GK Classic Brings the Drama

I can't make any promises about regular blogging because I'm heading into grad school and life is about to get crazy! But I would like to at least blog about the big competitions coming up.

So, I dragged my mom and two sisters to the GK Classic on Saturday. I think this is a closest a major competition has been to my hometown since 2003 so I was going to show up. The stands were surprisingly crowded despite the jacked up ticket prices and USAG's current status. The Schottenstein Arena was really easy to find and parking was a breeze. Bottom line, the let's not return to the Sears Centre in Chicago next year, ok?

After getting cut in line at the t-shirt stand (where the selection was lackluster) we found our seats. the only way you can get a bad seat at a gymnastics competition is if a big mom with ornately braided hair sits in front of you. Such was my fate. As long as I craned my neck I was able to see the vaulting mats and uneven bars. My view of floor and beam was blessedly clear.

First thing I noticed, ugly leotards. To start, they all looked really similar with mesh sleeves, the occasional turtleneck and sparse crystals. I don't think I liked a single one except maybe Sloane Blakely and a girl in blue who I can't remember.

I just can't with the mesh.

As far as actual gymnastics goes, this was definitely Simone's meet. It seemed like the people behind the scenes had even arranged it so that Simone was often the only one competing rather than being one of four going up on an event. She had a great first showing despite her bar routine (I think she was off from the get-go) and a lot of girls had very similar belly-flopping type falls. I would say she has to clean up her form a big on bars but everywhere else it was just the usual Simone. Her new floor music is ugly as sin but the routine is basically a rearranged version of what she's competed before.

Second place was Riley McCusker. I was never her biggest fan (and who isn't low-key scared of Maggie Haney?) but props to her for a great comeback. She seemed/looked a lot stronger than in the past and though over scored, her bars were lovely in person. Her floor music is fun too, my youngers sister got a kick out of recognizing it as being from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Third was Morgan Hurd. Regardless of the llama llama unending drama, I am a big fan of this girl's gymnastics. Her first to landings on floor were picture perfect and I loved the whole vibe of her routine. You gotta love a girl with lovely form.

Ragan Smith seems like she's still getting over that injury from last year but other than falling, I think she's on her way. It looked like she's been working extra hard on bars and has cleaned up her routine.

Alyona Shchennikova screwed herself out of a medal with her "fall" (hand down on first pass) on floor. Her beam routine was disappointing, she didn't come close to hitting any of her leaps. Jade Carey was one of the other few who actually did the AA (for the first time in her elite career), she had a fall on bars (if I remember correctly) I'm not sure that it will really help her to do the AA, we shall see.

Not present was Maile O'Keefe (injured) and my girl Trinity Thompson who has peaced out to college, much to my chagrin. Oh and my other girl, Emma Malabuyo only did two events. Adding her as an AAer plus O'Keefe into the mix for Nationals will be interesting to say the least.

If you haven't gotten clued in on the controversy surrounding GOAT Simone Biles and current world champion Morgan Hurd, get your popcorn ready. This post from Gym Truth Teller will sum everything up. It is quite true that Simone did not hug/acknowledge Morgan at all during the medal ceremony. This is all that I saw/noticed in person and obviously there is a lot more going on being the scenes.

Moral of the story: Social media sucks but not as much as some of the people who use it.

That Time I Realized I Was Wrong...

I wrote this post over two years ago. In it, I look back at past world championship winners and how they end up fairing in the Olympic All-Around. All signs pointed to...well bad news for Simone! I was worried that she wouldn't be able to hold her dominance all the way until Rio but guess what, she did! And then some.

I suppose I was wrong, but I'm glad that I was.

USA Goes 1-2

Sorry for posting this so late but hurray for Aly and Simone! As stressful as it was to watch Aly make that mistake on bars, it did give some suspense to the whole watching experience that hasn't been there yet. In the end, it was pretty obvious that Musty couldn't overcome her balk on beam.

I'm sure I'm not in the minority when I say that I was crying right along with Aly after her FX. Gahhh, it was so beautiful! And then when she said to Mihai, "That was my best double turn ever!", I'd literally been thinking the same thing. She worked so hard and this is what it looks like to have that pay off. Being second in the world! I've been a big fan of Aly's for a long time. We're teh same age so I guess I live vicariously through her haha. Her and Simone are such genuine, classy young ladies and I'm so happy to see them reach such success.

