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.

Back in Time for Classics!

Hey all! Long time no see :)

Turns out it's really hard to maintain two blogs while being in school full time, working two jobs and writing a book. Who knew? At any rate, I am going to get back to gym blogging so that I can keep up with the happenings this quad.

I'm actually pretty excited to see what goes down at Classics this weekend. For one thing, it will be interesting to see who the major players will be this year/quad (if they can last) and having some actual close competition where we actually don't know the outcome ahead of time.

I wish I could do live coverage but I'm going to a concert on Saturday night so I'll have to recap it the next day.

It's so early to say but I'll do it anyway! My favorites right now are Morgan Hurd, Victoria Nguyen and Emma Malabuyo. I'm also excited to see if Ragan Smith will have any upgrades and Ashton Locklear's return as well. Seeing Laney Madsen in elite competition at last will be cool too.

Stay tuned for a post this Sunday!

My Gymnastics Hopes For 2017

1. I love Simone but after seeing her style of gymnastics dominate over these past four years, I would love to see a different style getting the top spot. I 'm not even talking about the whole power v. artistry debate. I'm simply looking forward to seeing gymnasts with different strengths and flair.
2. The return of Norah and hopefully Baillie, be it NCAA or elite for her.
3. Larissa Lordache to nab the AA at worlds. If she can come back with her old difficulty, I can definitely see this as a possibility. I would love if she could add "world champion" to her resume, she deserves it. Of course she would need to earn the spot first.
4. Ponor to go away.
5. Success for China at world, specifically redemption for Shang.
6. New up and comers from Russia actually showing promise and consistency. I think they have a few contenders, I look forward to seeing them compete.
7. Less wolf turns, please!
8. More unique skills, getting rid of cookie cutter bar routines.
9. BETTER FLOOR MUSIC AND CHOREO.
10. Continuing on of the patriotic leotards. Let the pink die.  

Revisiting My Hopes for 2016

Back in January I wrote a post about what I *hoped* to happen this year. Let's see how it all panned out shall we? My current thoughts will be in bold.

• I have an ideal team for Rio but there are a lot of variations that I'll be happy with so basically, I just want a team that's earned it and that deserves to be there. Sorry Grace, you are going to be sickened and disappointed by the blatant disregard for scores and favoritism in selection process.
• Additionally, I really want Norah Flatley on that team. Ouch. How about if I said she didn't even compete at Trials at all? Let alone Nationals or Classics? Hoping she'll be back strong this year.
• I want Simone to make her Olympic mark and win the AA. Yes ma'am. But come on, that was a given.
• Way deeper fields everywhere, I don't want to already know the outcome for every event in advance. See my "Rio Reflections" post. The fields were so shallow that most could have predicted half of the podiums before anyone even competed.
• Romanian redemption. Now this is just sad. Romania didn't even make it to Rio so...
• Someone in the US to really shake things up, a dark horse that no one saw coming. (Coming soon to a theater near you!) Nope, though Skinner did shake me up a bit and make me a fan after years of being critical of her.
• Good showing for the returning veterans (Ponor, Mustafina, Yao). No Yao and Ponor being in Rio was such a travesty that I was almost glad she underperformed. At least Mustafina did the job, even if she did it with some gifts from the judges.
• The new Seniors to come in and actually be in the mix for Rio. Ragan Smith I guess, but come on, she had alternate written all over her.
• Exciting competition during the Trials. Oh yes, it was exciting. Too bad it was all for naught when the committee took whoever they wanted anyway.
• A lovely, feeling inducing, song to go along with the fluff montages during Rio. Hey, I'm still jamming out to Phillip Phillips "Home". Still no idea why this didn't happen.
• Leotards that are creative, especially in the US. In my humble opinion, the Under Armour ones from Glasgow left a lot to be desired. YES FINALLY.
• Fair judging. Mustafina's bronze, the Chinese getting screwed over on bars...nope.

I should be feeling pretty disappointed but this one actually came true: And I guess that's all I can think of for now. Additionally, on a personal level, I really just want to have the time of my life at the Olympic Trials.

