So yay! I've had my gym blog for a whole year! I thought I'd link to a few of my favorite posts in honor of the occasion:
She Looks Like...
Where I found some serious doppelgangers of gymnastics past and present.
If Only, If Only
My ideal worlds team last year that I still wish had happened.
The Trouble With Simone
Where I worry and wonder if Simone can stay on top through Rio
My Autograph Collection
Because yeah, I'm 21 not embarrassed by the fact that I'm pretty proud of it.
2015 Secret Classic
My first in-person coverage of a meet, it was such fun.
And now, onto my promise. I hereby promise to post twice a week from here on out. Hold me to it ok? Because I'm a creative writing major and I write SO MUCH for school that it's easy to get burnt out but I will not let essays and papers conquer my love for blogging.
Thanks for reading my blog this past year, here's to many more!
I like your post about Simone because it made me think about what made her different from past champions.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of past Olympic champs from the US (not including Mary Lou), they all seemed set to peak for the Olympics. Carly had come in second the year before in her first year as a senior and really performed as well as she possibly could on the one night that counted. Nastia was really at the top of her game in 2005 but struggled with nagging injuries, yet managed to peak at EACTLY the right time, while Shawn seemed a bit "past her prime" when '08 rolled around. Gabby went into 2012 with no expectations based on 2011 results, had a meteoric rise in the sport, and again had the meet of her life to win the AA title.
The way I see Simone differing from them is that she has proven that she can cleaning and consistently hit VERY high level routines when it counts the most....and do it again, and again, and again. Because she is so phenomenal, she has also been able to do something that all of the other athletes you have mentioned have not: hold back. She is fully capable of not just training but COMPETING harder skills/combinations on every event but she and her coach (and Marta) know that it is not needed now. Example? The Cheng. I'm SURE she could easily compete it cleanly at this years worlds and eliminate ANY competition for the gold that might come from Hong Un Jong, but why risk competing a tougher vault at World's when the Olympics is your ultimate goal? The team doesn't need the vault and even without it, she can still challenge for gold bc of her superior form.
I think her pacing is what is keeping her going at the rate that she is. She doesn't throw upgrades unless she needs to, and she slowly adds them in rather than coming into a meet with every event upgraded (which is good for her both mentally and physically).