Now, I love Aliya but I do agree with those who thing that Shang should have gotten bronze. On a good day, Aliya would have the edge over her in difficulty from VT but this was not a good day for Musty. She opened the door with beam and Shang should have been able to walk through it but was definitely underscored on that day, as well as previously in the games. I'm excited for the day when China can be scored fairly and make podiums again.

Back soon with EF thoughts!

Nationals Imperssions

Here we go:

Aly Raisman punched her ticket and I couldn't be happier. This is the sort of competition she's been waiting for since her comeback.Steady, solid and hitting all events. Her new floor routine is inferior to the old one but her tumbling is still world class and awesome to watch. I can't wait to see her in Rio.

Simone Biles, give this girl a rest. She doesn't need two more competition days, we all know how awesome she is. But I highly doubt they'll let her sit out trials. Great meet for her though, minus the last beam set.

Maggie Nichols is about to give her a heart attack. If she is healthy, and ready on all four events at trials she will be the one giving Gabby a run for her money. I so badly want her to make this team, she deserves it and has comeback from two major injuries now, still managing to regain her difficulty. She didn't perform well, that was clear, but it was her first time out and I'm betting nerves had something to do with it. I want her to KILL IT at trials.

Laurie Hernandez. Ok, I'm not her biggest fan but she definitely hit so I'm cool with it. I mean she is better than others so she deserved her spot. I guess my issue with her is that I just find her gymnastics clunky and her floor is way overrated. But, she's a chipper girl with a nice attitude so I can't complain.

Madison Kocian didn't really help her cause on night one but her day two routine was great for her. I think her being able to compete AA will absolutely give her the edge over Locklear.

Alyssa Bauman. Girl makes me sad. I don't think there is a need for her on the team at all. Her beam is lovely, but inconsistent and Aly, Simone, Laurie and Maggie are all solid beam workers. Maybe she'll get an alternate spot.

Ragan Smith killed me. She's like Sarah Finnegan. Super hyped up beam and floor worker that just needs more time. Well, maybe time in a different sense. With Sarah, she hadn't had a whole lot of international competition experience. But Ragan has. I think her issue is nerves and maybe also polishing up here and there. Ultimately, I don't see her being named as anything other than alternate. Even if she hits at Trials, I don't think it will be enough.

Gabby Douglas had a bad meet. There is no other way to say it and I'm sick of commentators trying to excuse it. She had several big errors and didn't even make top three anywhere. The thing is, without Maggie being her usual self, there isn't anyone who can take the Rio spot from Gabby. I don't think she deserves to go at all but if Swaggie isn't ready, who else would they take? Ragan is headcasing and her bars wouldn't fill that gap. Hundly doesn't have the difficulty, Bauman doesn't have the consistency. Douglas will go no matter what really, even if Maggie does rock it. The odds have been skewed in her favor for a long time now. Sigh.

The team will be (and I know this is the popular opinion): Biles, Raisman, Hernandez, Kocian and Douglas. Smith, Skinner and possibly Bauman (or Gowey?) as alternates. Not at all who I wanted but this is what we're going to get.

Ah well. 

Pac Rims Podium Training Impressions

Alrighty...

Can I just preface by saying that no one looked that great? It seems like they took some downers beforehand. I think it's the constant training but they all seemed pretty blah. I know from Maroney that the girls trained something like 30+ days straight without a break but they still brought it at the Olympics. This boils down to adrenaline and drive. I guess there just isn't that much going into Pacific Rims, or podium training at least. And that' s ok, I mean they shouldn't be at their best yet but I'd say the energy still needs to be bumped up. I mean, we're just 3 months away from trials for gosh sakes.

But I digress.....

Ok so Simone. Hmm, not a fan of that new floor routine. The music is so dull and standard! Why does everyone have these cookie cutter mashup messes of music? It reminds me of the big band stuff that people were doing in the early 2000's, it was just so uninteresting and never stood out. But Simone had a good day, she is Simone after all. I'm really excited about her Cheng! It looks great and so did her beam.

Ragan Smith, the alternate turned turned participant, did a nice job. I'll say that I don't find her super memorable. Her floor is cute but I hate the music, it is a fun routine nonetheless and she tumbles well. I feel like she should have an Amanar based on the height she gets off the table.