My 2017 "hopes" will be here soon!

American Gymnatic Memoirs Reviewed

This is the 6th installment of my reviews and the newest one is at the bottom. I've been at this since January of 2013!

1. Grace, Gold and Glory (my leap of faith) by Gabrielle Douglas

If I'm being honest, this is probably the book I enjoyed the least. I used to love Gabby and her faith but now, not so much. I wish the book would have been more about her time leading up to the Olympics and her personal thoughts and less about her childhood. Now, I totally get that she would want to include her whole life into her book and not just he past few years but I think I would have liked it more had she went more in depth about her Olympic journey. I loved reading about her relationship with her host family and her troubles with being away from home. The inside cover of the book folds out into a neat poster and there are color pictures in the middle of the text.

2. Winning Balance by Shawn Johnson

I really loved this book! I think it had a great balance of life in the gym and outside. I didn't know that Shawn was a woman of faith until reading this and that really made me smile. This book takes you from her childhood to her present and you get to follow her through switching gyms to the Olympics and to Hollywood. Her Olympic experience was really well chronicled, she definitely wrote about it the best. I really was able to picture her there and understand her thoughts and feelings. I thought that the portion after the Olympics would be dull but it actually wasn't, even though she struggled to find her place outside the gym at first, she ends up feeling "balanced" once again. This book also includes pictures, which I love!

3. Off Balance by Dominique Moceanu

This book was different from the other two in that it was much more raw and Dominique's life had a lot more turmoil. This was an awesome read. I was given a look into her family history and taken all the way to her life now as a wife and mother. It was so enchanting to read about Dominique's life as a tiny 14 year old in the Olympics and yet to know that her life behind closed doors was much less glamorous. I really enjoyed the honesty in this book, I had no idea how political the sport of gymnastics was and how this became clear to Dominique when she was trying to make her comeback. Even with all the drama, there is still plenty of gymnastics in here. The Olympic portions were vivid and I liked reading about her relationships with the other girls. And, the book had pictures in it too!


4. Letters to a Young Gymnast by Nadia Comaneci

I have to be really honest, I didn't love this book. I'm not even sure if I liked it. The first half was hard to get though and to be frank, Nadia rubbed me the wrong way. It was as if she had never done anything wrong in her life and she was perfect in every way. Sometimes it even felt as though she was being rude to the reader. There wasn't a whole lot of gymnastics talk in here, there was some of course but a lot of the book was about her life in Romania. The second half or last quarter was much better than the first it was intriguing to read about Nadia's escape from her home country and a more human side of her was exposed as she wrote of her hard transition to America. I liked that we did get some history and background in this book but I had a really hard time warming up to Nada and so the book itself wasn't very enjoyable. There were no pictures!

5. Chalked Up by Jennifer Sey

This book was everything I wanted the other four to be and more. Jennifer tells her story of being an elite gymnast in the 80's with honesty and great detail. She doesn't sugar coat over anything-or anyone. I appreciated her telling the absolute truth about her experience because that is what people expect when they buy a memoir. Sey's story is beautiful, heartbreaking and tragic all at once. She doesn't place blame on any one person and clearly has a great sense of self. Above all, this was not written by Sey and some ghost writer, this was written by her alone and it showed her talent as a writer. It wasn't just facts, cut and dry, she told her story in such vivid detail that at times I truly knew what it felt like to be standing on a balance beam or flying on the bars. I have to say it once more, I LOVED THIS BOOK.

6. It's Not About Perfect by Shannon Miller

It's really no secret that I LOVE Shannon Miller. She is my favorite gymnast of all time so naturally, I was psyched when I found out she was writing a book about her life. I was not disappointed. I will admit, that at the beginning it was a little bit slow as I waited for all of the action to happen but I was pleased that Shannon took the time to explain certain aspects of the sport that non-gymnasts may not have known about otherwise. Quickly, I got really into the book and had a hard time putting it down. I love the way Shannon detailed her training and her perfect partnership with her coaches. Her competitions were well covered and I liked how she talked about her friendship with her teammates. I do wish she might have went a bit more into some of the hard stuff but it is absolutely her right to keep certain things private. Her cancer battle was chronicled beautifully and continued to show what a graceful and strong person of faith she is. I came away from reading this book with more even more admiration and respect for Shannon than I had before!

