

The Junior session of the Covergirl Classic just wrapped up. The final standings at the top were

1 Jordyn Wieber 59.95 - no surprises there.
2 Katelyn Ohashi 59.1 - Woga's newest star
3 Kyla Ross 58.7
4 Sabrina Vega 57.25
5 Madison Kocian 56.2 (right- beautiful to watch)
6 Lexie Preissman 55.9
7 McKayla Maroney 55.65
8 Mackenzie Brannan 55.45
9 Gabrielle Douglas 55.25
10 Claire Boyce 55.15


Photos are appearing on the Gymblog and on Gymnastike. Seniors start in a little over an hour on Universal Sports. Full results go to USAgymnastics


Junior AA medal presentations


Last minute seniors preview- from the draw on the USAG page- Rebecca Bross, Sam Shapiro, Bridget Sloan and Sophia deJesus are just competing Bars and Beam. Alicia Sacramone is competing vault and beam.

My sensible pick for the all around would be Ali Raisman, although my sentimental fave is Mattie Larson.

Classic Time Again

Today is podium training for the US Covergirl Classic tomorrow.


Gymnastike has already posted several interviews and training videos, like this of Alicia Sacramone on balance beam

Word is World Vault Champ Kayla Williams has injured her foot and won't be competing, also Rebecca Bross and some of the other seniors that are already qualified for Nationals may not compete all-around.

Universal Sports is showing the event online tomorrow- whether that means it will be watchable here in the UK remains to be seen.

USA smiles

Cincinatti Gymnastics posted this photo of Team USA Junior and Senior gymnasts at the most recent national team camp. The girls are gearing up for the Covergirl Classic and Visa Championships.

From USA gymnastics

Team USA gymnasts at the Prom
I know Mattie and Sam are going on to college gymnastics
I think Bridget and Ivana are staying as elites.