Brenna, my girl Brenna. As surprised as I was to see her on this team, I am glad she's getting yet another chance. I just root for this one no matter what. I wish her floor was a bit more interesting but her front tumbling is unique and she does it well. Her bars are fixed! I have confidence that she'll be able to complete it cleanly, much easier than her old one. And her DTY looked pretty clean.

Aly had a good day. I have a feeling that if I didn't know her from London and her history and seniority, I would not be a fan of hers. It's just her form, you know? I can hardly watch her Amanar it just hurts me. Sort of like Ashton Locklear's legs but more on that later. Anyhow, her floor was nice but boring and her beam was nice but I've always found her boring there too. I hope she really brings it in July.

Laurie. I'm so undecided about this girl. Her floor is the only one that has some charm to to it and she can actually dance, so that's a plus. Everywhere else though, I remain unconvinced. I mean her bars are fine, they're improved and her beam is fine but darn-it! She's another messy vaulter and it's only a DTY. I feel like anyone competing that vault should be able to get it down cleanly. Said the girl whose never touched a vaulting table in her life.

That leaves me with Ashton Locklear and I've said it before, girls legs/feet make me nuts. They're very Rebecca Bross. As in, the toes point inward at each other to give the allusion of the legs being together but they're not. Now I can forgive a pair of bowed legs because I have them, but you should still be able to put your pointed toes side by side. NOT TURNING INWARD AT EACH OTHER. Rant over. Other than that, she looks good on bars which is all I will say about that.

I'll be back in a few days for my thoughts on the actual competition!

200 Days!

Today marks 200 days until the opening ceremony in Rio and last week marked 6 months until USA names their team at trials!

I for one, am pretty stoked for the coming months. All of the competitions leading up to the trials and then of course, those themselves should be very intense but very awesome.

Six months...a lot can happen in that time so take this prediction with a grain of salt but I will hereby make a guess as to who will be on our team for Rio based on past performances and future upgrades.

Drumroll....

Simone Biles!!! (Duh)

Aly Raisman!!! (Lest she falls apart a la Worlds again)

Maggie Nichols!!! (Unless she gets Hollie Vise'd which is actually very possible)

Bailie Key!! (Leaving her off the Glasgow team was a terrible headgame but I still thinks Marta likes her)

and...

...last of all

 my girl Norah Flatley!!! (She has to be there, or I'll storm the floor mat at Trials!)

Alternates: Kyla/Gabby/Laurie

I'm sure I'm wrong but I this is more the team I *hope* is named. I actually hope for Kyla to be on there too, I guess she'd replace Norah or Bailie. Now that I look at it, this team is set just about everywhere but maybe weak on bars, though Norah will probably come out with many upgrades. I just don't know...there are a lot of different combos that could happen.

We shall see. 

Women, All Around

This is how it is in my heart.

Of course, there was general overscoring going on for a certain someone and although she had a good competition for her, Lordache had better. End of story.

Hurray for Simoone though, girl is making history indeed.

I am pretty sure I'll live blog EF's tomorrow, so tune if if you can. I think it should actually be a pretty close competition on VT and UB.

AA Prediction

I'm not going to be around to watch the competition today but I will keep up with live updates as best as I can from work. The way I see it, the outcome is pretty clear.

Simone will win.
Gabby will take silver unless she falls.
Third will be between Larissa and Gulia think.

Ideally....I want Larissa to take silver and Gulia to take bronze and Gabby to come in fourth of fifth because that's where she belongs with her low difficulty and crappy floor routine.

But I know the judges will over score her and probably low ball someone else. Sad but true.

And I also want some nice leotards for the USA for once. But I'm betting they'll be a terrible variation for purple or pink. Gag me.

USA World Team: Background and Expectations

Simone Biles

Background: Simone has literally been queen of the sport for the past two years. Winning Worlds in 2013 and 2014, Nationals 2013, 2014 and 2015, and earning countless EF medals. With 9 World medals altogether, Simone is two away from beating out Alicia Sacremone for record-holding spot. Unless something very strange occurs in Glasgow, it will happen.