-G-

My Favorite Vaults (Thru 2012)

5. Elena Produnova

It's probably not a surprise that Elena is on my (or other peoples) list. This vault of hers is incredible and no one has been able to execute it nearly as flawlessly as her. In fact, she is the only one who can look good and not like they're about to kill themselves. 

4. Alicia Sacremone

 

Alicia has the most world medals of all American female gymnasts and her impressive vaulting skills have a lot to do with it. She has a ton of power, sometimes even too much, those landings make you think she can add an extra half twist and still be good to go!

3. Oksana Chusovitina

Not only has Oksana had a ridiculously long career (and I think still going!) she has had an impressive resume as well! She has won many world and a few Olympic medals and in her late 30's is not slowing down.

2. Cheng Fei (CHI)

Cheng Fei was not the typical Chinese pixie that everyone was so used to. She had strength and power. I so wish that the 2008 Olympics would have went differently for her but she has still gone down in history as a legendary vaulter. And she even has a vault named after her!

1. McKayla Maroney

I'd have to dub Maroney the best vaulter ever. Period. This vault has to be as close to perfect as they come, it was flawless! McKayla is a fast runner and gets more air than anyone I've ever seen. Her Olympics in 2012 also didn't go as planned so I am hoping she can get her redemption in Rio.

My Favorite Bar Routines (Thru 2012)

10. Kyla Ross

I know it's not the most difficult routine (upgrade Kyla!) but Kyla has great form and girl can hit a handstand like no other, I noticed that in person when I watched her at this years SC.

9. Ivana Hong

I know she hardly gets an air on her releases and that the international judges pretty much hated the uniqueness of this routine but honestly in a sport that has lost some individuality recently, I found it refreshing.

8. Hollie Vise

Poor Hollie was totally screwed over in 2004 but at least she got her moment to shine at the 2003 worlds. Her form is amazing and she works the apparatus so easily.

7. Shannon Miller

Why can no one glue their legs together like this anymore? Seriously, finding a gymnast who can do a cast to handstand without leg separations these days is super rare. I love, love, Shannon's clean lines and form, right down to her toes.

6. Terin Humphrey

I love Terin, and I love that she earned a surprise silver medal for this in Athens. Clean, sharp and beautifully executed.

6. Mo Huilan

Mo's signature release is AMAZING and the fact that it is now being brought back by Yao Jinan makes me so happy!

5. Beth Tweddle

Beth's bar routines have been eye popping from the moment she stepped onto the scene, chalked full of release moves and more daring than anyone else in her field.

3. Aliya Mustafina

I love Aliya, I love how she came back from injury and is carrying the Russian team through some valley's. I was so happy she won gold in London for this.

2. Chellsie Memmel

I love the ending to Chellsie's bar set, so cool and unique. She continually performed well on this event, even when injured.

1. He Kexin

I'm so happy that He won gold in 2008 instead of her (overrated) close competitor (shall not name names). Love the elegant look she has and her great form.

-G-

My Favorite Beam Routines (Thru 2012)

10. Catlaina Ponor

Catalina is definitely a Romanian icon and her long career is quite impressive. I love her aggression and steadiness, she was definitely gold medal worthy for this routine!

9. Terin Humphrey

Artistic and strong at the same time, Terin's consistency on this event is admirable.

9. Yang Yilin

I love the Chinese look on beam and their unique combination skills. Yang has such a lovely and light look on this event.

8. Anna Pavlova

I love Anna's skill where she flips over the beam perpendicular. Such elegance and grace, love that she is currently making a comeback.

6. Amanda Borden

Amanda is SO overlooked by the other members of the MS but she was a true rock. I love her steadiness during this routine, not one bobble! Take note!

5. Chellsie Memmel

I love Chellsie and I love this routine. She mixes the power of a standing full twist with the uniqueness of an illusion turn. Super difficult and she nailed it almost every time.