Expectations: Simone has this Worlds in the bag once again, unless she falls a few times. Barring a fluke, she's expected to nab a third AA title (maker her the first to do in a loooooong time), lead the team to gold and possibly end up on the podium in both VT, FX and maybe even BB! Go Simone!

Gabrielle Douglas 

Background: Unless you lived under a rock in 2012, you'd know Gabby. She's the London AA champion and after time off and a gym switch she's back for more. Gabby was a part of the 2011 World champion team and obviously the Fierce Five but other than the AA she's had little individual success outside of the US.

Expectations: You know, I'm not sure. She's not at the top of the pack anymore and has a relatively low D-score on her best event, UB and with the likes of Kocian and Dowell, she won't be able to break into the top ranks. She will however, likely try for the AA but Simone easily has her beat and Aly too if she's in contention.

Brenna Dowell

Background: Brenna was alternate for both 2013 and 2014 Worlds, She retired from elite last year, slayed in NCAA and then decided she'd comeback for another go. She fought her way from not making the national team after P&G's to making the World's team just a month and a half later.

Expectations: We all want Brenna to compete in Glasgow and not be made alternate again...but it is a very real possibility. However, if my prays were to come true and Brenna get's to finally have a go at it, she can absolutely go for an EF medal on bars. She can also be used in qualification (and possibly TF) on both VT and floor. We're rooting for you Brenna!

Madison Kocian

Background: Madison made last years world team with the hope that she and Ashton Locklear would both be in contention for EF medals on bars. Sadly, an error in qualification took her out of the running. Since then, she's battled injuries but managed to come back this summer in good shape and won bars at P&G's. Though she did compete AA at nationals for the first time in 2 years, her part on the world team depends on her bars.

Expectations: Kocian is another athlete possibly to be named alternate. If that doesn't happen she'll most likely only compete bars in qualification and team final. If she nails her routine, she has a change of an EF medal as well.

Maggie Nichols 

Background: So, yeah, it seems a little weird to call Maggie a rookie since she's a 3rd year senior and been around awhile. But, she's the only one on the team not to have been apart of a World's team in some way so that does make her the new kid in some way. Maggie probably would have made last years team if it weren't for an injury at Pan Ams but she battled back stronger than ever and came in 2nd at this years nationals.

Expectations: Though I personally can't see it happening, people are speculating that perhaps Maggie will be the one named alternate in Glasgow. If not (and I hope not), she is dependable and can be put up on any event during quals or TF. I don't see them putting her in the AA with Aly, Gabby and Simone around but who knows.

Aly Raisman 

Background: At age 21, Aly is absolutely the veteran of the bunch after having been a part of two successful world teams and the Fierce Five. After time off, Aly has been back in the gym for over two years and back in competition just since the spring.

Expectations: If Aly does the AA, she can compete for silver or bronze. As far as EF, she could potentially medal on FX and go up on beam. She's only won an individual bronze at a Worlds before.

Mykayla Skinner 

Background: Mykayla made it onto last years World's team and earned herself a bronze on VT. This year, she had some difficulties at Classics and Nationals but was still named to the national team. I have to be honest that I didn't want her on the Worlds team as I'm not a fan of her gymnastics but girl is a fighter and earned her spot so good for her.

Expectations: Mykayla could possibly be named alternate but now I think it's unlikely that she has her Amanar back. She can contend for an EF medal on VT for sure but with Aly on the team, FX will be more difficult for her.

I hope you enjoyed this post! Comment down below if you have other suggestions for future topics :)

Here it is!

With Key and Bauman as non-travelling alternates. Not exactly the team I expected but pretty close! No Key is the shock for me but I'm psyched for Brenna!

I'll write more about this later, college calls :).

Whoa, look at Simone and Maggie's arm becoming one! I didn't mean to do that but it's pretty awesome.

The Final Countdown!!

Well, tonight is the nigh folks!! The World's team announcement is drawing ever near and I can't wait to finally find out who will go to Glasgow. The picture above is from yesterday's first night of camp competition. Everyone looks pretty happy, what could this mean?? 

As far as final predictions go, I suppose I'm going to stick to my initial one. Perhaps because I think it's most likely or perhaps because I don't like to go back on my word! Here it is: Biles, Douglas, Key, Nichols, Raisman, Kocian Alt. Skinner.. 

Now, in a perfect world I'd replace Douglas with Dowell but I just don't see that happening. 

We will know soon enough!

World's Team Prediction UPDATED

You heard it here folks! My world team predictions for the good 'ole US of A!

Let's see if I end up being right, because last year I was a clueless sap who thought the team was made up of only 5 people! Imagine!

I digress...

Simone Biles
Aly Raisman
Maggie Nichols
Bailie Key
Gabrielle Douglas
Kyla Ross OR Madison Kocian (this part remains to be seen)

Alt: Kyla (if not named), Maddie K (if not named), Mykayla Skinner, Nia Dennis

The lineup for Quals if Ross makes the team (fingers crossed!)

VT: Ross, Key, Raisman, Nichols, Biles
UB: Raisman, Biles, Douglas,  Key, Ross
BB: Key, Nichols, Raisman, Ross, Biles
FX: Ross, Nichols, Key, Raisman, Biles

What do you think???

Nationals Night Two

Ahhh now I can breathe.

Simone was in beast mode. Beautiful beam dismount, stuck Lopez vault, stuck bars dismount, classic floor. So naturally, despite that one fall on floor, she won by 5 points. Seriously??? This girl is a champ. Can I say that I think she should add a full twist to the Biles move on floor? She definitely has room and power.

Coming in second was Maggie Nichols! She has to be sooo proud of herself, What improvement she's had. Her Amanar looked great, especially on day two. It's funny, in person, her tumbling looks so light and effortless bu tit doesn't quite translate that way on TV. I think the loud booms from everyone's landings doesn't help. They're much more magnified during broadcasts than in the actual arena. Anyway, Maggie deserves a spot on the World's team for sure. That being said, her form isn't so great and I'm a bit of a stickler about those things.

Third was Aly and she looked back to her usual self despite that scary vault. I'm torn with thinking she needs the high D-score from the Amanar but also knowing that it's done so poorly, maybe she's better off with a nice clean DTY. But even with that she still wouldn't score as well as a crappy 2.5 so oh well. I don't really love her floor routine right now. The tumbling is great of course but the choreo and music isn't as engaging as it was in London. Maybe they can tweak it a little.

Then we have Bailie and her tuxedo. This girl is growing on me. I think I can get behind her quiet gymnastics and steady form. She sort of reminds me of vintage Kyla Ross with her lower difficulty but nice execution and consistency. So yeah, I've decided I'm rooting for Bailie Key. And she had a beautiful bar routine

Gabby looked slightly better on some events on night two and slightly worse on others. Her beam was a mess of balance checks and tentativeness but her landings on floor were improved. I still hate that floor routine, something just isn't right about it. Maddie K, Ashton and Bailie can beat her on bars so she really isn't anything special there right now. I wouldn't put her in Glasgow just yet.

I barely saw Madison Kocian because the stupid NBC broadcast only showed like five of the athletes. Made me miss the blasted livestream. They showed her bars and beam. Bars looked a little worse than night one and they took out the standing full from her beam which was a safe move.

Oh Mykayla Skinner, that leo. Good grief, someone needs to tell this girl that Ireland and Scotland are not the same land. Honestly, it's just embarrassing at this point. Her vault is so ugly with that block, sorry I can't give it up. But her floor landings looked nice and she was solid on beam so good effort for her. At 7th place, I don't see her on the World's team.

 Kyla. Sigh. Same issue on bars, headcased vault and a shaky floor. That beam helped a bit but overall a disastrous night for her. Ugh, I so want her to get it together but maybe her body is just tired and needs a break. She's been training elite for so long. It's such a catch-22 with her. If she doesn't upgrade, she hits nice watered down routines but has such a low D-score it's hard to break into the top ranks. If she does upgrade, she barely hits despite having that higher D-score. I don't know the solution because I think everyone is tired of seeing the same routines she's been competing since 2012.

Brenna Dowell had a great first half of her bar routine and then got tired of something and bombed the end. But she hit all the other events so I'm a bit pissed that she wasn't named to the NT. Headgames I guess, Brenna is always the resident punching bag. If she can become consistent on bars and gain some difficulty on floor, I really think she's a contender but sadly, I see her as being alternate again.

Rachel Gowey had a nice showing, even if it was just bars and beam. Did she do the AA at pan ams? I don't know. I hope she hasn't hurt her ankle again. But she did have a great bar set night one and her beam looked solid.