4. Hollie Vise

I wish more athletes would show off some flexibility like Hollie does, I think a lot of times muscle is hindering them but Hollie had beautiful lines, artistry and still manages to be powerful while tumbling.

3. Kristen Maloney

I'm a huge fan of Kristen, of her consistency and the difficulty she upheld all throughout her career. My favorite part of her routine is her tumbling series when she ends in a full laid out twist down in a split n the beam-impressive!

2. Shannon Miller

Ahhh, the queen of the beam, so graceful and so artistic. I love "the Milller" and I love the somersaults.

1. Shawn Johnson

Better landings there never were! Shawn is so amazing here, no wavers, no balance checks. She OWNS this event.

-G-

My Favorite Floor Routines (Thru 2012)

10. Anastasia Grishina

 Poor Anastasia totally headcased in 2012 and has since been riddled with injuries. However, in her prime she was quite lovely on FX, Classic dance elements are often lost these days.

9. Tasha Schwikert

I've always enjoyed the little strip-tease section of her routine because it was different and showed that she wasn't just a cookie-cutter gymnast.

8. Shayla Worley

I like Shayla's flexibility and her choreography. She has more of a dancer build really.

7. Shawn Johnson

I know people got kind of weirded out by Shawn using the August Rush music but I love it. I remember watching the 2008 olympics and being so excited when her routine started because I recognized the song right away. Strong tumbling!

6. Ivana Hong

Another routine full of flexibility and actual dance.

5. Aly Raisman

The performance of her life for sure, and it just happened to be at the Olympics! Aly isn't a dancer but I appreciate her music and fun choreography and that first tumbling run-wow!

4. Shannon Miller

Great dance, great artistry. Shannon is the best.

3. Aliya Mustafina

I LOVE THIS MUSIC. And I love her dramatic choreography.

2. Tabitha Yim

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Tabitha is one of the few gymnasts who truly felt their music. Perhaps it's because she also ice skated on this side.

1. Sandra Izbasa

Another set of music that I love, so powerful and dynamic.

-G-

"Favorites" Series

Awhile back I made a list of my favorite routines from all four apparatus. I figure it's about time I post them on her! The thing is, they do not include this  last quad. I plan to update them in the coming year to include new favorites and sadly exclude some old ones :)

I'll be posting them over the course of the next three weeks or so. Enjoy!

My Autograph Collection *UPDATED*

Some of these autographs I was lucky enough to receive in person, others I got back after sending fan mail. I think I added about 4 more since this post was originally published.

 (Maggie Nichols)

 (Ragan Smith)

 (Alexis Vasquez)

 (Nia Dennis)

 (Brenna Dowell)

 (Rachel Gowey)

 (Jordyn Weiber)

 (Mckayla Maroney)

 (Lexie Preissman)

 (Elizabeth Price)

 (Jordan Chiles)

 (Jazmyn Foberg)

 (Bailie Key)

 (Shannon Miller)

 (And Shannon Miller again...)

 (Aly Raisman

(Norah Flatley)

(Jordan Chiles)

(Kyla Ross)

(Carly Patterson)

When I Talk About a Dynamic Floor Routine, I Mean This

I know I went on and on about how lackluster most of the FX's seen at the Olympics were in terms of music and feel. There is one routine and with dance and music that can give me goosebumps on any given day.

Watch. Appreciate.

The song, so many feelings. Now, I don't love the simplicity of the tumbling but the musicality that Lieke shows makes up for it. I love and I hope to see more like it from the USA.

She looks like...

After becoming a serious gymnastics fan, I thought it was time to learn my history. So, about three years ago I went back and watched all of the major United States competitions since the early nineties. It wasn't long until I picked out a few girls who were serious ringers for current elites. Maybe you won't see the resemblance, or maybe you will! Take a look at these four side by side comparisions:

Jordyn Wieber and Kristal Uzalec

This one is MAJOR for me, like they could be sisters.

Hollie Vise and Raegan Smith

This one wasn't as obvious when I put the pictures together but there is definitely something similar about their mouths and they are both tiny!

Aly Raisman and Rachel Tidd

Spoooooky....these two could be twins in these pictures.

Bailie Key and Nastia Liukin

Ok, so I don't think Bailie looks like current Nastia or even 2008 Nastia. I'm talking about vintage 2005/2006 Nastia. The braces certainly help but beyond that, they do look alike.

What do you think? Any other "look alikes" you have noticed??

The Case of Vanessa Atler

Today I tumbled upon this article at Full Twist and it had me scratching my head. A lot of words come to mind when I think of Vanessa Atler but artistic is not one of them.

From what I can tell, the gymternet is pretty split on Atler. Some people think she was a prodigy robbed of her Olympic dream and others think she's a bratty headcase. My take? Somewhere in-between. I think she had talent, you can't really deny that but she wasn't this gift to humanity that the US media made her out to be. Sure she may have had national success but that never translated to the world stage. As far as her attitude goes, I think it's a product of circumstance. From what I can tell, the Rybacki's seem like good people who really cared about Vanessa. However, what the heck was with them not taking out the Comenici salto? I don't care how many times Vanessa hit in practice because she NEVER did in competition (scratch that, she hit one routine at the 1998 nationals). I suppose this probably lead to her departure from Gliders and straight into the arms of Valeri Liukin. By 2000 it was obvious that she was done and didn't seem to want it as much as the other Olympic hopefuls, her attitude showed indifference and annoyance. She was a teenager, it happens.

I recently watched some bits and pieces from her time on the TV show "Starting Over" and it made me sort of sad. Clearly she was living with a lot of regret and emotional baggage. It would totally suck to work so hard for a goal and throw it all away without really even knowing why.

Anyway, that was quite the tangent. Back to Vanessa and artistry...she didn't have any. Let me give her due credit though, her floor routine was absolutely impressive. It was powerful and innovative. But her dance? Not so much. It did work with the music and feel so I can ignore it unlike say, Gabby Douglas (now THERE is horrendous dance, I mean what the heck??).

So yeah, there's my feelings on Vanessa Atler because I'm sure you were all dying to know!

Let's Get This Quad Started

The first camp of the Quad!! Woo!
Let's see who showed up...

From USA Gymnastics

Full Roster:
Shania Adams, Buckeye
Sloane Blakely, WOGA
Jordan Chiles, Naydenov
Christina Desidero, Parkettes
Olivia Dunne, ENA Paramus
Norah Flatley, Chow's
Colbi Flory, Texas Dreams
Margzetta Frazier, Parkettes
Morgan Hurd, First State
Sydney Johnson Scharpf, Brandy Johnson's
Madeleine Johnston, Hill's
Shilese Jones, Buckeye
Sunisa Lee, Midwest Gymnastics
Lauren Little, Everest
Emma Malabuyo, Texas Dreams
Victoria Nguyen, Chow's
Maile O'Keefe, Salcianu Elite
Abby Paulson, Twin City Twisters
Gabby Perea, Legacy Elite
Lexy Ramler, KidSport LLC
Emily Schild, Everest Gymnastics
Alyona Shchennikova, 5280 Gymnastics
Trinity Thomas, Prestige
Olivia Trautman, Twin City Twisters 

I'm so happy to see Norah Flatley back in action. I so badly wanted to see her in Rio but it was not to be. I'm hoping her and teammate Victoria Nguyen have success this quad because both are lovely gymnasts with great form. I'm also partial to Gabby Perea and Emma Malabuyo so good to see them there too. I guess this camp they're only doing conditioning and half routines so there won't be any exciting news about new skills and whatnot. I'm just ready to see what the girls above have in store. It's really weird/exciting to think that some of them will be on the next Olympic team.

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.

2 Year Bloggiversary!

I actually feel like I've had my gym blog for a lot longer than two years. I guess because so much has happened since then! Two world championships and an Olympics. I look forward to having this blog to Tokyo and beyond.