Didn't see much of Bauman or Dennis so no comment there but both were named to the team so they must have done alright.

I'm going to do a leotard post this week so stay tuned!

Natinoals Night One

WHAT IS LIFE?!?

Aly, Kyla, Simone...some other people I don't care about as much.
One by one they fell...
And one by one I screamed and grabbed my face in horror until my sister had to tell me to shut up.

It was like 2006 up in here.

I know people are saying that Simone is human and humans make mistakes but darn it, I don't want Simone to be human. Especially now when there are people who I really don't want to beat her. And yeah, she still won by over a point so that was nice but still.

Anyway, let's back up...

So I had to watch the live stream because out of all of our three hundred channels, we don't get Universal Sports! After a big dramatic episode of "Hooking the Laptop up to the TV"  I finally got to settle in and watch some guy (John something or other) make a big fool out of himself. Twenty minutes later, a beautiful montage of all the US champions for the passed 25 years or so. I yelled out, "Brandy! Kim! Shannon! and so on, right up until my girl Simone.

Let's talk about her first. Simone started out fine and then there were some issues on beam and that fall on floor. And what a strange fall it was, almost like she didn't even set up her landing. Her Amanar was beautiful, stuck like a pro! She had some leg issues coming in for the landing but overall beautiful.

I screamed when Aly Raisman fell on beam, why oh why?  On the bright side, she hit a great FX but the music isn't my favorite and doesn't seem to captivate like in 2012 but it could grow on me. She landed a scary Amanar and had a typical bar routine but I think she can pull through on Saturday. Just no more falls, ok?

Maggie Nichols hit four for four. She did her Amanar vault but I don't really remember much else fro her. She's definitely the dark horse but nothing really stood out for me last night except her upgrading beam dismount that looked pretty good.

Kyla....poor girl. Issues on bars, issues on floor and just so so on beam and vault. Actually her vault can be so much cleaner. I think she only had that one upgrade on UB and took out the others. And on floor, why the hand??? Ugh, if she doesn't kick butt on night two, it is definitely the beginning of the end for her. I want her to upgrade and hit but maybe it's just not in the cards? Whether it be physical or mental, it just doesn't seem to be working out. Prove me wrong Kyla!

For some reason, I expected that Gabrielle Douglas would do alright. I don't like her floor and was glad that it was scored appropriately and she did have some wobbles on beam. Her bars were alright but not as impressive to me anymore. I don't know, I'm so torn on this girl. I'm glad that her comeback is legit and she appears to be working for it but I hate the cockiness and the trash talk of her former gym. It's just petty and unnecessary.

Another girl who seems to always pull it together for Nationals is Mykayla Skinner and pull it together she did. Her form is still atrocious and that floor, good grief but she hit so she should be happy. She only did a DTY for her second vault though which I don't see helping her at all. I don't see her making the worlds team, barring any major injuries for the other key players.

And then there was Kim Zmeskal. Or wait, Bailie Key in Kim's old leotard. And as ugly as it was in the 90's, I thought Bailie looked kind of fabulous in it last night. Still though, I can't seem to get behind this girl. She just seems blah and needs a little spark somewhere. And she needs some height on those leaps and jumps. Honestly, I think she can take this year to improve and upgrade and really take it to the next level. I don't think she's peaked yet, or at least I think she can peak again when it counts.

Let's not forget my girl Brenna Dowell! Wast hat the first time she hit four for four since 2013? I think so. I was so nervous watching her but so happy when she made it through. Her bars had a few potential scary moments but she pulled it off and that beam was GREAT for her! Floor was nice, and solid vault despite landing OOB's. I need her to pull it out for night two. You got this Brenna!

Fellow GAGE girl, Madison Desch did not have such a good night. She fell on beam and on bars which is a shame because her bars are actually quite nice. She did not go OOB's on floor which is rare so I was happy about that.

The WOGA's, I think, have had their day in the sun. Madison Kocian fell on beam despite having a nice bar set and Alyssa Bauman needs more than a nice beam set to keep her relevant.

You know who's fun to watch? Amelia Hundley, girl just goes out and has a good time. I like that she competes for the fun of it and though her difficulty is low, she makes her routines exciting with the way she showcases them.