In honor of the two year milestone, I'm going to revise the gymnastics Q and A I completed awhile back, here it is:

Get to know the blogger - Gymnastics edition

Name: (G)race

DOB: Spring, 1994

Gym fan since: 2008ish but not seriously until 2012

Gymnast since: Sadly never. I had scoliosis which gifted me a fused spine which gifted me zero flexibility. But had I been one, I obviously would have won the AA in London. Obviously. (See, "Why I Would Have Made a Perfect Gymnast" post)
Gymnastics coach since: I coached my younger sister in the front yard when I was 14, so that definitely counts.

Favorite Quad to Date: Oooh ok. I love 1996-2000 because there was so much going on behind the scenes but Sydney was a hot mess! So I guess, gymnasts/gymnastics wise, I really enjoy 2004-2008. There seemed to be a lot of variety of styles during that time. You had Shawn's power/nice form and Ivana and Mattie's dance. Asac brought the power and Sloane was just fun to watch.

Favorite Olympics: Hmmm...I really enjoy rewatching Athens for some reason even though that quad tends to bore me. But I have to go with London because that's when I got REALLY into the sport.

Favorite Worlds: Stuttgart, 2007 or Tokyo 2011.

Most Disastrous Competition: 2010 US Nationals, falls galore.

Favorite Gymnast of All-time: Shannon Miller but I also enjoy Lilia Podkopayeva and Shawn Johnson. Shannon takes it though.

Favorite Gymnast Currently Competing: Norah and Morgan Hurd of the US. Larissa Lordache of Romania. Dara Spiridinova of Russia and Shang Chusong of China.

Met any gymnastics celebrities?: Yes! Maybe not all super famous but I met McKayla Maroney, Jordan Chiles and Lexie Priessman in 2014 and Shawn Johnson, Sabrina Vega and Nia Dennis in 2015 and Shannon Miller, Kyla Ross and Carly Patterson in 2016.

Favorite Event to Watch: I love watching uneven bars, always have! Floor is probably second if it has good music and flow.

Gymnastics Pet Peeve: I hate ugly floor choreo, boring mounts (especially beam), front or side ariels on floor, overused wolf turns, bad form/technique in general, sloppy vaults just for difficulty, cowboyed giants...there are more that I can't think of right now.

Favorite Skill: Geinger on bars, completed and well formed triple twist on floor, needle or illusion turn on beam and vault...I don't think I have a favorite. I guess, a clean Amanar. 

So that's all for now, here's to many more blogging years!

In Honor and Appreciation of Maggie Nichols Elite Career

After Maggie Nichols was left of the Rio team, she announced that her elite career was over and that she was looking forward to competing NCAA with Oklahoma come the fall. I'm happy that Maggie is happy to move forward to college but I'm also sad because, well, I love Maggie's determination and work ethic, even in the face of adversity or favoritism. I'll miss her powerful floor passes and steady beam and bars. So I want to take a moment to appreciate all that she has done at the elite level.

When I first saw Maggie at the 2013 nationals, I was fairly unimpressed. I was unimpressed by most people that day so it wasn't necessarily her fault but no newcomers really stood out in a good way except Biles and even she was overshadowed by Maroney and Ross's comebacks. Fast forward to the next year when I got to see her in person at Classics and I was impressed by the altitude of her tumbling and strong dance, but still, I didn't think too much of her (sorry Maggie). At nationals however, she really proved herself as someone worthy of a spot on the worlds team, coming in third place all around. Everyone thought she should be in Nanning. Sadly, she was sent to Pac Rims for some unknown reason (cough, stupid reason, cough) and she injured her knee there. Some may have quit then, knowing they were clearly not a "favorite" but not Maggie, when she resurfaced in 2015, fully healthy, she was better than ever! She had an Amanar ready to compete and upgrades galore, she quickly proved herself as a reliable and steady competitor, being even more consistent than veterans like Aly Raisman who was just coming back.

At 2015 nationals, Maggie came in second place! She earned that spot rightfully as being among a select few who didn't falter over the two day competition. She, of course, was  named to the Worlds team that headed to Glasgow. Thus, the second time Maggie was screwed over. She SHOULD have competed in the all-around during qualifications, because hello, she placed 2nd all around at Nationals. But, favoritism won over and she was left off. Obviously, her AA score was valued above others because they put her up on all four events during team finals. How curious.