I know I'm missing some people but these are who I remembered! I'm not going to be home to watch night two live but I'll put it on as soon as I return and will have a blog up on Sunday. I can't wait!
What did you think???

The Trouble with Simone

Simone Biles is really at the top of her game (and the world!) right now. Still, I can't help but wonder how long her domination can last and if she can endure a year and a half more until the Olympics. In other words, is it possibly or likely that she could win the most prestigious title in WAG?

Simone has won the last two of US National Championships, Nastia Liukin did the same thing in 2005 and 2006 (and at the same point in the Quad). And despite losing to Shawn Johnson at the next two Nationals, she won the all around in Beijing. However, Nastia never won a world title, let alone one early on in the Quad.

Carly Patterson's career was relatively short lived and she only competed in one senior nationals before winning the all around in Athens. Same goes for Gabby Douglas who never even won a nationals but went on to nab the gold in London.

Going back even further, to Sydney, Andreea Raducan (the rightful AA winner) hadn't won a world all around medal before winning in Australia.

Now, to look at the women who, like Simone, did win world championships early in the Quad. Shannon Miller won at the same two time slots as Simone (1993 & 1994 vs. 2013 & 2014). Shannon went on to compete in Atlanta and only came in 8th place in the AA. Svetlana Khorkina won World AA in 1997, 2001 and 2003 but could never grasp an Olympic AA gold.

Chellsie Memmel won World AA gold in 2005 but injuries kept her from doing much at all in the 2008 Olympics. Bridget Sloan won Worlds in 2009 but never made her second Olympics in 2012.

Pretty much, what I'm trying to sum up is the fact that in the past 20+ years, no one who won Worlds this early in the quad has ever gone on to win the Olympic AA title. It's all about timing really, because if the Olympics were last year or today, Simone would win them without question. She is an amazing athlete and it would be a shame if she didn't get to showcase that at the biggest meet a gymnast can go to. However, if anyone can stand stand that test of time, I think she can.

Simone WIns! (Again)

I was really happy with this podium. I think Simone could have performed better (not her best beam routine) but she deserved the win. I also was thrilled to see Larissa have such a good day as she tends to not hit when it's needed. She really gave Simone a run for her money! Kyla would not have been on that podium if Aliya hadn't fell on floor but I was glad to see her consistency pay off. She had one of the best beam routines in awhile.

Yao had a rough floor routine but her beam and bars were lovely. I think it would be very hard for any of the Chinese girls to challenge in the AA with their low D scores on floor and lack of power on vault. However, I do expect to see them come out with a few medals at EF which I will post about tomorrow.

Qualification Thoughts

I woke up before the sun to be able to watch live! Here are my thoughts;

Rotation One:BB

Skinner: Looked like her usual self, a few big balance checks. Those leaps and splits are NOT even near where they should be. People got on Shawn for not having enough flexibility but this is worse IMO.

Kocian: It was a good routine for her but it looked pretty nervey.

Baumann: Almost off on the standing arabian. Way too many checks and pauses for the score she got.

Biles: Homegirl is back in business after missing at Nationals! Nice clean routine.

Ross: Here is the Kyla we know and love! Just one small error toward the end but that routine = classic Kyla!

Rotation Two: FX

Kocian: Not to be mean but her routine bores me to tears. She did an ok job with it but it's not all that difficult. The choreography is so repetitive. How many times can she pose with her arms in the air??

Baumann: Good effort for her. Very bent knees on her (second?) pass landing, looked like she almost fell forward.

Ross: Go Kyla! Nice routine! Solid landings.

Skinner: Was she OOB on her first pass? It really looked like it from the camera angle but I didn't catch if she had any penalties. The rest of the routine was typical from her, bad form galore.

Biles: Simone always brings it for floor! Her landings weren't as good as they have been but it's only quals so no big deal. It looked like she was about to fall out of her wolf turn but she saved it.

Rotation Three: VT

I spent the greater part of this rotation eating banana bread so I may not have paid the best attention.

Kocian: Solid, not much height.

Baumann: I honestly don't remember, I think her landing was good.

Ross: Super clean in the air and (almost) stuck it.

Skinner: Form may not have been as bad as usual but it was hard to tell with no slo-mo cam.

Biles: Good first vault, I think she was out of bounds on the second but stepped back in. She has teh gold already if she lands on her feet.

Rotations Four: UB

Skinner: Bit 'ole leg separation going from low to high but hey, what's new? I think she hit just one handstand that whole routine.

Biles: Error in the middle, looked like she almost lost her grip but saved herself. It was hard to tell exactly what happened. I think she wasn't able to get up in a handstand.

Kocian: Similar error from her. She looked pretty defeated.

Ross: Nice hit routine! Clean and stuck!

Locklear: I'll admit that I'm not as impressed with her as Marta seems to be but she looked good today. I was happy to see her do well, she has a great chance of a medal in EF

Overall, I'm glad the AA will be Simone and Kyla again, they deserve it most. And again with the pink leotards?? Ugh, please let there be red white and blue for TF!!

If Only, If Only

Last night I was getting sort of sad that the worlds team is so ho-hum. I was on my ipad and decided to type out the team that I wish could be there but can't because of injuries or getting unfairly passed over. Here it is:

Simone Biles
Brenna Dowell (in place of Locklear)
Rachel Gowey (in place of Bauman)
Maggie Nichols (in place of Kocian)
Lexie Preissmen (in place of Skinner)
Kyla Ross

This team would have been much more interesting and worthy. If only, if only!

Podium training starts today! I have a ton of work to get done so I can't watch but I think it's eing broadcasted live on Universal Sports or USA gym.

Brenna Get's Screwed Over Again (2014 Worlds Team)

Team: Alyssa Bauman, Simone Biles, Madison Desch, Madison Kocian, Ashton Locklear, Kyla Ross and Mykayla Sinner. 

Brenna Dowell is non-travelling alternate, other alternate TBD in China

Honestly, this whole thing seems a little bit suspect to me. First of all, Maggie Nichols petition must have been denied which REALLY makes me angry. This was most likely her one and only shot at being on a worlds team and it's now ruined in the name of Pan Ams?? :(

Then you have the whole Brenna debacle. She must have performed well enough at the camp all around in order to be named alternate but they are taking Desch over her? Yeah, they'll probably both end up alternates but still.

The actual team is just "meh" for me. I hate that Skinner is near it, I'm not a fan of Kocian but what other choices were there really? It is what it is. I think that Skinner and both WOGA's will be seriously in for a shock by the international scoring. Locklear even makes me slightly nervous because she apparently seemed a bit shell shocked in Canada. Hopefully she is prepared for the crowds and such.

I'll have my predictions up for what I think each athlete will end up doing but for now, I just wanted to check in.

Also, not sure if everyone has heard but Deanna Soza (JO National Team member), has a very serious eye infection in both eyes and her sight could be in jeopardy. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

World's Team Predictions

(This was originally posted on my personal blog before making this one :)

Last week at school I was so very bored and so I came up with my predictions for the US Team.
Here was my original list:

Simone Biles (duh)
Kyla Ross (duh)
Mykayla Skinner (say it ain't so...)
Madison Kocian (because WOGA)
Alyssa Bauman (because who else is there)
Alt: Desch, Locklear 

Vault: Ross, Skinner, Biles (backup Bauman)
UB: Kocian, Bauman, Ross (backup Biles)
BB: Kocian, Ross, Bauman (backup Skinner??)
FX: Bauman, Skinner, Biles (backup Ross)

Hmm...seems alright?? Then I remembered Locklear! The girl who came from nowhere and has better form than the WOGA's. So I might just switch Bauman for Locklear. But then we run into a problem for FX and possibly beam because apparently Marta doesn't like to use her there. So here is a revised list with Locklear:


Simone Biles (duh)
Kyla Ross (duh)
Mykayla Skinner (say it ain't so...)
Madison Kocian (because WOGA)
Ashton Locklear
Alt: Desch, Bauman

Vault: Ross, Skinner, Biles (backup Kocian?)
UB: Kocian, Ross, Locklear (backup Biles)
BB: Kocian, Ross, Locklear (backup Skinner??)
FX: Ross, Skinner, Biles (backup Kocian)

I'm pretty positive it has to be one of these two teams. I have this weird soft spot for Maddie Desch because she was so promising as a Junior and can't seem to reach her potential as a Senior. If she would just tighten up those floor landings and learn to stay on the beam...
We shall know by the end of next week!