Happily, Maggie made floor finals where she won a bronze! In early 2016, many people had her on their list of "likely to make the Rio team, myself included. So when she injured her knee again in April, I was super upset. Most people wrote her off but once more the comeback queen, Maggie was back in action at Nationals where she competed only bars and beam but let the world know she wasn't going to go down without a fight.

I was at the Olympic Trials, and let me tell you, despite the one fall on beam, Maggie looked loads better than a certain someone who was named to the team. I'm still super pissed off that she was left at home. Despite being hurt just three short months ago, Maggie came in 6th and beat a certain someone who was taken on the team! She had almost all of her skills back and looked rock solid but unlike a certain someone, she was not given the benefit of "more time". It's still an open wound folks.

If Maggie had been in Rio I have no doubt that she would have competed admirably. Honestly, I think she could have challenged Raisman for the second AA spot and possibly made beam finals. Que cera, cera.

I'll miss Maggie but I know she will CRUSH in NCAA. I can't wait to see her being appreciate as she should have been all along.

Rio Reflections

I hate to say this, I really do, but Rio was a tiny bit of a let down to me. Part of the reason was that I had really built it up in my mind these four years and partly because it was just so predictable. I wanted that epic moment when you realize who is going to win after the score is flashed, not when you go in knowing without a doubt what the majority of the podiums will look like. I wanted to root for a team that felt united and that I had been hoping for. The Final Five competed really well but I don't know, I just didn't feel their team chemistry like the Fierce Five and the team selection was so corrupted that I just felt bitter.

Still, Rio had it's merits! Here are my high points:

1. Simone's four gold medals. Yes, she made the Games predictable but that's not to say I didn't appreciate what she accomplished. It was so nice to see someone finally living up to their hype. I know the chances of this are near impossible, but can you imagine the downfall if she'd failed to deliver the performances we all knew her to be capable of?
2. Aly winning silver in the AA and floor. I've always felt fond to Aly because we're the same age and she just seems like a very genuine person. She sold me with that floor routine in London that I still watch occasionally. Her gymnastics aren't my favorite but I love that her hard work has been rewarded. Her comeback was real, earned and even better than before. I wish she would have decided to retire after Rio though. I think it would have been great for her to go out on such a high note and make room for the newcomers.
3. Sanne Weivers winning gold on beam! Sad that Simone fell but Sanne had the routine of her life and it was simply lovely. I'm on the fence as to how I feel about actually replacing tumbling with dance on floor but I don't mind it on beam because I do think it's equally as difficult.
4. Aliya's repeat bar title. She also makes me "lows" list but that bar routine was spot on and I'm glad she was rewarded after being worked to the ground these last four years. I was also happy with Maddie winning silver, she did her job.
5. USA's leotards. Oh my gosh, we finally pulled it together. I kind of hated the V neck one worn for event finals but the qualification and team finals were absolutely gorgeous and patriotic.
6. The arena. Love the green.

Lows:

1. Our team not being who it should have been.
2. Shang getting robbed in the AA. I've rewatched routines and there is no way Aliya should have scored ahead of her with that beam, I  mean geez.
3. Lackluster floor routines. Where was the epic music? Where was the emotion even? I wanted Kyla's opera, the urgency of Aliya and Jordyn's London music.
4. Vault finals were disappointing. I really don't care how difficult a vault you can execute if you can't land it. Sorry. I love Chuso as much as everyone else but don't attempt something you aren't consistent at. It's not even safe.
5. The Chinese getting screwed for bar finals. In favor of a certain American among others. I mean come on, the CHINESE AND BARS! It's like peanut butter and jelly.
6. Predictability as stated above. Oh and NO EMOTIONAL THEME SONG? I want Phillip Phillips back.

Overall, I don't think I'll rewatch Rio nearly as much as I have London, here's to Tokyo being twice as awesome.

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!